The month of June is National Employee Wellness Month and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and BlueShield of Northeastern New York are co-hosting events designed to encourage Saratoga County’s employers and employees to take action to improve their work place healthy wellness efforts.
The Saratoga County Chamber’s Twin Bridges Council will host a lunchtime employee wellness walk, on Friday, June 13. Participants will walk along the sidewalk from the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Emergency Corps, in Clifton Park, to the Cracker Barrel, on Crossing Boulevard, in Halfmoon, and back.
The walk is about one mile and participants are encouraged to walk at a comfortable pace allowing for conversation and networking. It will be held rain or shine. Parking is available at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Emergency Corps building, site of registration. Healthy drinks and snacks will be provided for all walkers.
The Saratoga County Chamber will host a Health and Wellness Mixer, on Wednesday, June 25, from 5-7 p.m., in the Roosevelt Baths, with an optional walk on a three-quarter-mile course adjacent to the baths in the Saratoga Spa State Park.
Each participant will receive a free t-shirt, a “healthy” goodie bag filled with information, samples and discounts. Participants will also be able meet and network with exhibitors who specialize in health and wellness.
Cost is $5 and capped at $50 for those who want to bring 10 or more attendees. Also, the Saratoga Young Professionals met for a night of networking at Caffe Lena on June 3. Attendees tasted water samples from the Charlie, Hathorn, Congress and Old Red natural springs and learned about the history of each and the healthy benefits of drinking water.
“This Chamber changes things and starting with a focus on celebrating employee wellness month we’re pleased to be launching our Healthy Saratoga initiative,” said Susan Halstead, chairwoman of the Chamber’s Health and Wellness Council and the owner of Family Vision Care Center.
“These events are designed to provide every employer in Saratoga County with a simple and affordable way to take part in employee wellness month and to encourage their employees to participate,” she said.
“Our goal is to improve workplace health and wellness across Saratoga County with the ultimate mission of making Saratoga County one of the healthiest places in the U.S. to live and work.”
Besides the three events, the Saratoga County Chamber’s Health and Wellness Council developed a one-page guide to advise local employers and employees on six simple and affordable ways they can start an employee wellness effort. This guide offers tips for employers ranging from helping employees to set wellness goals, to incorporate wellness into the work day, to creating a fitness challenge, to focusing on nutrition, to educational efforts, and stress reduction.
“We believe healthy changes everything and that’s why we are pleased to partner with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce as they launch Healthy Saratoga,” said Dr. Kirk Panneton, regional executive and Medical Director, BlueShield of Northeastern New York. “This innovative initiative will benefit not only our BlueShield members, but the health of our community as a whole.”
The Healthy Saratoga initiative was developed by the Saratoga County Chamber’s Health and Wellness Council, formed in late-2013 by the Saratoga County Chamber’s board of directors. It now includes participants from nearly 100 area organizations covering a wide range of industries. Local organizations interested in getting involved in these activities or joining the Health and Wellness Council can call 584-3255 or visit www.saratoga.org for more details.