Founded in 1980, OEA Choice Trust used to be a traditional health insurance company. Now, no longer offering health insurance, OEA Choice Trust is a leader in School Employee Wellness. The School Employee Wellness Grant Program provides grants to Oregon schools for self-designed wellness programs created and personalized by school employees for school employees.
Last week OEA ChoiceTrust held their first annual School Employee Wellness Conference. I was privileged to attend the conference and to present two workshops. Attended by about 100 school employees, administrators, and supporters the conference showcased some of the incredibly innovative programs that have been put in place. Conference participants came from districts of all sizes as well as from several of Oregon’s community colleges.
All of the participants shared a commitment to creating schools that are healthy workplaces as well as healthy places for students. One of the sessions I facilitated focused on gaining and building administrative support for employee wellness programs. The session included a panel of three administrators (two school districts and one community college) who spoke about their programs. They made several key points for those who want to build or expand the program.
- Use the numbers. The data from existing wellness programs demonstrates that wellness programs save significant money. They also improve staff attendance.
- Find your champions. Each of the programs had one or more staff who led the effort to apply for the OEA Choice Trust grants and get the programs up and running.
- Work with the people you have. All of the programs used staff in their districts as class instructors and group leaders. Staff led everything from Zumba to snowshoeing and from healthy cooking to knitting.
- Ask your people what they want. Surveys and needs assessments were used to ask district staff what classes and opportunities they wanted to participate in.
School employee wellness programs are a key component of a healthy school. For more information on creating your school employee wellness program you can download this free guide from the Directors of Health Promotion and Education.
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