Road to wellness leads Bayshore employees to better health 'As health-care workers,we know what's healthy and what's not when it comes to diet and exercise, but in a stressful hospital environment, it's not always easy to do what's best when it comes to our own personal health and well-being," said Ramonda Clark,R.N., M.A., M.Ed., president and CEO of Bayshore Community Health Services, the health-care organization that encompasses Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel. Bayshore Community Health Services Lose to Win participants (l-r): Maritza Jaque, Kearny; Barbara Hohmann, Port Monmouth; Margaret Ferry, Union Beach; Audrey Witko, Leonardo; Meryl Berg, Manalapan; and Marion Mantz, Matawan. "Every day, our staff is changing the lives of so many members of our community. That's why we made a commitment as an organization in 2006 to provide a way for our employees to make their own truly life changing choices," said Clark."We decided to call our employee wellness program DestinationWellness because it focused on each individual's body, mind and spirit, and launched our staff on a journey that transformed their lives.Today they continue on that journey by making healthy lifestyle choices." Bayshore's DestinationWellness offers lunch-and-learn sessions for employees on topics such as exercise, nutrition, self-esteem issues and guided imagery for stress reduction. Employees may also participate in smoking cessation, tai chi, Reiki and other wellness classes. Workplace health is good business Research by human resources organizations over the last decade has shown the effectiveness of employee wellness programs.Wellness programs translate into fewer on-the-job injuries, less human error, and build a more harmonious work environment. Employees who participate in wellness programs experience reduced absenteeism, fewer sick days and improved performance and productivity. Employees also benefit by knowing that their organization cares about their general health and well-being. Most losing employees win sunny Florida vacation Wanting to do more, the Bayshore WellnessTeam turned to realityTV, developing its own Lose toWin program. Thirty-six employees were selected to participate on five teams over a 12-week period.The team that demonstrated the largest overall improvement would win. Teams were color coded: blue, red, green, orange and teal. Participants were given medical examinations, measuring blood and lipid levels, calculating weight, body measurements and body-mass index.Results were monitored weekly. Periodic rewards, such as healthy cookbooks and hand weights,plus weekly wellness sessions, kept team members motivated. Participants kept food diaries where they recorded their daily food intake and workouts as well as thoughts and emotions. Coaches monitored each participant's entries to make sure healthy eating patterns were being established. Coaches for the program were Bayshore employees Anna Esposito, certified spiritual director; clinical nutrition manager Leonor Goebel,R.D.;Rita Cuevas, director of resident services; Karen Scarfone, director, LTC social services; and Carolina Nowaczyk, director of Risk Management. "There were no losers," said human resources employment coordinator Debra Plonka,who organized the program." Everyone got something magical out of this experience - our coaches, our wellness committee and of course, the 36 Lose toWin team members." When the numbers were in, the entire Lose toWin team had lost a total of 383.5 pounds and 27.10 inches.The six winning members ofTeam Blue lost a total of 98.5 pounds.The average individual weight loss for all participants was 16.4 pounds. Team Blue celebrated their achievement in style during a fun-and-sun-filled weekend at the Hilton Hotel in Clearwater, Fla., courtesy of Bayshore Community Health Services. "We're expanding the program, and will be accepting applications for the 2008Win to Lose program soon," said Plonka."This was an amazing, amazing experience that has changed people's lives. It was so positive, I wish we could have opened the doors and let the good feelings flood into our hallways, touching everyone in our hospital.Our success could not have been possible without the thoughtful,progressive leadership at Bayshore and a true commitment to employee health and wellbeing."