After months of meetings and research, the Wellness Committee made a presentation at Tuesday night's Callaway County Ambulance Board meeting.
The committee presented the top three priorities for establishing a wellness rewards program, based on an employee survey: gym membership reimbursement, providing some sort of pedometer or activity tracking device such as a Fitbit or Garmin and help with smoking cessation, reimbursing employees up to $200 one time.
The committee provided an estimated cost for such a program at $25,400 - $2,800 for pedometers, $18,000 for gym memberships and $4,000 for smoking cessation.
Board member Clay Chism said he supported some sort of wellness program to encourage a healthier lifestyle for employees, but noted the board also needed to remember that it was spending taxpayer money and needed to ensure the district would get a benefit from the money expended.
Director Charles Anderson pointed out that one of the district's biggest expenses is workman's compensation - an area where a wellness program could have a direct impact.
"If we can get people healthier by walking, going to the gym, their risk of injuring themselves is going to go down," Anderson said.
Board member Norman Forman suggested the district make the employees take ownership of the program by purchasing a Fitbit or gym membership on their own and then the district would reimburse them.
Board member Jeff Stone agreed with that approach, suggesting an incentive program where the district could purchase a Fitbit for any employee that wants one, would pay for a fourth month at the gym if an employee demonstrated they had been going regularly for three months or paying the entry fee in a 5k race. He also supported helping employees pay for smoking cessation.
Eventually, Forman and Stone suggested the Wellness Committee go back to employees and determine specific numbers for how many employees would be interested in each of the three proposed benefits, what the guidelines and requirements would be for participating in those benefits and what it would cost. Anderson also requested a cost benefit analysis.
In other business, the board:
•Approved a renewal for worker's compensation insurance through Missouri Employers Mutual for a premium of $60,000.
"Our insurance agent worked with Missouri Employers Mutual to obtain what I think is a very good rate for 2015-16," Anderson said, noting the $60,000 is 10 percent lower than last year. "They did go out and look at other options, but he said this is the option that would give us the best bang for our buck."
•Approved appropriating $15,000 in capital funds to replace aging flooring and carpet at the Fulton station with new epoxy flooring.
story created on Tuesday 3/17/2015 at 9:49:23 pm by Katherine Cummins