Plus

Recommendations

Info

A GE HEALTHCARE SHOWCASES MULTIFACETED NUTRITION STRATEGIES JASON MORGAN is the Director of Global Health and Wellness at GE Healthcare, where he is responsible for developing the strategy and vision for the company’s global wellness program. BY KATHY CASH Kathy Cash, RN, CHPD, Health/ Wellness Writer and Consultant Perhaps your company cafeteria has a smoothie bar… now imagine a stationary bike with an attached blender where you can make your own smoothies while pedaling. And occasionally the CEO or plant manager gets on that bike and makes custom smoothies for you. Pretty cool, huh? That’s exactly what you find in a growing number of GE Healthcare’s global cafeterias serving 55,000 employees. Blender-bikes are only a glimpse at the creativity and innovation that go into GE’s world-class model for the nutrition pillar component of their program. Jason Morgan (Director, Global Health and Wellness) shares his philosophy. “I strive to build our programs on a solid foundation of fitness and nutrition. That means putting in place the necessary resources and policies to support our global network. When we decided to focus on nutrition, our first goal was requiring 75% of all company cafeteria food options to be healthy. Stateside we define ‘healthy’ according to American Dietetic Association and other expert guidelines. Overseas, we take into consideration country-specific guidelines based on how they prepare their native food. For instance, 75% healthy looks a bit different in Singapore than the US.” MAKING HEALTHY CHOICES EASY Jason’s primary goal is to make healthy nutrition decisions as easy as possible for employees. “We label everything using red, green, and yellow cues. Green is good, yellow means it’s OK in moderation, and red would be considered not as good to eat. We even include color-coded spoons in the salad bars so people know which dressings and ingredients are the healthier choices.” 8 WELL-BEING PRACTITIONER
When we decided to focus on nutrition, our first goal was requiring 75% of all company cafeteria food options to be healthy. B In keeping with this philosophy: • Cafeterias put the healthiest options out front for everyone to see as they enter. The salad bar, wrap options, and grill are near the entrance, while less healthy options are deeper into the cafeteria. Jason plans on beta testing a green and yellow color-coded footstep concept that guides customers to the appropriate sections. • Menu boards hang above each station. Over the salad bar, the board describes how to measure each item. Over the wrap station and grill, the boards focus on fat, calorie, and sugar content of each entrée. • Company vending machines are stocked with the 75% healthy goal in mind as well. Water, tea, and 100% juices are emphasized; soda selections have been minimized. • GE company policy requires catered meetings be 100% healthy with absolutely no sweets or sodas. This is easy to accomplish at the many locations with their own cafeterias. Early in program implementation, administrative staff learned about goals and visited the cafeteria, where chefs oriented them on using the Sodexo online ordering program, CaterTrax.* Jason and his wellness champions continue to communicate and monitor what’s being ordered. At GE sites without cafeterias, wellness champions establish partnerships with vendors who agree to comply with the company’s nutrition guidelines. ONGOING MONITORING AND EVALUATION Jason describes the positive relationship with cafeteria vendors: “Our contracts vary from location to location, but primarily we use Sodexo because of the lower cost and willingness to customize products for us. Anytime we go out with an RFP to a new cafeteria or vending company we let them know up front about our guidelines and expectations. If they can’t comply, they get crossed off the list. We meet regularly with general managers and staff to reinforce our requirements. They comply with our directions and have been creative in varying menus to avoid boredom. In addition, our chefs offer periodic open houses featuring new menu items. When we sponsor Take Your Child to Work Day, kids visit our cafeteria and learn how to pack a healthy lunch plus what it does for their brain and muscles.” Jason put in place an ongoing auditing process: • Cafeterias and vending machines — “With our global presence in 60 countries, obviously I can’t be everywhere. My network of 125 wellness champions maintains a good working relationship with cafeteria vendors. Twice a year, they evaluate the options and determine how many fall within GE guidelines. Vending machines are audited quarterly. This data is loaded into an Excel spreadsheet which we evaluate annually.” • Percentage of healthy options being purchased — “GE subsidizes 33% of the cost of healthy choice items. Even though the program has been in place for 6 years, we only started looking at utilization rates over the last 3 years. Over that time we’ve seen a 5%-7% increase in the purchase of healthy options — with just a slight rise in cost. Knowing there is a direct correlation between overall health and time away from work, we consider that an acceptable expenditure. So we look at all these factors in evaluating program success.” Customer satisfaction is a high priority for Jason. “We constantly review surveys. We also do an annual ‘voice of the customer’ survey. The nutrition pillar is a big part and ranks at about 94% — a 3% annual increase since implementation. We expect to see that continue to rise as we put more initiatives in place.” Jason explains how CaterTrax eliminates any confusion: “Whether you are ordering food to be catered for a meeting or a quick takeout lunch for yourself, you simply go to the online link and select what you want. Only healthy options appear, so you can’t possibly mess up. At some locations, you can even order a meal to take home for the family. When you factor in the 33% discount, it’s often cheaper than picking up fast food and healthier too. The order goes directly to the caterer, and if it’s not complicated, they don’t even need a lot of notice. Since we subsidize healthy food choices, it’s in everyone’s best interest to use this service.” NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 9
Page 1 and 2: Plus GE HEALTHCARE SHOWCASES MULTIF
Page 3 and 4: NEW WELLNESS MANAGER? YOU DON’T N
Page 5 and 6: Promoting healthy lifestyles is ess
Page 7: It comes down to what piece is in a
Page 11 and 12: I slept in today, but was able to s
Page 13 and 14: The idea behind self-insurance is t
Page 15 and 16: FINDING STRENGTH Fit muscles help u

Plus

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?