Six times per year, representatives from 20 to 30 Lansing-area businesses, nonprofits and government entities gather for lunch and to kick around ideas and brainstorm on how to keep their employees healthy.

The discussion invariably produces results that boost employee health and wellness and also affect a company’s bottom line through increased productivity, reduced health insurance claims and decreased absenteeism. Wellness efforts have been, or should become part of, every corporate culture.

The Sparrow Workforce Health Best Practices Group was formed in 2009 to provide a forum for area employers to interact with each other and Sparrow to explore best practices in workforce health improvement programming. Meetings feature guest speakers, information about Sparrow’s worksite wellness programs, and time for members to do collective problem-solving on common workforce health challenges.

Membership is free of charge and open to all area employers.

The group’s goals are to:

• Provide area employers with national, state and local health and wellness resources

• Provide employers with information on Sparrow programs and services that can assist them in meeting the healthcare needs of their employee population

• Provide employers with tools and strategies to implement successful worksite wellness programming

• Provide a forum for group problem solving and networking

The results are impressive.

“Our involvement in Sparrow’s Best Practices meetings is instrumental in achieving the best return on investment,” says Deana Florian, of Lansing’s Paramount Coffee Co., a Best Practices member. “The combination of an informative workshop and roundtable discussion at these meetings offers a unique opportunity; all of the businesses involved learn from the successes and setbacks of others.”

For instance, Teresa Spitzer, health manager of Capital Area Community Services, Inc. – Head Start, says the idea for a 12-week employee wellness challenge came from the organization’s participation in the Best Practices group. It was based on a template provided by Sparrow, she says.

The challenge involved awarding employees points for things such as drinking eight glasses of water a day, aiming to get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and exercising, with financial and other prizes as the reward.

“The Best Practices Group gives you ideas about what works at work,” Spitzer says.

She also credits the group with helping familiarize her with the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) Benchmarks of Success for wellness programs. She used those benchmarks to begin a wellness effort at Head Start, a federally funded preschool program with about 300 employees.

“This has been a great program for us,” Tonya Fountain, of the Michigan Farm Bureau, says about the Best Practices Group.

Fountain says the Farm Bureau has implemented health screenings, a summer fitness challenge and other measures through working with Sparrow.

“Through Sparrow and the Best Practices Group, we’ve gone from a committee of one to having true corporate support for wellness,” she says. “This is not as much of a hard sell to executives as it used to be. They know that when you have a healthy workforce, your healthcare costs go down.”

What’s exciting about the Best Practices Group is the energy that members bring and the satisfaction that comes from hearing about ideas that are working. This group makes worksite wellness truly a collaborative cause.

To find out more about Sparrow’s Best Practices Work Group, contact Karen Surdenik at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

		Beth Spyke has a master’s degree in exercise science from Michigan State University and has specialized in worksite wellness for more than 25 years. She currently serves as Sparrow’s director of health and wellness.