ST. LOUIS, Missouri, November 18, 2021 – Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) was announced as the winner of the 2021 Business Health Culture Award at the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition’s (BHC) 39th Annual Meeting today. With staff in over 265 public schools across 22 districts in St. Louis, SSD becomes one of only eight employers to be recognized with the annual distinction.

The mission of the SSD Employee Wellness Program is to improve the health and well-being of employees and promote healthy lifestyles which, in turn, fosters an environment to enhance student success.   

“Wellness has always been an important issue,” says SSD’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Elizabeth Keenan, “but the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to review and revise how we meet the increased health care needs of our staff.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded and employees adapted to a new way of teaching and working, benefit leaders at SSD quickly pivoted their well-being strategy. Supported by a Worksite Wellness Mini-Grant from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, SSD expanded virtual exercise class offerings through the Wellbeats platform and created fitness rooms at two buildings. Four LC500 Health Kiosks were also purchased to allow employees and school visitors to check their weight, blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI) onsite.

“As a BHC member and local employer, Special School District of St. Louis County has consistently demonstrated itself as a leader in advancing well-being in the workplace and in our community,” explains Louise Probst, Executive Director of the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition. “SSD has successfully created a culture of health for its staff and families by embedding wellness into its organizational mission and strategic goals. Even amidst a global pandemic, SSD continued to support the physical, mental, emotional, financial, and social factors that impact employee health and happiness on a daily basis.”

Created in 2014 by employers of the BHC’s Wellness Roundtable, the Business Health Culture Award recognizes organizations for their innovative and comprehensive approaches to improving the well-being of employees and their family members. The award application was modeled with careful consideration of best practices in the corporate wellness field, as defined by national research organizations, academia, and the employer sector.

To learn more about the award process and resources to support employee and community health, please visit www.stlbhc.org. 

###

About the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition
The St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition (BHC) is a nonprofit organization representing over 70 leading employers, which provide health benefits to thousands of lives locally and millions nationally. For 39 years, the BHC has worked to achieve its mission of supporting employer efforts to improve the well-being of their employees and enhance the quality and overall value of their investments in health benefits. To accomplish these aims, the BHC centers its work on providing pertinent research, resources, and educational opportunities to help employers understand best practices for the strategic design (and informed use) of benefits to facilitate high-quality, affordable health care. To learn more, please visit www.stlbhc.org or follow the BHC on Twitter and LinkedIn.