Fairview Physician Associates receives Hennepin County wellness award
EDINA (June 23, 2011) Fairview Physician Associates (FPA) has received a 2011 Hennepin County Wellness by Design Award for excellence in promoting worksite wellness. FPA was honored along with 80 other metro worksites at a June 23 award presentation. A first-time applicant, FPA received the Bronze Award.
With a staff of 20, FPA has made a number of healthy changes in recent years to reflect the group’s belief that worksite wellness is everyone’s responsibility.
“It’s not about what our employer can do for us, but what we can do for ourselves,” says Sheila Tippie, RN, FPA’s manager of health coaches. FPA staff has embraced several health initiatives:
• Health programming and stretch breaks are part of monthly staff meeting
• A voluntary healthy kitchen fund enjoys a 90 percent participation rate. Employees sign up for shopping trips to the grocery store to keep healthy food options available on a weekly basis in the kitchen.
• Staff has pared down birthday celebrations to quarterly events, which involve some type of movement.
• A personal trainer comes to the Edina offices weekly, where the conference room is transformed into a workout space. Employees also are encouraged to participant in a number of activities that occur during working hours (for example, 10-minute walking breaks, walking meetings and a drop-in yoga class).
Fairview Physician Associates is a physician-led network of 1,300 independent, Fairview employed and University of Minnesota primary and specialty providers.
FPA offers an affordable, six-month healthy lifestyle change program called CAN DO. The program teaches sustainable change in activity, appetite and attitude. Learn more at fpanetwork.org/cando.