WellSpot Benchmarks for Faith-Based Organizations

Because approximately 20% of the nation’s adult workforce still smokes cigarettes, Well-Ahead encourages every faith-based organization to be a leader in helping Louisiana geaux tobacco-free. The first step is implementing our Smoke-Free Policy benchmark. It’s an effective way you can reduce exposure to smoke at your organization and the danger it presents to your staff and volunteers. 

A Smoke-Free Policy prohibits smoking (including the use of electronic smoking devices) on your organization’s property, including parking lots and company vehicles. For properties that are leased, the policy must cover 25 feet from each entry point of the facility.

By implementing a Tobacco-Free Policy, you can reduce tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace and improve the health of employees and volunteers. 

A Tobacco-Free Policy prohibits the use of all forms of tobacco products on your organization’s property, including parking lots and company vehicles. For properties that are leased, the policy must cover 25 feet from each entry point of the facility.

By promoting free cessation services to your employees, you are doing your part to help fight the leading cause of preventable death and the source of many chronic diseases and conditions that cause long-term suffering.^1,2

You can promote your in-house cessation programs (if applicable) or the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline. The Quitline is a free cessation resource that links individuals who want to quit using tobacco with trained specialists through phone counseling, web support or both.

Federal law requires employers to provide breastfeeding employees with time and a space to express milk. Implementing this benchmark enables your organization to comply with this law. It can also lead to savings through the retention of valued employees, reduction of sick time taken and lower healthcare and insurance costs.³

Even better, providing lactation accommodations in the workplace doesn’t require many resources to implement. Employees simply need reasonable break times, a private space and employer support.

Some Faith-Based Organizations may not be in the position to implement the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace benchmark, but would still like to promote breastfeeding. If this applies to your organization, you have the option to participate in the Louisiana Breastfeeding Coalition’s Breastfeeding Welcome Here Campaign. To meet this benchmark, your organization signs a pledge and display a window cling to show support of a mother’s right to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.

A worksite wellness program is an employee-centered approach to improving health outcomes, healthy behaviors, productivity and morale in the workplace. Offering wellness activities can provide your employees with the opportunity to improve their health, reduce their risk of chronic disease and lower their healthcare costs, that can lead to increased productivity and profit. 

Beginning Implementation starts with management support, designating a program coordinator and completing an employee assessment.

Once the employee assessment phase has been completed, you can then move onto the second worksite wellness benchmark for WellSpot designation—Partial Implementation. At this stage, the assessment results will be used to develop a work plan of activities or programs to encourage healthy behaviors surrounding physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation and mental health.

Once you have developed a worksite wellness plan, continue to encourage and motivate your employees as you implement the plan. To meet the full implementation benchmark, perform an assessment after one year to evaluate the impact of the program.

We can help you develop best practice strategies that support healthy eating, physical activity, mental health (including stress management) and tobacco cessation. By taking a congregation-centered approach to improving health outcomes, you can change health behaviors and reduce the risk of chronic disease in your organization. You can implement it at little to no cost to create an environment that supports healthy habits.

Implementing this benchmark begins with assessing your congregation to discover their health needs and interests. The next step is to offer activities that align with the assessment’s results.

Healthy snacking is essential to promoting wellness and providing the best nutrients for health, energy and productivity. With more than 36% of Louisiana residents considered obese, accessibility to nutritious snack options that are low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium can change the way your employees snack and help improve their overall health.⁴

You can make the healthy choice the easy choice when it comes to selecting snacks and beverages for vending machines at your facility. 

In order to meet this benchmark, at least 50% of snacks and beverages you provide to employees (including each vending machine) must meet one of the approved healthy vending guidelines provided at these links:

NANA, AHA and GSA/HHS approved vending options

NAMA's Fit Pick Product List

Eat Fit Vending Product List

Nemours Vending Guidelines

By promoting self-assessment tools, you can help your employees better understand their health and reduce the risk for diabetes and heart disease. As a result, your employees will miss less work due to illness or hospitalization and have lower healthcare costs. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 108 million Americans have high blood pressure and more than 30 million Americans have diabetes.^5,6 Encourage your employees to take the self-assessments to have a better understanding of their health.

Please note that these evidence-based self-assessments have been developed by national partners and should not be used in place of a visit to a healthcare provider.

Self-Assessment Tools for Heart Health:

My Life Check by American Heart Association

Heart Age Predictor Using BMI by CDC

Sample Communication to Promote Heart Health Self-Assessments 

Self-Assessment Tools for Prediabetes:

Prediabetes Risk Test by CDC, AMA, ADA and Ad Council

Sample Communication to Promote Prediabetes Self-Assessment

The majority of people’s waking hours are spent at work, and many of those hours are spent in meetings that involve long periods of sitting. This reduces an employee’s concentration, productivity and energy level. By implementing this benchmark, you can create a culture of health through simple changes that you’re your employees eat well and be physically active during the workday. 

In order to meet this benchmark, your organization must adopt and encourage a nutrition-based policy.

The National Diabetes Prevention Program is a lifestyle change program by The Center of Disease Control and Prevention. This scientifically proven program helps those affected with prediabetes delay or even prevent Type 2 Diabetes and the health issues—like heart disease and stroke—that often accompany it. 

We encourage you to join with community organizations in the fight against diabetes. By hosting a National Diabetes Prevention Program with partners like the YMCA, you can take the lead on educating communities about the dangers of a disease that impacts an estimated one in eight adults in Louisiana.⁷

You can create settings for your congregation, staff and volunteers that encourage healthy eating habits. Dietary patterns are considered one of the main behaviors that can cause obesity, a condition that affects nearly one in four adults in Louisiana.⁸

To meet this benchmark, your organization is expected to implement one of the following practices that focus on proper nutrition:

• Partner with local farm(s) to offer fresh produce sales for community and/or be a drop off location for Community Supported Agriculture club(s)
• Start a community/youth garden
• Offer/coordinate nutrition classes
• Create a ‘No Sugar Zone’ for events in which sugary foods and drinks aren’t allowed 
• Be a host for a USDA Summer Feeding Program

You can encourage your congregation, volunteers and staff to increase their physical activity, which is key to better health. The benefits of physical activity include controlling weight, reducing the risk of multiple chronic diseases, strengthening bones and muscles, improving mental health and mood, preventing falls and increasing chances of living longer. This is important as adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity like brisk walking every week and two or more days of muscle-strengthening activities. Children and adolescents should participate in 60 or more minutes of physical activity each day.

Adoption of at least one of these practices will help your organizations meet this benchmark:

• Launch a walking program
• Initiate a shared-use agreement
• Create a sports equipment drop box
• Start/support a sports league 
• Host/sponsor a recurring active event like a 5k, dance or fitness festival
• Create walking path 
• Start a physical activity program

You have an opportunity to provide education about chronic disease prevention and management to help your congregation, volunteers and staff live healthier lives. This is important as nearly 3 million people in Louisiana adults have at least one chronic disease, which includes heart disease, stroke, cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and arthritis.⁹ In addition, almost half of those adults have two or more chronic diseases, many of which share the same cause.⁹

By implementing this benchmark, your organization will be putting vital health education-based practices into action that promote healthy behaviors, prevent chronic disease and help move Louisiana’s health forward.

Adoption of at least one of these practices will help your organization meet this benchmark:

• Provide office space for support groups
• Offer healthy living classes
• Reduce screen time
• Promote 5-2-1-0 message
• Host chronic disease guest speakers
• Provide oral health education activities