At the June 18 City Council meeting, Debbie Bellenger of CaroMont Health presented the City of Gastonia with the trophy for winning the Employer 
Walking Challenge saying, “You have a culture of wellness at the City.” Bellenger, who is director of employee wellness services for CaroMont added, “You should be very proud. Overall participation is up and the City of Gastonia has developed an excellent health culture.”
The City met two of its three wellness goals for this fiscal year:
- Increase overall wellness score from 70 to 27
>Result: Overall wellness score dropped to 69 - Increase percentage of employees who exercise at least three days a week from 73% to 75%
>Result: 75% of employees exercise 3+ days a week - Decrease percentage of employees with prehypertension from 47.1%
>Result: 44.6% of employees have prehypertension
“City employees are moving more. They are interested in being healthier,” Bellenger said. And she noted that nearly every employee health metric measured by the City improved from 2018 to 2019, including waist circumference, blood pressure and employees’ perceptions of their own health. A few areas that did not improve in the past year include employees’ diabetes prevention and control, coronary risk, ability to cope with stress, and depressed mood.
Other year-end statistics:
- City employees lost 1,578 pounds in the past year.
- At employees’ request, the City began a Weight Watchers group.
- The City achieved Gold Level status in Healthy Gaston’s Healthy Employer program.
- 98% of employees participated in health screenings, an increase from last year.
- 81% of employees participated in at least one Wellness activity, up from 73% last year.
- 37.5% of employees rated the City’s health culture as excellent, up from 34% a year ago.
City Wellness Coordinator Wanda Flowers said the numbers show the program’s second year was a big success. “This is all great news for our wellness program,” Flowers said. “The employees are engaged and supporting me and one another in our wellness journey. I am so excited about all the support the program has from senior leadership as well as the employees.”
City Wellness strategy for FY2020:
- Focus on employees’ top-two risk factors: weight management and good nutrition
- Partner with diabetes management program
- Develop programs to keep employees engaged in wellness activities for 10 months or more
- Offer quarterly blood pressure, weight and waist circumference checks
- With department directors, create a wellness plan for each City department
“I encourage those employees who have experienced improved health to please share their stories with their coworkers,” Flowers said. “Please continue to promote the wellness programs and activities as we work to live healthier and thrive!”