Committees unite in focus on wellness initiatives
Professional Development and Shared Decision-Making
teams set stage for healthier living
 It
should come as no surprise that wellness would be a key focus of
the HFM BOCES Professional Development Team, or the Shared
Decision-making Team, or district leaders, or the Board of
Education. Statistics generally, as well as specific numbers
targeting BOCES employees indicate that we should be taking
better care of ourselves.
Presentations by the Professional Development and Shared
Decision Making teams addressed the issue directly, asking
employees to participate in an online health assessment and for
volunteers to form a wellness committee that would put ideas
into action that will, hopefully, set BOCES employees in motion
toward a healthier lifestyle.
The initiative has a practical side apart from the desire to see
employees enjoy better health. Insurance rates continue to
escalate, driven in part by employee accidents, injuries and
illnesses. Nearly two years ago, former District Superintendent
Dr. Geoffrey Davis related a report about a higher than normal
number of falls and injuries suffered by BOCES staff. The
abundance of on-the-job injuries prompted HFM's insurance
carrier to require additional safety training and awareness
measures.
 On
Opening Day, the Professional Development Team combined
technology with a wellness-knowledge quiz to promote an online
health-risk assessment initiative for all employees.
Participants were able to respond to quiz questions by texting
the reply on their cell phones. Results were instantly tabulated
and displayed on the main screen.
All BOCES employees are encouraged to participate in the simple
and secure health risk assessment that takes only a few minutes
to complete on insurance carrier Excellus’ website (www.excellusbcbs.com).
Basic lifestyle questions provide data that interprets what you
are doing well and what areas can be improved.
Your specific answers remain confidential, but the results from
all BOCES participants will be aggregated to reveal areas that
the BOCES family as a group needs to address. These
recommendations will inform and direct a newly emerging wellness
committee in its efforts to provide information and activities
to help everyone at BOCES live a healthier lifestyle.
Talk of a wellness committee has circulated through BOCES in
recent years, until the Shared Decision Making team made the
decision to promote its launch in 2010. Members are invited from
any division within BOCES, and the new committee will find a
niche between the existing Health Insurance committee and the
Shared Decision Making team. The first meeting will be scheduled
in the next few weeks. Volunteers should contact Nancy Turnbull.
The resources available for Excellus members on the website
provide important tools and information to monitor and control
personal good and bad health habits. To take the Health
Assessment, visit the member section at www.excellusbcbs.com
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