For the third consecutive year, Southern Adventist University has received the Governor’s Healthier Tennessee Workplace designation for taking initiatives to promote healthier living in the workplace, at school, and at home.
One of the qualifications that contributed to this designation is Southern’s commitment to employee wellness health screenings, which have been conducted for more than 30 years. Before every fall semester, Southern’s employees and their spouses, as well as University retirees and volunteers, can participate in the Employee Wellness Program’s free wellness screening. It includes bloodwork and other tests, such as bone density, flexibility, body mass index, and cardiovascular capacity.
Not only does this emphasis on healthy living fit perfectly with the Seventh-day Adventist health message, it also has financial benefits. Because of its high health standards, Southern’s average health expenditures have not increased as much in the last 10 years as have the national norms: four percent annual increase versus 20 percent.
While keeping health expenditures low has had financial benefits for the University, the most fulfilling part is seeing employees and constituents living a healthier and happier life through these initiatives.
“A healthy worker is a happy worker,” said Robert Benge, dean for the School of P.E., Health, and Wellness, “and a happy worker will go about his or her duties in a cheery spirit.”
Southern Adventist University | November 2016
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