Hi, I'm Jeff Rea, your host for Economic Outlook.

I want to welcome you to our show.

Thank you for joining us each week as we discuss the people, the companies and the projects driving the region's economic growth, Research shows that employees in good health are more likely to deliver optimal performance in the workplace.

That is, employers focused on the programs and facilities available to help their workers.

We're talking about all things health and wellness in the workplace.

Coming up on economic outlook.

Employers know that healthy employees not only have better quality of life, they also benefit from having a lower risk of disease, illness and injury, as well as increased work productivity and a greater likelihood of contributing to their workforce and the communities.

We're diving deeper into employee health and wellness and looking at some great community resources to help employees live healthier lives.

Joining me for that discussion are Denise Peters, the chief operating officer of the YMCA of Greater Michigan, and Andy Qualls, the account executive at Onsite Health.

Welcome, guys.

Thank you for being here today.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Yeah, Appreciate it.

You know, kind of a fun discussion today before we really dive a little bit more into health and wellness, though.

Denise, we'll start with you.

Just give us a high level for folks aren't familiar with the the greater the YMCA of Greater Michigan.

Tell us a little bit about what you do.

Yeah, the YMCA of Greater Michigan.

So we're in four different we're across the region.

We're in four different areas.

So we're in South Bend and we're also in Niles and Niles Buchanan area, the Benton Harbor, Saint Joe area.

And we also have a camp at YMCA camp out by Three Rivers.

So we do a multitude of things for people from birth and to their senior life.

Yeah, let's stick with that for a quick second, because I think folks like I grew up in the Y I learned how to swim in the wise, some of the things.

Just give us a feel for some of the different kinds of ways that people use the Y?

Oh my goodness, that's not the whole show.

But yeah, just a high level.

All right.

People say all the time, oh, my gosh, I didn't know the Y did all that.

So yeah, we do.

And when you come into the YMCA, just the energy that you feel.

So you have, you know, we have childcare, we have Child Watch where people come in to exercise for health and wellness.

We have aquatics and we also have chronic disease prevention and management.

So people that come in with a cancer diagnosis or something like that, we have programs with that help people manage their blood pressure.

We have a lot of senior programs, aquatic exercise, multiple exercise, health and wellness programs.

Great.

Sounds good.

And we'll get back into some of that.

And so Andy coming your way.

So if somebody isn't familiar with onsite health, um, tell us a little bit about what you do.

Well, as an account executive with onsite health, onsite health is was founded in 2005 by our our CEO, Connie Bryan.

She's a registered nurse and she worked in occupational medicine for a number of years and saw that there was a clear need to bring some programs into employers to promote the health and wellness and education of the employees.

And it really our mission focuses on long term changes to the individual.

But for the employer, a reduction in the ever increasing health care costs that we all experience year over year.

Yes.

Andy stay there for a second and talk and talk about health care cost in particular.

Like I think as I'm talking to employers around the area, it's one of their biggest costs.

It typically goes up.

You can shop it around, but the honest truth is really the only way to bring your costs down is to have a healthier workforce.

Just give us a general state of of, you know, kind of cost and what's happening in the workforce right now.

Yeah, I think year over year, the costs continue to rise.

We've got health care networks that are driving some of that.

We've got self-insured employers out there that are really having a a difficult time trying to find those points of savings or maybe changing some of the the typical spend.

And what we try to do is bring in programs to really help them mitigate cost.

It's the cost that you don't spend.

It's the dollars you don't spend that make a tremendous difference on your bottom line.

And the health expense is typically the second largest in an organization and can have a real impact when the health and well-being of the individual employee hasn't really been recognized.

You know, we we're looking really for those kind of ticking time bombs, if you will.

Connie's mission has always been to promote the health and wellness of the individual.

And it really is one of those win win situations where the employer is benefiting.

You know, there are a way as realized pretty quickly, and the employees are pretty grateful to have that benefit.

Great.

Denise let me come back your way.

So as we're is, Andy is talking about what's happening in the workforce.

