Health Promotion and Community Workshops

Studies show that one of the keys to quality and longevity of life is healthy
living. Encouraging overall wellness (for example: stress management, exercise, and
proper nutrition) is the key to promoting good health. Preventing chronic health problems
and managing the health problems that do occur is another powerful way to protect your
health. While we all know we need to be healthy, it is not always easy to change our
unhealthy habits. Finding and participating in health education programs can assist you in
making the changes you want to make.

GWAAR's Health Promotion team works closely with the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy
Aging to promote and administer evidence-based prevention programs to help older people
stay healthy, active, and independent. While there are a wide variety of programs available
to help older people maintain or improve their health, some of the specific programs we
work with include the following.

Living Well with Chronic Conditions is a workshop for individuals who have one or more
chronic conditions. A chronic condition is a long-term health problem or condition that one
must learn to live with as it usually lasts for the rest of one’s life. The Living Well workshop
helps you learn how to manage your symptoms so you can get the most out of life. The
workshop meets for 2½ hours, once per week, for six weeks. It is facilitated by two trained
leaders in a workshop style, but most of the learning comes from sharing and helping others
with similar challenges.

Stepping On is a program designed to help older adults reduce the risk of falls, improve
self-management, and increase quality of life. The workshop is offered once a week for
seven weeks in communities throughout the state. Participants gain specific knowledge and
skills to prevent falls in community settings. People who are: (a) at risk of falling, (b) have
a fear of falling, or (c) who have fallen one or more times, attend together. Workshops are
facilitated by trained leaders and provide a safe and positive learning experience.
The Benefits of a Tobacco Free Workplace
Tobacco related illnesses and deaths account for much of the medical expenses of the United States.
The sad thing is that these illnesses and deaths can be prevented, and in effect, smokers are choosing
their fate.

As an employer, there may be things you can do to make people aware of the benefits of a tobacco free
workplace, and one of those things begins with you.

Employer’s Part in the Tobacco Free Workplace

If you have smokers at the workplace, you know that the smoke is not only annoying to other workers but
is also a health hazard. Healthcare costs are consequently increased, and insurance rates go up in
workplaces where tobacco is used.

In addition, fire safety is decreased and absenteeism rises. As if to add insult to injury, a work
environment with smokers has furniture that will always stink and must be replaced often. When you look
at the whole picture, benefits of a tobacco free workplace are many and large.

As an employer, you need to create firm smoking policies and make sure they are clear to your
managers. Managers are the individuals who have to enforce them, so ambiguous or unclear policies will
make them unenforceable.

Perhaps you could also make a program incentive where nonsmokers and those who stop smoking for a
certain period of time will get a bonus when the cost of healthcare goes down. Such action will provide
more benefits of a tobacco free workplace. Many municipalities and states have laws concerning tobacco
use at work, and violating them can cost the employee and your company money.