skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Money Available for Wisconsin Workplace Wellness Programs

play audio
Play

Monday, May 9, 2016   

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Applications are now being accepted for Wisconsin businesses with 50 or fewer employees to obtain grant money to help create a workplace wellness program.

The state has set aside $3 million a year to reimburse small businesses for their wellness programs.

Catherine Kolkmeier, director of the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium and chair of the American Heart Association of Wisconsin's Advocacy Committee, says having access to a wellness program at work is a huge benefit.

"People spend a lot of their day when they're at work, and the American Heart Association is very interested in that being a time when people can be healthy and learn about making healthy choices," she states.

The grant will pay for 30 percent of a business's wellness program costs for one year, with a cap of $15,000.

Kolkmeier says an eligible wellness program must include a health risk assessment for employees, but is very flexible in terms of what else it covers.

"It can include many different components, from looking at preventing chronic diseases to weight management programs, stress management, preventing injuries on the work site,” she explains. “It can be adapted to whatever your workplace needs."

According to Kolkmeier, the workplace wellness reimbursement grant has few limitations.

"Really, the only restriction is that it's not for improving or purchasing property, but it can cover personnel cost, it can cover education programs, purchase of equipment,” she states. “There are all sorts of options for what the funds can be spent on."

Kolkmeier says the Heart Association encourages all employers to offer comprehensive workplace wellness programs, in part because creating a healthy culture is a win for everyone.

"If you have healthier employees, your employees are more likely to come to work,” she stresses. “They're more likely to work more productively, and it really is helpful not only for the business and for the employer, but also for the employees to be encouraged to have healthier habits when they go home to their families."






get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021