2021 Finalists
October 13, 2021
Each year, the Healthiest Employers® awards program honors the best and brightest in workplace wellness. Over the past year and a half, it has become apparent that when it comes to employees’ overall well-being, employers have an incredible opportunity to offer benefits that fit an employee’s unique needs – regardless of where they are in their health journey.
The Healthiest Employers assessment is scored Rubric style on a 1-100 scale. The assessment is made up of six categories with yes/no, multiple choice, and short answer questions, with each question totaling .25-3 points. A Healthiest Employers Index (HEI) is assigned to each applicant to rank finalists. Please note that due applicant employee sizes, this region was ranked overall instead of divided into categories, with our top 5 organizations listed.
The 6 categories evaluated:
- Culture and Leadership Commitment
- Foundational Components
- Strategic Planning
- Communications and Marketing
- Programming and Interventions
- Reporting and Analytics
The following organizations were named to the Healthiest Employers of South Carolina for the 2021 nomination period. Congratulations to our finalists!
1st Bon Secours Mercy Health – Cincinnati, Ohio (Multiple Local Offices)
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Bon Secours Mercy Health is the United States’ fifth largest Catholic healthcare ministry, which strives to drive healthcare quality while also reducing costs and addressing community issues. Through targeted interventions, they were able to provide communications to specific subsets of their population to address issues relating to each subset. Despite the global pandemic, in 2020, 63% of employees completed their biometric screening, and 77% completed their age-specific preventive exam.
“Not only are our associates dedicated to their patients’ needs, but they are taking care of themselves and each other, which was essential to meeting the challenges of the past year,” said Nicole Martel, Vice President of Benefits, Well-being, and Associate Health. “We have also been successful in addressing socioeconomic diversity and its impact on well-being. With wellness now ingrained in our culture, associates are able to bring their best self to live the BSMH mission and provide best-in-class patient care.” – Nicole Martel, Vice President of Benefits and Associate Health
2nd BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina – Columbia
Blue Cross BlueShield of South Carolina serves as the only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, providing over 70 years of service. Their program, Get in the Habit, is evidence-based and focuses on increasing employees’ physical activity throughout the week. They have 25 2-week challenge cycles in which participants must complete 33 miles or 70,000 steps. In the year of 2020, employees logged over 2.1 million steps. Employee feedback has been a huge indicator of the program’s success, as many have reported achieving their weight goals, increased activity levels, and improved mental health. Additionally, they have an emphasis on giving back to those in need, which has provided a sense of community and culture among their employee population.
“Through a carefully constructed well-being strategy, we meet our employees where they are and provide the support they need in their journey to creating healthy habits. We fully understand that we cannot effectively care for our customers without caring for ourselves. Supporting healthy habits is at the heart of BlueCross’ business success. We are proud of our employees and the strides they take daily to establish healthy lifestyles.” – David Cote, Vice President of Human Resources
3rd Westgate Resorts – Orlando, Florida (Local Office: Myrtle Beach)
Westgate Resorts is one of the largest privately held timeshare companies in the world and is one of the largest resort developers in the United States. To encourage wellness program participation, Westgate offers lower premiums for the completion of wellness-related activities. Program participants’ healthy levels have increased 1-2% each year. Employees have the opportunity to earn cash incentives for both themselves and their covered spouses to encourage wellness in all facets of their lives.
“Our Westgate Wellness program has done a lot this year to help our team members manage their stress through the pandemic. We heavily promoted our EAP program and doubled the number of free counseling sessions from 3 to 6. We held training for managers and team members on stress management and mindfulness and we continue to offer monthly webinars on wellness topics. At the beginning of the pandemic, we began sending out weekly newsletters with educational articles on each of the 4 main topics of wellness: emotional, physical, social, and financial. We also partnered with Infinity Wellness to launch our ‘Wake-up, Westgate!’ daily exercise program where our team members can start their shift with an engaging video routine that combines stretching, exercise, and mindfulness to help them have the best start to their work day.” – Karen Sims, Senior Director of Financial Services
4th Terracon Consultants – Olathe, Kansas (Local Offices: Charleston, Greenville, Columbia)
5th Cooley Group – Pawtucket, Rhode Island (Local Office: Lancaster)
The Healthiest Employers® survey is scored and powered by Springbuk, a health intelligence platform that simplifies data-driven decision-making with an intuitive user experience, predictive modeling, and curated action steps. Since 2009, Healthiest Employers has been the leading recognition program for employee wellness. Today, we currently host award ceremonies in over 45 regions across the country and applicants are not only eligible for local recognition, but also have the chance to earn a spot on the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. This national award takes the highest scoring applicants from all locations, company sizes, and industries. To sign up for the Healthiest Employers newsletter and get more information on our events, join our mailing list today!
To see more of our 2021 winners and finalists in the Healthiest Employers program, click here!
