As chairman of the Capital Region Heart Ball on Feb. 25, Dan Pickett, CEO of nfrastructure in Clifton Park, is bringing together organizations and businesses to help improve the health of Capital Region residents.

“The American Heart Association is one of the most impactful of its type in our community,” Pickett said.  “One of the foci of the Pickett Family Foundation is health care. I’m also a director at Albany Medical Center, which now has an affiliate agreement with Saratoga Hospital and Columbia Memorial Health. Chairing the Heart Ball puts a lot of our philanthropy into one area—health care.”

The Capital Region Heart Ball is set for Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs. Pickett said he plans to highlight the work of area hospitals, their leaders and the American Heart Association at the Capital Region Heart Ball.

By Susan E. Campbell

The greatest asset a business has is its people. Keeping both workers and the workplace healthy and safe directly impacts a company’s bottom line and more.

The Center for Occupational Health (COH), a service of Glens Falls Hospital, helps businesses throughout the region maintain quality workplace health care. Last year, COH served 31,000 individuals and 2,000 companies from its locations in Queensbury, Wilton, and at individual company sites, said COH director Cathy Reichen, PT, DPT.

“Companies want to make sure that new hires are fit and capable of doing the work they are being asked to do,” Reichen said. “Injuries hit the bottom line with increased workers comp costs, lack of work, and decreased productivity.”

By Jill Nagy

“We want to make sure that Saratoga County is one of the healthiest places to live,” said Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus, announcing the chamber’s third annual Health and Wellness Week, Jan. 17-22.

The county is already ranked by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as the healthiest place to live in New York state, up in the ranking from number 5 three years ago, he said.

During the week, businesses in the county will introduce the community to activities and resources to help them meet fitness goals for the New Year. All events are free but most require prior registration.

By Liz Witbeck

A good business owner knows how essential it is to keep employees healthy and motivated in the workplace. Recently, Travis Gil and his team at Fitness Artist, launched a new program to help other companies do just that.

Gil is the owner of Fitness Artist, a personal training studio. The program integrates highly customized, one-on-one sessions or “exclusive” small group classes to help clients achieve their goals. He founded Fitness Artist in 2010. He has three locations: Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Loudonville.

He saw opportunity to grow his business and help supply a fitness and injury prevention program to other businesses, which inspired him to launch Work Force Strong. It is a corporate wellness program designed to increase productivity and decrease injuries.