Is a health fair coming up on your company calendar?
On-site fairs can be an excellent way to raise awareness about job-based risks and individual health status.
Increasingly, fairs are seen as part of larger efforts to encourage employees to take responsibility for their own health.
If your organization has never held a health fair, and you’re in the information gathering stage, we’ve got plenty to engage you as well.
She Wrote the Book
Dr. Carol Rice is the author of the Wellness and Health Fair Planning Guide, published by her employer, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, part of the Texas A&M University System.
Whatever your purpose in staging a fair, Rice has developed a valuable blueprint for creating an event that delivers.
An essential first step is to establish a planning team in order to get employees involved early in the process.
She also urges planners to promote fairs heavily once details are known:
E-mail and voicemail reminders
Table tents in break rooms and cafeterias
Articles in the company newsletter
Banners
Announcements at emloyee and management meetings
Paycheck stuffers
Intranet publicity
Day-of-event flyers that include an incentive for participating
Consider building your event around a theme.
Rice recommends. “Review your organization’s goals, corporate philosophy, and culture to determine an appropriate theme for your health fair. Is your organization competitive, conservative, formal, or fun? What are your organizational demographics?” The answers can help lead you to a theme and tone for the event.
Another consideration is time of year and other concurrent events. You may choose to piggyback on a holiday, season, or national observance like American Heart Month in February or Employee Health and Fitness Month in May.
Topics and Treatment
Options for booths, demonstrations, and information sharing are vast. Choose fair content that reflects your culture, business goals, safety and health priorities, societal health concerns, and employee interests on and off the job.
Possibilities include:
Self-care
Back care
Office safety
Family fitness
Using social media to improve health
Ergonomics
Recycling
Alternative treatments like massage, chiropractic, and acupuncture
Martial arts
Healthy eating and cooking
Bike, boat, water, and other recreational safety
Cancer prevention
Substance abuse
Women’s/men’s health issues
First aid and emergency preparedness
Dental and oral health
Emotional health/stress reduction
Fitness
Healthy aging
Screenings for blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, etc.
Focus on keeping those who attend your fair engaged.
Information is important, but Rice says handing out printed material isn’t enough. Let people get their hands on a fire extinguisher to see how it really works. Involve them in a cooking demonstration. Use a quiz or challenge (with a prize) to see how much fairgoers know about properly installing child safety seats.
Resources and Rewards
Use your health fair to showcase in-house resources and opportunities as well as those provided by outside vendors.
In House Resources:
EAP.
Occupational safety and health department and committee.
Worksite wellness program.
Insurance plans and related offerings.
External vendors and health fair partners:
Community safety organizations like fire, police, and emergency response;
A fitness center, local “Y,” or personal training organization;
Businesses that make and sell sports equipment;
National organizations (American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association; Mothers against Drunk Driving, Habitat for Humanity, etc.);
Healthcare providers, including hospitals and clinics; and
Foodservice providers, restaurants, farmers’ markets, or food co-ops.
Be specific about what you want—and don’t want—from both internal and external participants. Encourage them to keep their presentations active and engaging. Develop a checklist that addresses your expectations and relevant company policies.
</br>“Raffles, prizes, and giveaways can be fun at a health fair. They help build anticipation, participation, and excitement,” according to Rice.
One of the traditional incentive strategies is a “wellness passport.” It gets stamped by each booth or display an individual visits. Participants who collect a certain number of stamps receive a prize.
Other options are tokens, cash incentives, and time off for employees participating in a screening. Some employers whose health fairs are part of a worksite wellness program offer discounts on insurance premiums for completing a health risk assessment. Based on the results of the assessment employees may be recommended for additional testing, disease management programs, and/or coaching.
‘Keep Them Interested’
John Buckley is CEO of Health Fairs Direct, a New York-based provider of health fairs for companies across the United States. Like Dr. Carol Rice of Texas A&M, he sees the evolution in health fairs from stand-alone events to part of a comprehensive approach to employee health.
