Sodexo And YMCA Pilot Evidenced-Based Approach To Employee Wellness

ORLANDO, FL -- Sodexo Inc. and the YMCA of Central Florida have begun an individualized, system-based approach to wellness that engages employees at work and at home. The three-year pilot, called Communities for Health, was introduced in Orlando, FL, in early June to more than 250 regional business and healthcare leaders.

Keynote speeches from Ann Albright, director of the Division of Diabetes Translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. John Armstrong, Florida State Surgeon General and Secretary of the Florida Department of Health, launched Communities for Health.

Participation in Communities for Health begins at work with trained wellness champions encouraging their peers to enroll into the program online.

Employees opt in to receive customized text messages, starting with an invitation to schedule a diagnostic screening test to better understand their personal health status. Based on the results, participants are immediately connected to a lifestyle manager who recommends an appropriate program and serves as their health. Once their personal health plans are in place, a series of personal and text communications will be provided to support individual health goals and long-term behavior change.

As part of the program, employees will be directed to the most convenient neighborhood YMCA to access evidence-based chronic disease prevention programs, along with information on fitness and healthy-eating.

"Floridians spend about a third of their total waking hours at their place of work, so healthy environments and worksite wellness programs are essential to helping employees achieve healthy weight," Florida Surgeon General Armstrong said.