Franklin County Wins “Healthy Worksite” Award

Today, Franklin County was recognized as one of the 2018 Healthy Business Council of Ohio’s Healthiest Worksites at the Health Action Council’s 2018 Columbus Symposium. Franklin County’s wellness program, ThriveOn, was named as a gold level award winner for demonstrating a commitment to employee wellness through offering a comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness program.
 
“We’re very proud of this Healthy Worksite award,” said Board of Commissioners President Marilyn Brown. “We take very seriously our duty to provide outstanding service to every resident, every day, and that starts with having great employees and supporting and equipping them to be as healthy as they can be so they can continue to provide excellent service.”
 
This is the first year Franklin County has applied for this award. The Healthy Worksite Award program annually recognizes Ohio employers that have made significant efforts to improve overall employee health, enhance productivity and ensure a healthy work environment.
 
“In order to attract and retain the best employees, you have to continue to invest in and improve your benefits,” said Commissioner John O’Grady. “Our ThriveOn wellness program encourages employees and their families to be mindful of their healthy and is yielding fantastic results.”
 
The ThriveOn program has increased the profile of wellness programming across Franklin County agencies, simplified the entry into wellness programs, and implemented meaningful incentives to increase participation and drive healthy behavior. This resulted in a marked increase in wellness program participation in 2017 from 15% to over 70% and significant health risk reductions in areas such as stress, blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression.
 
“ThriveOn has been successful in many ways,” said Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce. “It has helped us save dollars by encouraging and incentivizing preventative measures so potential health issues are caught early before developing into more serious conditions which are more expensive, but most importantly our employees and their families are able to live healthier more productive lives.”
 
ThriveOn offers a comprehensive wellness program to employees that focuses on supporting emotional, social, physical and material well-being through activities like onsite cooking demonstrations, wellness challenges, telephonic and self-directed health coaching, chronic disease support programs, onsite education classes, fresh fruits and vegetable delivery service, discounted bike share programs to name a few.
 
Franklin County has also been recognized as a Healthiest Employer for the past two years, including being ranked #2 Healthiest Employer among large employers at the 2018 Healthiest Employer of Central Ohio Awards.