|
 |
|
|
|
Chair's Corner: À Votre Santé—to the health of Washington |
|
|
|
Written On: May/June 2007 |
|
|
|
Written By: by Kirk Nelson, Chair, Board of Directors |
|
|
|
Kirk Nelson is state president for Qwest Communications International. Nelson is the company’s business and policy leader in Washington, responsible for all state operations, including legislative and regulatory advocacy.
On a recent tour of some of Washington’s wineries in Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities, the rituals around a glass of wine caused me to think more deeply about health care in general. One of my favorite toasts in raising a glass of wine in honor, camaraderie or celebration is "À Votre Santé", or "To Your Health".
Good health is important to each of us—it's what enables us to be there for our families, friends and communities. The state of health for all of Washington’s residents is also critical to the performance of our economy, being able to take care of customers and—ultimately—to be competitive.
At Qwest, we seek to differentiate ourselves from the competition through our people and their ability to deliver quality service and take care of customers. We realize that maintaining a healthy workforce and helping our employees take charge of their health care means that, in the end, we can be more competitive.
With health care costs continuing to rise, businesses are increasingly focused on creating a working environment that supports health knowledge, personal responsibility for each individual’s health and the health of their family, and a corporate culture that truly supports a healthy workplace and work environment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 percent of an individual’s health status is a result of individual behavior. Armed with this knowledge, Qwest has launched several programs over the past year aimed at educating and empowering our employees.
For example, in November 2006, we began a partnership with the American Cancer Society and introduced Quitline, a service that provides employees who use tobacco the tools and resources to help them quit—including free nicotine replacement therapy. We were pleasantly surprised by the quick response from employees who appreciated the resource and have become engaged in the program.
Throughout 2007 we will be launching additional programs designed to help employees manage their health in the areas of general fitness, weight loss, smoking cessation and healthy lifestyle choices. We’ve launched a "healthy recipes" Web site in partnership with the Mayo Clinic. It has been enormously popular with our employees and drives a large proportion of traffic to our company’s health site.
Next month, we’re going to roll out a health assessment questionnaire that will give us better insight into the aggregate health needs of our company. Not only does this help raise personal awareness and drive healthy behavior, but it also allows Qwest to intelligently allocate resources and develop programs that will have the most impact and will be the most meaningful to our employees.
Over the past year, we’ve worked to raise awareness through mailings, e-mails from the chairman of the company, flyers and a bi-monthly newsletter called In Good Health. For this health culture to really take root, however, leadership at the local level is critical. Every one of Qwest’s state presidents, including myself, will begin a walking program with our employees. I’ll be competing with other states to increase the physical activity of Washington, and Qwest Washington is out to win!
From our health—and the health of our friends and family—we derive our quality of life. What if we woke up every day and said À Santé—to health—and everything else in our lives proceeded from there? Even with limited resources, businesses in Washington can begin creating a "wellness culture," change behaviors and reduce costs. Many organizations already exist that can help you and your company down the path toward a wellness culture, including the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Mayo Clinic.
À Votre Santé—to the health of Washington!
|
|
|
|
