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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 17, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. _~_ <br />SUBJECT• Grant Application to NCACC for Employee Wellness Program Funding <br />DEPARTMENT: Personnel <br />Health <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1 -Orange County Employee <br />Wellness Plan <br />2 -Grant Application <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Elaine Holmes, Personnel Director, <br />extension 2552 <br />Rosemary Summers, Health Director, <br />extension 2411 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To endorse the County's grant application to the North Carolina Association of <br />County Commissioners (NCACC) Risk Management Pool for Employee Wellness Program <br />funding. <br />BACKGROUND: Over the years, the County has provided activities to promote employee <br />health and wellness such as newsletter articles on nutrition, workshops on diabetes and other <br />health related topics, the benefits and wellness fair and lunchtime exercise group at Recreation <br />and Parks. Over the past year, several developments have come together to make it possible <br />to offer employees a targeted and more comprehensive Employee Wellness Program, These <br />developments are: <br />Decision by Healthy Carolinians program to support Orange County in development and <br />implementation of a model employer program to support employee health and wellness. <br />Blue Cross implementation of its new Employer Health Partnerships (EHP Blue) program. <br />EHP Blue works with employers to identify employee health care issues and provide <br />targeted programs and activities to address these issues including disease management <br />and education, physical activity/weight management and lunch and learn programs. Such <br />programs are offered at no or minimal cost, <br />In brief, a wellness program serves the following purposes: Helps keep well employees well <br />and improves the health of those with risk factors for poor health, through maintaining or <br />improving health supports increased productivity of employees who are present and feel well, <br />may help reduce absenteeism and disability and, over the long term, may help manage health <br />care costs. A wellness program addresses not only preventative health issues but also such <br />diseases as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. <br />