After we finish celebrating the holiday season and round the end of 2010, many of us start thinking of ways to improve our health. As we enter the New Year, resolutions will be set and many people will choose food and/or fitness related goals as the means to achieve them. Since most adults spend the majority of their time at work, aiming to improve the healthfulness of the work environment is a viable way to help make these positive resolutions a reality throughout the year.
Workplace wellness programs offer a significant opportunity for improving the health of employees and ultimately reducing direct and indirect healthcare costs for employers. Yet despite the numerous convincing reasons to implement wellness programs, organizations are often hindered by limited financial resources, time constraints and lack of expertise in the health field. These roadblocks are all too common and resources that help organizations overcome them are scarce.
Dairy Council of California has learned how to deal with such challenges and built a successful worksite wellness program for our employees. In order to help you do the same, we have developed a new toolkit filled with free workplace wellness resources. We were able to incorporate our lessons learned with the needs other organizations have shared. The result is a comprehensive, realistic, easy-to-use toolkit that can help any organization start or improve a wellness program. In addition to ordering and utilizing our nutrition education booklets for adults, you will learn simple, small steps to improving the overall health of your organization and its employees. Plus you will have access to easy-to-use tools such as:
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a narrated “lunch-and-learn” power-point presentation
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a 3-week online nutrition and fitness challenge
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monthly wellness newsletters and handouts
We plan on adding more resources to this toolkit over time, so please contact me if you have suggestions. Remember, you can play a role in helping your colleagues achieve their resolutions for a healthier lifestyle by supporting a work environment that promotes wellness. Let us help your organization take the first step. One simple way to start is by providing our nutrition education booklets to the adults in your workplace. If your organization has been thinking about implementing a workplace wellness program, the beginning of a New Year is the perfect time to start!
Have a happy and healthy holiday season!
Ashley Rosales, R.D.
Ashley Rosales, Registered Dietitian
About me:
Ashley Rosales, registered dietitian, received her B.S. in Clinical Nutrition from UC Davis and completed the dietetic internship program at Napa State Hospital. She has a professional background in nutrition for the elderly and has worked in both the clinical and community setting. However, she has found her true calling working in the field of nutrition education where she can empower others to make the best food and lifestyle decisions for their own optimal health and wellness.
Ashley’s fondest childhood memories took place in the kitchen helping her mom and grandmother cook, or around the dinner table sharing laughs with family and friends. As a wife and new mom she loves keeping the family mealtime tradition alive by preparing delicious and nutritious meals at home and she is inspired to help others do the same. She strongly believes that no matter what challenges families are faced with, such as limited time, lack of skills or even economic resources, they can find unique ways to share in a home cooked meal and reap all of the wonderful benefits of family meal time.
Her favorite quote: “We are indeed more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us be much more than what we are.”
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