Stewart Memorial Hospital and Clinics were honored in May at the Community Hospital Insurance Coalition (CHIC) conference for its leadership in employee wellness initiatives. Lydia Larson, director of human resources, and Jim Henkenius, chief financial officer, accepted the recognition on behalf of the hospital. Stewart Memorial, a self-insured organization, is part of CHIC, a national group of 43 community hospitals collaborating on health insurance and risk management strategies. The hospital was recognized for its comprehensive wellness program, which includes wellness challenges, staff-centered events, community outreach initiatives, and annual screenings. Larson says, “It was an honor to share the work our team is doing to support staff well-being. We’ve built a strong culture of wellness, and one thing that really resonated with other hospitals was our investment in biometric screenings. We offer them annually and actively encourage participation from all employees.” Larson also credits the hospital’s Wellness Committee for their dedication to employee wellness. She adds many hospitals lack programs as robust as Stewart Memorial’s and look to model their own after the Lake City-based healthcare provider’s initiatives.
