Running Head: FOOD AND ACTIVE LIVING 1

Food and Active Living Initiative Part 2

Trisha Belen – N01096516
Lysis Placides – N00684029
Prof. Christina Horsley Shiels
BHSW2500
March 26th, 2020
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Executive Summary
The report contains a comprehensive breakdown of our program elements intended for

your company. Based on our last report, the employee demographics collected from your

company showed that the direct support staff are the most at risk for detrimental nutritional and

physical health. It has been reported majority of your direct support staff experiences high levels

of stress, burnout, and decreased job satisfaction. As such we have provided a brief summary of

our program elements expanding which professionals our company will service to you, what

services will be provided in the program, and how it will benefit your employees. We also

provided our intended plan to communicates our initiative to your employees my means of

email, brochures, posters and social media. Lastly, we have provided an estimated costs of the

services our company will provide as well as how much your company will ideally be saving.

We believe the plan in this report will help your company thrive in becoming a healthy

workplace for your employees.

Target Audience
Our company PrimalLiving offers various types of health and wellness initiatives. Based

on the employee demographics of J.Smith’s LTC home, the employees who are at risk of

detrimental health are the direct support staff. The direct support staff are the main employees

who work in the front line of care to residents. They comprise 80% of the entire employee

population of J.Smith’s LTC home. Statistically, the direct support staff are the ones who

experience high levels of stress, burnout, and decreased job satisfaction (Da Silva, 2017). In the

previous report, we learned from the compiled demographics that the direct staff of the home

ranges from 30+/- years old with 50-60 employees overall. Thus, this age group are the most

affected to detrimental nutritional and physical health. In terms of gender demographics, 93% of

J.Smith’s company comprises of identified females from the direct support staff. Furthermore,
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65% of employees feel or are aware they are not healthy. Based on this information, we believe

implementing the health and wellness initiative for J.Smith’s LTC home is of high importance.

We want to help them increase staff retention, help them reduce absenteeism, and all the more

maintain overall wellness within their workplace.

*I still need to make graphics

Program Elements
Our company PrimalLiving offers a program with a variety of key elements that focuses on

both nutrition and active living. These key elements will provide J.Smith’s employees the

necessary tools they need to reach optimal health. Below are the key elements our program

possesses:

 Nutrition management, meal planning workshop and disease prevention are led by our

dietitian and registered nurse. These are the key first step our program offers. The focus

is for our dietitian and registered nurse to educate the employees on the importance of

food and nutrition in the body and the consequences of neglecting the body’s needs.

Employees will also be educated on other causes of diseases in the workplace and how

they can minimize their susceptibilities to them. To make this more enjoyable for the

employees, our team planned hands-on activities such as cooking and tasting sessions,

exploring a variety of foods and their nutrition values. We then encourage employees to

try out different foods at least once a week at home and to invite their family members to

join them. Both our dietician and registered nurse will hold a full day group session twice

a month and will be available three times a week to provide private consults for the

employees.
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 Weight management, onsite fitness classes and biometric screening are led by our fitness

coach and registered nurse. They will assist employees in reaching a healthy body

weight. Starting with the biometric screening, our registered nurse and fitness coach will

assess the employees to determine their current status. This will assist in creating a plan

that is best suited for the individual. Understanding that our target audience ranges from

30+/- years old, our team planned physical activities that is both enjoyable and

collaborative. Examples of activities include zumba classes, fundraising events and

friendly competitions. Individual goals will also be encouraged for personal satisfaction.

Our fitness coach and registered nurse will hold a full day group session twice a month

and will be available three times a week to provide private consults for the employees.

 Paramedical options our company offers include sessions with RMT’s, physiotherapists

and chiropractors. These services offer free initial consultation and examination for all

employees. These are extremely important for those suffering with musculoskeletal

conditions/ailments. The focus is for our professional bodies to provide the employees

the necessary treatment and support they need to be able to perform their job accordingly.

This will help to enhance employees physical and mental well being as well as benefiting

the patients/residents receiving care from these employees. PrimalLiving understands the

physical risks associated with healthcare professionals. We will want to ensure we work

collaboratively with your company and its insurance partners to ensure the employees are

provided with these services and benefits within reasonable value.

