As employers, local agencies can play an important role in
reducing the high rates of preventable chronic diseases.
Efforts to improve employee wellness are beneficial to both
employee and employer, reducing health care costs through
programs and policies that:
Prevent obesity and overweight
Support healthy nutrition
Provide tobacco cessation resources
Encourage physical activity
Provide design characteristics and green building materials
that promote good health
Include accommodations for active commuting and exercise
Small policy and program efforts to improve health in the
workplace can have big benefits for the employer, including:
reduced cost for chronic diseases, decreased absenteeism, reduced
employee turnover, improved worker satisfaction and morale, and
increased organizational ability to recruit new employees in a
competitive market.
Seeking ways to help curb rising medical claims and costs, the
County of Ventura’s Board of Supervisors approved a
recommendation by the Labor Management Committee to establish a
wellness program for employees. Starting in 1985, the Wellness
Program has evolved and expanded to provide a wide variety of
programs and services that are effective in improving the health
and wellness of employees and their families.
The City of Grass Valley, like many other communities, has a shortage of affordable or workforce housing. This community’s workforce includes teachers, police officers and nurses. These people work in Grass Valley but are unable to buy a home in Grass Valley.
