Matthew Whittle

A smoking cessation program. A fully equipped gym. A healthy nutrition program.

At Broughton Hospital, workplace wellness is more than just a simple catchphrase. Over the last five years it has become a way of life – and it’s largely because of the efforts of state employees themselves.

Sherry Helton of District 6 is the hospital’s radiology director and serves as the coordinator of the WorkHealthy initiative.

She explained that Broughton, the state psychiatric hospital serving western North Carolina, began working with Prevention Partners on its WorkHealthy America program about five years ago, along with several other N.C. Department of Health and Human Services facilities, including J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center, Division of Public Health on Six Forks Road in Raleigh, O’Berry Neuro Medical Treatment Center, Office of Rural Health and Community Care, Division of Medical Assistance and Division of Aging and Adult Services.

By the time she became involved a year later, Helton said the hospital had already adopted many of the program’s smoking cessation efforts and was ready to focus on WorkHealthy’s other three modules – nutrition, physical activity and an overall culture of wellness.

In late April, Broughton became the first state agency to earn Excellence Recognition from Prevention Partners for meeting the organization’s highest standards for a healthy workplace – an achievement that Helton said was possible only because of the buy-in from the employees.

Today, the centerpieces of Broughton’s efforts are its employee gym, made possible through a $5,000 donation from SEANC District 6 and other employee contributions, and its dietary group’s nutrition program.

From the beginning, she said, the workplace wellness program has received support from the administration, but no funding to carry it out, so the employees have done it themselves.

For instance, she said, they were given the space for the employee gym, but no equipment to fill it or money to purchase equipment. So SEANC District 6 stepped in with its donation and employees held fundraisers and brought in equipment from home.

“We just kind of rolled with it from there,” Helton said. “We just had to be creative. Doing for ourselves, it kind of created a sense of ownership and kind of a community and family atmosphere. We are kind of taking care of ourselves.”

Because Broughton is a 24-hour, 365-day facility, the gym is always open. Of the hospital’s nearly 1,200 employees, about 1,100 have turned in wellness waivers to use the gym. And on any given day, about 35 to 40 people use the treadmills, weights, bikes and aerobics space before or after their shifts or on their lunch breaks. They even have shower facilities available to the employees.

“It’s been well received,” she said.

The employees also are taking care of themselves through better nutrition.

As part of the workplace wellness program, Helton explained the hospital’s dietary division has worked to create healthier options in the employee cafeteria. Those options include one entrée and drink every day that is considered heart healthy and is lower in fat, calories and salt – and that costs at least 25 cents less than the rest of the menu.

The goal, she explained, is not only to incentivize people to eat healthy by giving them healthier options, but by also making those the cheaper option.

It’s the same approach that has been taken at the hospital’s vending machines where they now stock one row of low-fat, no-fat and baked options, all at lower prices than the higher-calorie snacks.

“It doesn’t mean an apple from home isn’t better for you, but if your choice is a Snickers or baked pretzels, the pretzels are better and are actually about five cents cheaper,” Helton said.

Overall, she said, while they don’t necessarily have any figures such as weight loss or improved fitness numbers to point to, she knows the program has had an impact.

“It works. It’s been good for our patients and our co-workers, knowing that the person next to you is healthier and can do his or her job on a regular basis. And we hope that over time it will help decrease our health insurance premiums,” Helton said.

And, she added, it’s a program that she thinks could be adopted – at least in some fashion – by departments and offices across state government.

If a gym isn’t a practical idea, then employees can encourage each other to walk more – to park further away, to take the stairs. If the office doesn’t have a cafeteria, then employees can motivate each other to cook healthier at home or choose better options when going out, or even negotiate with their vending machine vendors for healthier choices.

“I do think it can be easily duplicated. It’s just a choice that you make,” Helton said.