Advertisement Plan

To communicate our services to the direct support staff of your company, we intend on

collaborating with the human resource department to communicate our initiative through mass
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emails of your employees. We plan to provide details of the programs such as the importance in

their health and how it will benefit them in the long-run. We will want to drop-in during staff

meetings with the permission of department advisors, so we can present our initiative within the

departments of each floor. We will want to create brochures, infographics, and posters to set up

around the LTC home to remind your employees to participate. Finally, we would like to work

with your website designer of your release details of the health and wellness programs. We

would like to create a calendar in your website to provide to your employees on which days the

program will run and how long.

Nutritional Focus – Engagement Plan

A key element our program offers that focuses on nutrition is nutrition management. Our

dietitian holding group classes and individual private consultations will lead this educational

session. Our dietitian will teach in depth the importance of nutrition in the body and the

consequences of neglecting the body’s needs. The goal is to enhance the employee’s knowledge

on food and nutrition, introduce them to a variety of foods, and the value behind it. We will want

to challenge them in taking what they learned to the next step by creating SMART goals. In any

given job, schedules can get hectic and employees get too busy to attend to their own needs. In

healthcare especially, we see a lot of front liners exhausted and unable to provide themselves

with the adequate nutrition they need to function within their full capacity. Some resort to

unhealthy fast foods. Employees do so out of convenience, low cost, and availability. The habit

has also been embedded that it can become difficult to change, especially with no time to do so.

Other factors as to why people choose what they eat can be due to social/cultural beliefs and

social media advertisement effects. The potential risks these employees expose themselves to

includes:
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 Chronic diseases – diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases

 Obesity – low self morale, mental illnesses

 Tooth decay

 Osteoporosis

By educating your employees, they can improve their health and minimize their exposure to the

health risks. Some benefits for both employer and employees include:

 Improve health and wellness

 Prevent diseases and illnesses

 Increase self morale

 Decrease absenteeism

 Increase productivity

 Decrease turnover

It is important to educate your employees the importance of nutrition to better care for

themselves. The fact is, nutrition is key in the continuous development of the human body. It

provides energy and protects the body from certain diseases. This key element in our program

will provide sufficient education and support to ensure the employees understand the value of

nutrition and how to apply this knowledge within their daily lives. As mentioned previously, one

of the main goals of this concept is to challenge the employees in taking what they learned to the

next step by creating SMART goals. To support and motivate the employees in completing the

SMART goals, prizes and rewards such as gift cards, recognition and flexible work hours are

available. The team will work collaboratively to ensure each employee’s goals are being

supported and met. This will be advertised in the facility with the use of posters, brochures,

emails and through social media accounts. The social media accounts will also be used to post
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employee recognition and awards. The effects of social media in today’s modern society are

huge. Our company PrimalLiving believes through this we can advertise and create a fun and

exciting environment where we can stay connected and engage with everyone during the

duration of the program. This will also serve as an opportunity to promote health and wellness

with other individuals outside of work.

Physical Activity Focus – Engagement Plan

With many programs readily to be deployed for your company, one key element of our

program that focuses primarily on physical activity is the Onsite Fitness Classes. Our onsite

fitness classes will be led by our certified fitness trainer in which he covers to promote active

living and team building. The purpose of the program is to keep your employees physically

mobile and fit, boosts employee morale, and increase job satisfaction. By giving your employees

the opportunity to stay physically fit with a busy work schedule, we help to contribute your

employees to reducing perceived diseases in the future (lecture week 9). Potential diseases you

may expect in your employees if changes are not made include: (lecture week 9)

 Heart disease

 Stroke

 High blood pressure

 Osteoporosis

 Diabetes

 Mental health

By helping to reduce and prevent these health hazards in your employees, we are potentially

helping maintain a healthy status when your employees perform their specified job tasks. Some

benefits you may see in your employees include:

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 Decrease cholesterol

 Moderate their weight

 Improve mental and physical health

 Boosts positive self-image

According to Statistics Canada (2018), only 18% of Canadian are getting enough physical

activity. To create incentive, we intend challenge your employees to create a personal SMART

goal for themselves to improve their physical health. Some examples of personal goals may

include endurance, flexibility, strength etc. If an employee reaches their goal after a set number

of weeks through the program, they will be awarded a prize such as the opportunity to work from

home or one-day vacation. We plan to evaluate results when partnering with the biometric

screening program. A checklist can also be provided to check-off which physical activities your

employees participated in. This can be stamped by the fitness coach. Other than posters,

brochures, and mass emails to promote this element, to keep employees engaged we will also

create an Instagram page for your employees to follow. We will post daily challenges for them to

participate along with motivational messages to encourage them to get active. Since direct

support staff are those of 30+/- years old, we believe connecting to social media and creating a

