In August of 2014, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation launched a health & wellness initiative through their Ohio Safety Council Program aimed at “improving the health and wellness of Ohio’s workforce.”

In response to the initiative, The Portage County Safety Council collaborated with seven local organizations to establish the Portage County Workforce Health & Wellness Coalition in January of 2015.

Those initial organizations included:

• The Portage County Health Dept.
• Northeastern Ohio Medical University
• Robinson Memorial Hospital (Now University Hospitals)
• Family & Community Services, Inc.
• Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
• Advanced Workplace Wellness
• Onsite Physical Rehab

For their first project the Coalition published Engaging Your Workforce in Wellness, a 24-page magazine promoting the benefits of employee health & wellness programs and providing local employers with evidence-based strategies. 1,000 hard copies were distributed locally and electronic copies were distributed to 83 Ohio Safety Councils potentially reaching over 10,000 member employers!

Engaging Your Workforce in Wellness was officially published on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Click here for a free electronic copy.

The Coalition also hosted a follow up all day conference named the 2015 Workforce Health & Wellness Conference on Thursday, October 29, 2015. The conference featured 12 speakers that contributed to the publication as well as 3 well received “fitness icebreakers” led by 3 local fitness experts.