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Grays Harbor County
Join the Grays Harbor Public Health and Social Services Department in changing the policies and environments in their county to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Leadership Team - Grays Harbor Public Health and Social Services Department
- Joan Brewster, administrator
- Wilma Weber, coordinator
- Karolyn Holden, data steward
Data
- Grays Harbor Chronic Disease Profile - Washington State Department of Health
Policy Updates
Indoor Track at Southshore Mall
The Healthy Communities workgroup spent several months planning an indoor track at the Southshore Mall in Grays Harbor. Physical activity is an important aspect to health, and designating the mall as a free walking/exercise space is a step towards a healthier Grays Harbor. Throughout the planning process, we designed a logo, and supporting graphics to go inside the mall, and to advertise throughout the community. Half of the signs will be changed periodically with different health messages to keep the community interested and engaged in our new Grays Harbor Indoor Track.
Worksite Wellness Promotion
The Worksite Wellness Committee at Grays Harbor County Public Health & Social Services Department is dedicated to providing opportunities and support for our employees in regards to their health. Worksite wellness programs have been shown to reduce absenteeism, improve productivity, improve employee morale, lower healthcare costs, and much more. We are dedicated to this for the obvious reason: to improve the health of our employees at the department.
Our wellness promotion kicked off with Active For Life, and American Cancer Society wellness program which encourages employees to increase their physical activity during a 10-week period. About 74% of our employees participated and our teams pledged to accumulate 56,800 minutes of physical activity over 10 weeks. We exceeded that goal by 10%, reaching 62,472 minutes of activity.
Recently, our committee configured a storage area into a "recess room." This space is dedicated to provide staff the opportunity to use this room anytime throughout the day to take a "mini-exercise" break. There is a TV and DVD player for exercise videos, yoga and exercise mats, posters with stretching and health information, and much more.
Employees also have another opportunity to take a stretch break with new posters featuring upper and lower body stretches and strengthening exercises located in our stairwells. To keep employees motivated and thinking about how small changes can make a huge difference in their overall health, we have motivational health messages located near our elevators, and in all bathrooms which will be changed monthly with new information.
We have taken many strides in the development of our wellness program, and we look forward to further encourage our employees to take charge of their health.
Document submission form (for use by Grays Harbor County leadership team only)
Information on this page was submitted by the Grays Harbor Public Health and Social Services Department as part of their Healthy Communities contract with the Washington State Department of Health. Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health.