platform for them to connect will help us advertise as well as keep track who is following and

participating. Employees can tag us with the hashtag “#letsgetphysical”. We are confident, these

ideas and incentives will keep employees engage throughout the program

Costs and Savings

Proposed Programs/Resources Estimated Cost
Nutrition Management $300 per hour
Session will be 2x/month
Weight Management $300 per session
Session will be 2x/month
Disease Prevention $300 per session
Session will be 2x/month
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https://www.givhero.com/meaningful-motivation-sl
Onsite Fitness Activities $100 per session for groups of 30 or more people
Session will be 2x/month
https://bestrongfitnessyoga.com/corporate-group-
fitness-rates/
Meal Planning Workshops $500 per session
Session will be 2x/month

Biometric Screening $10-175 per person depending on the selected

tests in a package
Paramedical Options $300 or less depending on selected package of
massage, physiotherapy, and chiropractor
Promotion, advertisements, and set up $500 per month

TOTAL = Estimated $4,000 without the option of biometric screening and paramedicals
as these are optional for your employees

By facilitating this health and wellness program focused on food and nutrition and active

living, we will see many benefits for both the employer and employees in the long run. These

benefits include but are not limited to the following:

 Reduce absenteeism – healthier employees means less time missed at work.

 Reduce rate for insurance – healthier employees means they are at lower risks for

diseases and illnesses, therefore have lower insurance rates.

 Increase productivity – healthier and focused employees will have better production rates

in comparison to unhealthy ones.

 Higher retention rate – companies will have employees working in good condition

therefore reducing the cost of hiring.

 Increase trust among employer and employee – employer shows value for the employee,

thus increasing trust between them and creating better working relationships.
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 Improve company image – the face of the company are the employees and the work they

put out. When positive results are shown, it goes back to how the company manages and

treats the employees.

 Promote team building – activities that promote positive team building.

 Reduce risks to diseases and illnesses – the program consists of key elements that will

improve the employee's overall well being.

 Increase self-morale – healthier employees will have newfound confidence.

 Improve health and wellness – the programs developed will promote a healthier and

active lifestyle that will improve the well being of the employees.

Many companies have facilitated similar programs to promote health and wellness in their

workplace. Sun Life-Ivey Canada for example has seen great results during a two-year study

period. Their results indicated the following (week five lecture notes):

 11% increase revenue per employee

 Decrease to 1.8 days of absenteeism annually per employee

 Increase shareholders return by 28%

 Every $1 spent on the program returns a decrease cost in medical by approximately $3.27

and absenteeism $2.73

Our company PrimalLiving is committed and confident that our program, with collaborative

support, can achieve similar results and better for your company.
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References
Ivey Business School. (2016). The Sun Life-Ivey Canadian Wellness Return on Investment

Study [PDF file] Retrieved from https://www.sunlife.ca/static/canada/Sponsor/About

%20Group%20Benefits/Group%20benefits%20products%20and%20services/Health

%20and%20wellness/Wellness%20ROI%20Study/Files/PDF7224-E.pdf

B.E. Fitness & Yoga Center. (2019, September 25). Corporate Group Fitness Rates. Retrieved

from https://bestrongfitnessyoga.com/corporate-group-fitness-rates/

Closing the Gap Healthcare Group Inc. (2019, April 17). Creating a Corporate Wellness

Program: Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved from

https://www.closingthegap.ca/guides/creating-a-corporate-wellness-program-everything-

you-need-to-know/

Da Silva, Francisco Felipe, Junior, & Merino, E. A. D. (2017). Proposal for management of

absenteeism among hospital nurses: A systematic review. Acta Paulista De Enfermagem,

30(5), 546-553.

Dessler, G., Chninzer, N., Gannon, G. (2010). Management of Human Resources: The Essentials

(5th edition). Pearson Canada.

Givhero Inc. (n.d.). Increase your employee engagement while making a positive social impact

on your community. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from

https://www.givhero.com/meaningful-motivation-sl

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2019, December 20). Government of Canada. Retrieved from

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/lets-get-

moving.html
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Tremblay, M. S., Warburton, D. E., Janssen, I., Paterson, D. H., Latimer, A. E., Rhodes, R. E., &

Duggan, M. (2011). New Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Applied Physiology,

Nutrition, and Metabolism, 36(1), 36–46. doi: 10.1139/h11-009

Whitney, E. N., Hammond, G., Piché Leonard A., & Rolfes, S. R. (2016). Understanding

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