Passport to Wellness

For those of us who spend much, if not most, of our days behind a desk, getting enough exercise is a constant challenge. It's easy to get caught up in the ritual of a a busy work schedule and before you know it another day has flown by without getting anywhere near the amount of recommended physical activity. Employers are starting to get the message that healthy employees are productive employees and part of health involves getting getting up and out of our chairs and moving around.

Pinnacol offers all sort of health amenities to its employees from an on-site wellness center and classes to rewards and incentives to those who make the effort to take advantage of healthy choices. A new program just rolled out called Passport to Wellness. The program involves participating in upcoming wellness events both inside Pinnacol and out and offers incentives at different levels of participation.

I know the people who come up with these programs have their work cut out for them because its hard to motivate others to make healthy changes. I also know that some of the efforts have been successful. I can remember just a few years ago the on-site locker rooms and wellness centers were used by only a small handful of employees but now most days the wellness center is nearly full  and you have to wait for a shower at the end of a workout.

This weekend saw Denver host the Colfax half and full Marathon. This morning when I came in Silvia pulled me aside from her duties at our main reception desk to show me her medal for completing her first half marathon. She mentioned that just a year ago she wouldn't have been caught running because she had sore knees. Now she's completed her first half and is actually looking forward to doing more with aspirations of working her way up to the full marathon. She's also got her first "stamp" in her Passport to Wellness. Congratulations Silvia (and to all the other Pinnacol employees who also ran in this weekend's event) on a major accomplishment. You're a real inspiration to me and everyone else at Pinnacol!