Local Organizations Collaborate to Improve Health Practices of Small Businesses
June 9, 2010
Jackson, Mich. — Michigan Purchasers
Health Alliance (MichPHA) and Jackson County Health department have been
awarded a grant to assist the Jackson Business Leaders for Health collaborative
in the development of health improvement toolkits for local worksites. This seed grant from the National
Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) will provide funds for the organizations to
partner with Allegiance Health in the creation of a set of tools to guide small
employers in assessing and improving their current practices and policies
related to physical activity, nutrition, tobacco and mental health. The goal of this project is to provide
small businesses with a ‘roadmap’ of evidence-based strategies and resources to
support continuous improvement in these areas.
Jackson Business Leaders for Health was
founded in 2007 as an offshoot of the local Health Improvement Organization
(HIO). Their focus on worksite wellness is a key component of the HIO’s
community-wide strategic action plan to improve health. Ted Westmeier, Director/Health Officer
of Jackson County Health Department said, “This grant award will enable us to
work more closely with the Health Improvement Organization to target our
resources in improving the health of our small business workforce. This
collaboration is progress toward Creating a Healthy Community, a strategic goal
adopted by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.”
Membership of Jackson Business Leaders for
Health includes local business leaders who recognize the linkage between the
health of their workforce and the success of their organizations. As the Executive Director of
Michigan Purchaser’s Health Alliance, Marilyn Bell, has been a member of the
collaborative from the start. “Business leaders want
healthy employees, and most employees want to be healthier,” said Bell. “But it
can be difficult knowing what to do and how to get there. We are honored
and enthused about partnering over the next year to work on this ‘roadmap to
health’ together.”
The project will also
include a series of workshops to educate and engage employers around
community-level policy issues affecting local residents’ access to fresh
produce and opportunities for safe physical activity. The first of these events will include the public release of
the HIO community health strategic action plan in August.
For more information
about the Health Improvement Organization (HIO) Action Plan or to join the
Jackson Business Leaders for Health initiative, please contact Amy Schultz, MD
at Allegiance Health. For more information about the NBCH grant
award, please contact Marilyn Bell at MichPHA at (269) 668-4149 or via email at
mhbell@michpha.org.