UCS wins 2023 Vermont Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Gold Level Award

United Counseling Service (UCS) is a winner of the 2023 Vermont Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Gold Level Award, presented by the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health. This award is presented each year to organizations across the state that make employee wellness a priority.

“The Annual Worksite Wellness Award creates a standard of excellence for worksite wellness initiatives and recognizes Vermont employer’s efforts to enhance productivity, bolster a healthy environment and improve employee wellbeing,” says Mark Levine, Vermont Department of Health Commissioner.

The UCS Worksite Wellness Committee engaged staff in several worksite wellness initiatives this year that focused on environmental, social, financial, emotional, and physical health. The committee hosted a Fall Family Hike in October at Equinox Preserve for staff and families, prepared and served a salad bar lunch during the workday with fresh local produce, conducted ergonomic assessments for staff workstations, and secured free summer passes to Lake Paran for staff and their families. The wellness committee also chose a different staff member at random each month to receive a gift card to a local business as part of a Healthy You in ’23 campaign. These included gift cards for healthy food options, bookstores, sporting goods, and farmers markets. Upcoming plans include scheduling on-site chair massages for staff, planning staff lunch events throughout the year, and an accountability-based physical activity challenge to encourage staff to keep active.

“We are extremely grateful for being recognized as a 2023 Vermont Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award winner,” says Lorna Mattern, Executive Director at United Counseling Service. “The health and well-being of our staff and families is high priority and we never stop thinking of new ways to engage them with opportunities to make time for wellness.”