Four Businesses Honored With The Governor’s Wellness Award And a New Leading Light Award Highlighted

Four Panhandle businesses were honored with the Governor’s Wellness Award at the recent Panhandle Safety & Wellness Conference & Awards Luncheon in Gering last week.

Chadron Community Hospita (l-r)l: Anna Turman, Diana Lecher, Jessica Davies, Lynn Mathis, Cheryl Abegglen, Lindsey Adams, Brenda Rhembrandt

Hemingford Telephone Company/Mobius Communications(l-r): Amanda Chancellor, Joni Jespersen, Tonya Mayer, Jessica Davies

Cirrus House(l-r): Lisa Wakeley, Amber Adamson, Brent Anderson, Jessica Davies, Kendra Dean, Alexia Osborn

Cirrus House, Inc. and Hemingford Telephone Company/Mobius Communications received the Grower Award for growing the seeds for wellness at their organizations. Chadron Community Hospital and Regional West Health Services received the Sower Award for planting the seeds for wellness at their organizations.

Governor Ricketts relayed, “These awards symbolize what we hold dear to Nebraska – commitment to our people! Organizations that put their people first reap tremendous rewards including a positive culture, happy, healthy and safe people and increased productivity.”

“We are always so proud to work with these organizations to create environments supporting employee health and well-being. They’ve made marked strides towards the prevention of devastating and costly chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer,” said Jessica Davies, Assistant Health Director.

Here’s a sampling of how these organizations are leading the charge:

Cirrus House, Inc. offers a healthy snack initiative, annual health fair for staff and clients, and begins each company meeting with five minutes of exercise.
Hemingford Telephone Company/Mobius Communications is proud to report they have reduced high risk blood pressure readings by half by offering blood pressure cuff access at each company location, training employees how to use effectively, and providing educational materials for continuous monitoring.
Chadron Community Hospital improved employee stress risk scores by 43% through their Employee Assistance Program, chair massages, educational stress e-mails, monthly birthday parties with healthy food, and providing twice-a-year celebrations for employees and families to encourage fun events with co-workers. They also allow ‘Jeans on Friday’ to raise money for local charities.
Regional West Health Services implemented a walkable campus initiative, healthy eating/vending initiative, increased the number of employees and covered spouses that participated in health screenings, walking teams competing in the hospital during National Walk @ Lunch Day, and the grand opening of the YMCA at Regional West fitness Center.

In addition to the Governor’s Wellness Awards, the Panhandle Worksite Wellness Council has created the Leading Light Award in honor of Annie Loutzenhiser. She has been on the council advisory committee since 2013 and after a very courageous battle with cancer, she passed in July 2018 at the age of 44.

Leading Light Award(l-r): Annie Loutzenhiser’s father – Alan Knott, Her husband – Michael Loutzenhiser, Jessica Davies

Regional West Health Services(l-r): Michelle Call, Alecia Gonzales, Ally Berggren, Summer Parker, Jessica Davies, Sara Nicholson, Martha Stricker

Loutzenhiser was honored for her dedication and leadership to employee health and well-being in the Panhandle. A video compilation was shared with attendees of remarks from fellow advisory committee members, employees, and partners of the leadership qualities she embodied.

“Annie had her work families’ health and quality of life as a priority, even in her illness she lead the efforts in this area of the firm. Annie was and will always be our “Leading Light,” said Vince Ryan, Shareholder, Garden, Loutzenhiser, & Ryan PC.

The council will have a nominating process for the Leading Light recipient to be honored at next year’s conference.

For additional information about worksite wellness, visit www.pphd.org/pwwc.html or call Davies at 308-487-3600 extension 101. The Panhandle Worksite Wellness Council is proudly part of Panhandle Public Health District. The Council specializes in supporting employers in the Panhandle region. We recognize that many employers support a diverse and remote workforce and offer innovative ways to overcome the challenge of working with a virtual team. We understand that many of our employers do not have full-time wellness resources and work to provide resources and training to make running a worksite wellness program as easy as possible.

Panhandle Public Health District is working together to improve the health, safety and quality of life for all who live, learn, work and play in the Panhandle. Our vision is that we are a healthier and safer Panhandle community.