It’s increasingly common for a fair to be followed by screenings, classes, challenges, and other ways for employees to engage throughout the year. Health Fairs Direct provides businesses with such programs, as well as managing their health fairs. The company delivers services through a customized Web portal.
“It used to be that the health fair was the centerpiece, and everything else would spin off of that,” Buckley explains. “Now the health fair is one component in what’s going on with the portal.”
As well as basics like height, weight, and blood pressure, the system also collects information about employees’ lifestyles, attitudes, and preferences. The information is used to customize programs to the individual.
For example, an employee who loves to garden and hates to walk could achieve fitness goals by digging in the dirt. He or she would be credited for active gardening, much like those who participate in walking or stair climbing. “If you don’t keep them interested, you’re going to lose them,” Buckley warns.
The digital approach is easier and less costly for those who run health and wellness programs, too. “We found HR personnel spending 80 or 90 hours a year coordinating flu shots and screenings and setting appointments.” Now employees electronically add a flu shot to their wellness calendar, eliminating administrative hassle.
Buckley says companies save significantly on printed communications with online health programs. An investment of as little as $25 per employee per year gives employees access to some 20 health and fitness campaigns, accessible via computer or smart phone app.
It’s a matter of meeting employees where they are. And these days, the digital world is that place, Buckley adds.
Make it FUN!
CASE STUDY
Human Resources Generalist Andrea Maturo organized the company’s first health fair in 2006. Not knowing how labor intensive the effort might be, Maturo asked BLR’s insurance broker for help planning the event. The broker consented and has continued to be involved.
Maturo also reached out to a number of businesses and community service providers to provide the fair’s content—demonstrations, information, challenges, sign-ups, etc. The vendors have changed over the years, but the basic structure of the fair has remained the same.
Current offerings include demonstrations of acupuncture, massage, and Reiki stress-reduction treatments. A local Visiting Nurses’ Association conducts body fat assessments. A pediatric dental office offers tips about family dental care, and a doctor comes with a healthcare quiz.
Over the years, BLR has extended its health and wellness offerings beyond the 1-day fair. The fair has spawned a “BLR Green Team” that holds an annual “green fair” to engage employees in environmental awareness and action.
Other vendors include a holistic health counselor, a local hospital, the company’s health insurance provider, and financial professionals.
“We hold the health fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and encourage employees to come in on company time,” says Maturo. It takes place during the fall, before open enrollment period, and is strongly supported by top management. A raffle or other enticement and give-aways help build interest.
Maturo makes sure to get feedback from employees and from vendors, which is used to make changes to the following year’s event. Participation has grown, and the health fair is now a regular feature on BLR’s annual calendar.
Over the years, BLR has extended its health and wellness offerings beyond the 1-day fair. The fair has spawned a “BLR Green Team” that holds an annual “green fair” to engage employees in environmental awareness and action.
“I encourage other businesses to try a health fair,” Maturo adds. “It can be a relatively minimal expense with great benefits for employees, and it’s not as much work as you might think.”
After 90 days on the job, BLR employees are eligible for an annual health club reimbursement of $300, or approximately half of the average cost of local gym or Y membership. The money is reimbursed through payroll and can also be applied to other active pursuits like dance or swim lessons and weight-loss programs (meetings, not food).
Like many smaller companies, BLR does not have an on-site gym. However, employees commonly get together during breaks and lunch to walk, even during winter.
“I encourage other businesses to try a health fair,” Maturo adds. “It can be a relatively minimal expense with great benefits for employees, and it’s not as much work as you might think.” She advises organizations to look for help, as she did, from their insurance broker or provider. Many are happy to contribute resources and help attract vendors.
Health Is Happening
Businesses across the country and across industry types are embracing the idea that a healthier workforce is more productive and more profitable. They’re also taking diverse pathways to encourage workers to become more aware and more active in their own health.
Whether a health fair is a central part of your wellness efforts or a small component in a larger initiative, this traditional event can be reinvented for the times with good results.
Source:Safety.Blr.com
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