The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Health and Wellness Team. Submitted photo

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has been recognized as one of the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America, an award program administered by Springbuk.

Out of 100 employers honored, the BPU placed 46.

With the award, the BPU is nationally recognized as one of the “best of the best” in worksite health. The Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America award culminates the conclusion of the year-long wellness awards program that Healthiest Employers hosts in over 45 cities across the country. Each of the winning companies is considered an exemplary leader for the effectiveness of their population health and well-being initiatives.

The Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America were celebrated for their commitment to employee health and exceptional corporate wellness programming. More than 1,000 of America’s top well-being programs were evaluated for the award across the United States. This year’s Healthiest 100 Workplaces winners include organizations as small as 32 full-time employees and as large as more than 150,000 employees. The companies span every industry, size, geography and include both privately-held and publicly-traded organizations.

Award applicants were evaluated across six categories: culture and leadership commitment; foundational components; strategic planning; marketing and communications; programming and interventions; and reporting and analytics. Applicants were evaluated with the proprietary Healthiest Employers Index, a 1-100 rubic for wellness programming. These organizations have achieved lasting success through a wide array of employee wellness initiatives and corporate wellness programs.

“Each year, our team is encouraged by the innovative spirit for companies to advocate on behalf of their most important asset – their people,” said Phil Daniels, co-founder of Springbuk and Healthiest Employers. “The winners of the Healthiest 100 award demonstrate this commitment in unprecedented fashion with their programming, executive support and data-centric approach. Each company should be proud of their proactive efforts to sustain a healthy, lasting workforce.”

The BPU is a municipally-owned utility company providing the electricity, water, wastewater, solid waste and district heating/cooling needs of the city of Jamestown; parts of the towns of Busti, Ellicott, Kiantone and North Harmony; and portions of the villages of Celoron, Falconer and Lakewood. Approximately 150 employees work at the BPU, which is one of the largest public electric generating utilities in New York state.

BPU General Manager David L. Leathers applauded the work of the BPU Health and Wellness Team whose 14 members volunteer from various departments of the utility to develop and implement programs in which seventy percent of the workforce participates. Members include Trent Lutes, Tammy Anderson, Martha Abers, Dan Currie, Jarrett Devereaux, Todd Hoaglund, Diondra Lopez-Chapman, Cynthia Mc Fadden, Kirk McDowell, Gloria Miranda, Jim Paterniti, Jake Prince and Becky Robbins. Human Resources Director Ross Snyder serves as a resource to the team.

“We are proud of our Wellness Program that has helped our employees and spouses understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” Leathers said. “Our annual aggregate reports show an overall improvement in employee and spouse health from year to year.”

“In addition, utility operations benefit as the program helps control increasing medical costs for both employees and the utility,” Leathers said. “Healthier employees and spouses also translate into happier and more productive workers. Our programs encourage preventative and proactive health screenings, increased exercise and improved eating habits.”

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of our Wellness Team,” Snyder said. “They continually explore and implement innovative programs that help our employees maintain good health. It’s through their efforts that we have been able to continue to provide quality healthcare for our employees and their families. It’s good to see them recognized for their efforts.”

“Without the support of participating employees, this national honor would never have happened,” said Lutes, BPU wellness team leader. “I would also like to thank our General Manager Dave Leathers for his continued support of this program, allowing our team to think outside of the box in creating our now multi-award-winning Wellness Program. It is a huge honor to be included with such companies as Chevron, Indiana University Health, American Express and The Resource Center of Jamestown as recipients of this award.”

Past wellness team chair Tammy Anderson said, “We are extremely fortunate to have such committed and dedicated BPU employees on our wellness team, an abundance of support from upper management and employees who participate and are engaged.”

Earlier in 2019, the BPU won first place for the second consecutive year among medium-size company finalists competing in the Western New York 2019 Healthiest Employer contest. The BPU was named a finalist in the Western New York competition the last three years.

In 2018, the BPU wellness program was named as one of Interactive Health’s 2018 Healthiest Companies in America.

This latest award comes from the Springbuk company, which is a leading-edge health intelligence platform that helps employers and consultants manage their investments in population health.

Springbuk offers insights, empowers smarter decision-making and provides strategic direction to help maximize return on investments. Health intelligence empowers employers and consultant to deliver plans and programs. Each year, Springbuk administers the Healthiest Employers awards program across the U.S. to honor the nations most dedicated employers in bettering worksite health and well-being programs.