Safety Council offers BWC grant info

VW Area Chamber of Commerce information

Van Wert area employers wanting to improve the health and wellness of their workers can find out essential new grant information at the Chamber’s next Safety Council meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 9, at the YWCA of Van Wert County. Cheri Hollern, Outreach Programs & Services staffer at the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, will be on hand to review the Workplace Wellness Grant Program (WWGP) and address questions to assist employers in establishing training and programs to reduce health risk factors specific to their employees.

BWC established the grant program to encourage employers to reduce incidence and cost of accidents and illnesses. The goal is to control the escalating cost of workers’ compensation claims through addressing health risk factors while reducing health-care costs for employers, as well as improve the health of the workforce.

The BCW also established this program to meet the challenges of obesity, rising incidence of chronic diseases and the aging workforce. This program will assist employers with the creation and implementation of a workplace wellness program. The goal is to limit and control the escalating cost of workers’ compensation claims by helping employers develop health promotion programs for their employees. The secondary goals are to reduce health-care costs for employers, and improve the health and wellbeing of the workforce.

Primary eligibility requirements to receive a workplace wellness grant require employers to be a state-funded employer, be in good standing with BWC, and have no current wellness program in place.

A workplace wellness program consists of the following tools: a health-risk appraisal (HRA) and a biometric assessment – both of which measure health-risk factors; and programs designed to address those health-risk factors.  If an employer only has one of these tools, then it does not have an existing wellness program and is eligible to apply for the workplace wellness grant. If the employer has both tools listed above, the employer is not eligible to receive a workplace wellness grant.

Participating employers may receive $300 per participating employee over a four-year period, up to a maximum amount of $15,000 per policy. We define participating employee as someone who completes an HRA and biometric screening in the first three months of the first year and each of the subsequent years of the grant program. In addition, employees must participate in at least one activity to improve or maintain their health in each program year. We divide the $300 over the four years per employee as follows.

Employers must sign a legal agreement with BWC to participate. The agreement outlines obligations expected of the employer to receive grant funds. The agreement is a four-year contract.

Be well in 2013 and take advantage of BWC grant monies to support wellness in your workplace. More details will be available at the Chamber’s next Safety Council meeting. Those who are not currently members of Safety Council, but would like to attend the January 9 meeting at the YWCA, can contact the Chamber at 419.238.4390 to register. Registration is $8 per person and includes breakfast. The YWCA is located at 408 E. Main St. in Van Wert.