A health-focused partnership between Vernon Memorial and Organic Valley has grown in the past 11 years.
Starting in 2006, Vernon Memorial began with on-site services at the Organic Valley headquarters in La Farge, providing services such as blood pressure readings; cholesterol screening; health and fitness activities; and support for smokers who want to quit.
“Based upon the positive response we received from that, in 2010 we implemented the Value My Health program at Organic Valley,” said Kyle Bakkum, chief executive officer for Vernon Memorial. “That program is really a program where it gives incentives to the staff to lead and live healthy lifestyles and participate in the programs we have in place.”
Today, more than 70 percent of Organic Valley employees participate in the wellness program, and the company has an on-site gym, an employee garden, a walking path and bikes to rent for lunchtime rides.
Amber Wendorf is the wellness program manager at Organic Valley, which employs around 600 people in the Coulee Valley. She calls Vernon Memorial Healthcare “an invaluable resource for us, in terms of their expertise.”
“For us as an employer, it means improved productivity,” she said. “People aren’t having to leave for hours on end — especially in our small communities, a lot of peoples’ doctors are an hour away.”
And, she added, with health services available on-site rather than hours away, employees are much more likely to take advantage of them. Read the full story here.
This story appeared in the Wisconsin Technology Council’s recent health report titled “Taking the Pulse: How Quality Healthcare Can Build a Better Bottom Line.” See the full report here: https://wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Taking-the-Pulse-Healthcare-Quality-Report.pdf
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