INTRODUCING THE 2022 HEALTHIEST 100 WORKPLACES IN AMERICA
Lane County
Dec. 9, 2022
Ranking: #6
Headquarters: Eugene, Oregon
Full-Time Employee Count: 1,621
About: Lane County is 4,620 square miles, spanning from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Mountains with a population of 382,971. Lane County has been recognized as the best county in which to live, work, and play.
Q: What is the most unique benefit offering currently in place? If you were to talk about your program with someone who does not work there, what would you share about your program that would make them want to join your team?
A: Our dedication to our wellness program is reflected in the well-being and engagement of our workforce. At little to no cost, we offer a holistic wellness approach, which includes class offerings, wellness challenges, incentive programs, clinical assessments, health coaching, and much more. The flexibility and trust our clinic and its staff provide to our employees, dependents, and retirees are unlike any other.
Q: How are you addressing the mental health crisis in the United States as COVID-19 continues to pose a threat?
A: The positive feedback from our employees has allowed us to increase mental health resources. Many employees reported varying levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout due to COVID-19 and its ever-changing impact. Our mental health resources include the following:
- A robust employee assistance program (EAP)
- A dedicated near-site clinic
- Behavioral health counselor
- Additional referrals for appropriate specialized care
We also provide employee resource groups and various other tools on our employee intranet, including a mindfulness toolkit with book recommendations, podcasts, apps, etc. We also collaborated with our behavioral health counselor to create a virtual event called the “Healthy Mind Series.” These sessions encouraged participation in an open-forum format and provided information on self-care and caring for our community. Our on-demand series provided flexible opportunities for our employees who operate on varied schedules by addressing the basics of mental health, fatigue, and trauma.
Q: What statistic best captures the success of your program’s effectiveness in the past 12 months?
A: In Lane County, we continue to invest in the wellness of our employees, dependents, and retirees with a tri-level approach focusing primarily on mental, physical, and financial well-being.
We recently refreshed our incentive program, “Live Well Credit,” to include preventive exams and screening options. Because the pandemic caused many individuals to put their healthcare prevention on hold, Lane County saw a decrease in employee preventive care visits in 2020. To address this, we provided reminders and messages that healthcare prevention is vital for catching health issues at early stages. Because of this preventive care campaign, we saw a 19% increase in preventative care appointments last year, which was even higher than pre-pandemic numbers.
We support our employees, dependents, and retirees by implementing age and gender-specific screenings. All of this is done while positively controlling our claims cost and supporting the well-being of our organization.
Q: Provide a testimony from one of your employees.
A: “As a Lane County employee, I am thankful to work for an employer who prioritizes my well-being. As someone who could use motivation, I appreciate the annual biometric screenings Lane County offers on-site and the incentive of discounted premiums for completing wellness activities. Engagement with our employee clinic, the Live Well Center, helped me identify a major health issue in 2021. Their compassionate outreach resulted in my needed care and has supported my physical and mental wellness. Because Lane County invests in employees and our families, we are engaged in our health goals. They are committed to the wellness culture Lane County’s wellness program has created.” – Anonymous
“Lane County has established itself as an employer of choice because we are committed to supporting the whole person. Our people are at the center of our well-being programs. Our highly-rated employee clinic includes first-class primary care and behavioral health services for our employees. The clinic also has Employee Resource Groups (ERG) for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and child caregivers. Recently, we added two new positions to our leadership team - an Equity Manager and a Data Analytics Manager - to support a culture of innovation, inclusion, and empowerment. These new leadership roles create transformational change in how we address challenges and identify solutions. Lane County is one of four counties nationally participating in a program called Failing Forward, which focuses on developing the tools and culture to allow innovation to thrive within Lane County. Every employee in our organization, regardless of role, responsibility, or title, is a leader based on how they make decisions and compel others to achieve common goals. We are committed to empowering our employees with flexibility and determination to achieve the best solutions possible. In our 2021 employee satisfaction survey, 85 percent of employees stated they were satisfied with their job and would recommend working for Lane County to someone who asks.” – Steve Mokrohisky, County Administrator
