ST. GEORGE – Dixie Regional Medical Center’s Gateway to Wellness program and the Healthy Dixie Council are partnering to present a free lecture series designed to help businesses promote health and safety in the workplace. Many studies have shown that healthy employees are more productive, have fewer sick days and work injuries than unhealthy employees.

Locke Ettinger, director of Gateway to Wellness will lead the discussions. Each of the classes will be in Intermountain Healthcare’s Foremaster Auditorium at 1424 E. Foremaster Drive in St. George. Session 1 is scheduled March 7 at 7:30 a.m. This session will help attendees gain upper management support for a wellness program. “Studies have shown that successful programs that improve employee health must have strong support from upper management,” said Ettinger. “The session will also discuss how to create a cohesive wellness team that can share responsibilities and distribute excitement about the program throughout the organization.”

Session 2 is planned for May 22 at 7:30 a.m. and teaches how companies may create a plan of action for their wellness initiative.

Ettinger said “The first step is to gather information about the areas of greatest health needs. This information will help you know which areas you should focus on,” Ettinger said “Then you’ll learn how to use the information you’ve collected to create a health and wellness operating plan.”

The plan will likely need to include some interventions, such as tobacco cessation programs, weight management programs, and stress management classes. Chosen interventions should be based on company health information collected.

Session 3 will be held Sept. 19 at 7:30 a.m. This final session offers ways to create a supportive environment at work that will help employees in their efforts to lead healthier lifestyles. This may include physical modifications of the workspace, new policies, or perhaps rewards and incentives for those who improve.

“The session will also discuss ways to carefully evaluate the outcomes of the wellness program and identify improvement opportunities,” Ettinger said. “The evaluation will include things like participation, participant satisfaction, behavior modification, and cost containment.”

To find out more about these sessions or to RSVP, please call (435) 251-3793.