By
Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan
The Osage Nation has purchased a health kiosk and started a fitness challenge to encourage employees to lead a healthy life.
“After reviewing our health claims history and overall wellness of our employees, it helped us (Osage Nation) make the decision to pursue a healthier work force,” said Clint Hill, benefits analyst for the Osage Nation.
The ON teamed up with incentaHEALTH to offer the incentaHEALTH Weight Loss and Wellness Program to ON employees.
The Holmes Organisation, which is the Osage Nation’s insurance broker and risk management firm, has become Oklahoma’s exclusive agent for an innovative HEALTHspot program developed by incentaHEALTH of Denver.
The organisation has been a local leader in insurance and benefits for more than 40 years. Their mission is to improve the financial and physical health of clients and their employees by providing proactive risk management and innovative insurance solutions, according to www.theholmesorg.com.
On Jan. 4, the Holmes Organisation installed the kiosk at the Osage Nation Fitness Center in Pawhuska.
Holmes Organisation Health Coach, Eric Moon, gave a presentation at the ON all-employee meeting on Jan. 9 and the program began on Jan. 14.
“We got the kiosk to help our employees track their progress and get ideas on healthy foods, meals and work out options,” Hill said.
The kiosk records employee weight and blood pressure as well as cash rewards.
“It actually pays employees quarterly for losing weight and maintaining their new weight. Depending on their starting BMI and amount of weight loss, employees can earn several hundred dollars over the course of a year,” Moon said in a press release.
The ON is hoping the program will help reduce health claims, improve employee attendance and the overall well being of employees, Hill said.
The ON has the third health kiosk in the state of Oklahoma. The first was the Holmes Organisation and the second was the Creek Nation.
The Creek Nation had the kiosk installed last year at the River Spirit Casino. However, due to management changes they decided not to renew their contract, Moon said.
“As most national studies indicate, the state of Oklahoma is near the bottom of most health indicator lists – including obesity and consumption of a healthy diet – and we, with the support of incentaHEALTH, are committed to changing that,” Moon said in a press release. “Many of the employers in Oklahoma that we work with are looking for innovative wellness programs that get measurable results – and incentaHEALTH is one such program.”
Osage Nation Fitness Challenge 2013
The Osage Nation Community Health and the Osage Nation Diabetes and Public Health Department are hosting the Osage Nation Fitness Challenge 2013. The challenge began on Feb. 4 and runs through May 11.
“The fitness challenge is a separate challenge than the incentaHEALTH Weight Loss and Wellness Program but we’ve encouraged everyone to sign up for both,” Jami Jones, Osage Nation Health Education coordinator.
The ON Fitness Challenge 2013 has more than 100 employees signed up who are divided among three teams. Each team has two team captains and there are about 36 employees on each team.
“We decided to have a fitness challenge to promote overall health and we want this challenge to be a life style rather than a crash diet,” Jones said.
The ON has had weight loss challenges in the past but they decided to change it to a fitness challenge this year.
The challenge is point based and there are various ways participants can earn points.
They can receive points by working out at one of three ON Fitness Centers, attending Zumba classes and taking nutrition classes.
There are also incentive prices for completing team and individual challenges. For example, if participants complete six workouts at an Osage Nation Fitness Center within a certain time frame they will receive a team t-shirt.
“We decided to have incentives to keep the ball rolling,” Jones said.
The final challenge will be the Osage Nation Community of Excellence’s Run for the Health Of It 5k Run/Walk.
Jones said her department has received a lot of positive feedback from employees.
“Employees have said the challenge has motivated them to be healthy and they are excited,” she said. “I am super excited for the challenge and the feedback is motivating me as well.”
Original Publish Date: 2013-02-28 00:00:00
