workplace wellness programs. “A yearly visit with a health coach and some basic lab work is often enough to iden- tify an undiagnosed or uncon- trolled chronic disease such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure,” said Veeder. “Many of these con- ditions do not have symptoms until they are advanced, thus someone may not see the need to seek health care for years.” Christensen reported that almost every every school district in Iowa has a wellness program that is available to all employees. “Tese programs cover aspects of personal decisions that lead to poor health or good health, such as healthy diet, exercise and eating,” said Christensen. “Most of these programs also include an exercise regimen that can help to contribute to a healthy lifestyle as well.” John Benish, president and chief operating officer for school bus contractor Cook-Illinois Corporation, has worked wellness into current operational procedures. His


employees are taught to eat better to lose weight, with one driver losing as much 80 pounds from the program. Some of the drivers has taken upon themselves to set up their own exercise program with a walking club that uses the lunch period to trek around an area nature preserve. Benish said he is also attempt- ing to hire a full-time wellness practitioner to help promote health eating and create fitness plans in order to work on both


physical and mental wellbeing since it’s about “feeling better about oneself.” He added that establishing the foundations to in a healthy lifestyle may take money to build initially, but it’s an investment in the long term. Veeder agreed with this outlook. “Sometimes just helping patients become aware of problems is enough to spur change,” she said. ●


64 School Transportation News • MAY 2016


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