In our intro talked a little about just sort of the some of the facilities programs, things like that.

So give us a general like is are people more inclined to come take advantage, less inclined to the pandemic change some of that just tell it give us the general state of of our people.

Or is this on Joe public's mind and are they working to be healthier?

Well people are coming back into it And I think people are hungry for that camaraderie to be together and to have that energy and that synergy that you get togetherness.

So even in the workforce and in the workplace, where the corporate wellness programs or different programs to help bring wellness and stress management, relaxation techniques, to help people to manage their stress in the workplace or about the workplace.

So yeah, they come together and I think in the facilities, but also the Y is outside the facilities at the same time.

And so I do think that people are hungry for that.

They want that, that camaraderie together.

I think, you know, we look at that social cohesion piece and I think that that's huge and we're really working toward that with our community partners.

Yeah.

And so I'm a stick with you for a second.

So it's interesting.

There's a little bit of an expectation sometimes that you'd be all things to all people, right?

Like there's a program for all kinds of stuff.

So how do you, how do you pick the kind of things that you focus on to help help the community?

Um, from a programing standpoint, oh, that's very strategic.

So we don't like to just be a flash in the pan.

We want sustainable programs.

So we look at and work with our community partners for that community health needs assessment to find out what it is that we need to do and where the gaps are and who are our community partners that we can work with to collaborate, to use our resources more efficiently.

So we look and see how can we partner, who are our community partners, where is the collaboration that line up to meet the community needs?

And there's a lot of gaps in our community where we have so many people doing so many wonderful things.

If we can come together and identify where the gaps are, I think that's where we step in.

We're very collaborative and I think that's one of the natures that we have that's very beneficial to our community.

By way of just a quick reminder, how long have YMCA's been around serving either local community or even national.

It feels like it's been a long time.

All the YMCA is been around a long time, but maybe since 1800s.

But in this community, I think 200 years and I think camp Eberhart over 100 years old Yeah.

The Niles' facility is, you know, 100 nearly 100 years old, Benton Harbor, Saint Joe at the same time.

So, yeah, it's interesting to walk in and they feel brand new, but they they have been serving the community for a long time, providing great service.

Andy let's come back your way.

And so so this is an interesting battle for employers, right?

You know, like, I'm very focused.

I need my employee to make widgets and be done, and I'm going to pay them to make widgets, and they need to make so many widgets.

Why?

Why they're here?

But employers in recent years have understood they need to play more of a role in this.

So talk about how you convince an employer who hasn't played in that space too, to think more about health and wellness.

Well, it's it really the retention of employees is such a significant issue out there in the world right now.

It's it's a tough marketplace for recruiting manufacturing sites in particular.

They kind of feed off of each other.

If one industry has a downturn, then those employees may, you know, be, you know, captured by another employer.

Manufacturing is in a lot of cases, it's a little bit of a dangerous environment.

So you've got the needs to have an extra eye extra ear to watch out for the employees, the management of of these organizations are typically you know, they're pretty siloed in their in their when they're looking for their KPIs, they're really looking for a return on investment and everything that they do.

Health is one of those things and it's often overlooked.

But I think it's it's kind of an intentional latent pain point that's out there in the in the in the perimeter of their world.

Is it an h.r.

Problem?

Is it a safety problem?

Is it a cfo responsibility?

You know, so that's one of the things that we do is try to bring everybody onto the same page and you can very easily show that it does contribute to the retention of the employees.

It does contribute to better management of work comp and injuries.

And it does bring that our way back to from a financial standpoint.

Yeah, we we hinted it in their opening about productivity.

Healthier workers is more productive.

Talk for us just a second about role models if you don't have to name specific companies, but the companies who do this well, what are some of the characteristics that they do that that others could learn from?

Well, I think a general sense of the nutritional impact even in the in the workplace.

So, you know, the vending machines and things like that that people use using on breaks, not always the best quality food.

There may be a food truck or two that comes by to to serve the employees that that might not be the healthiest food option for them.

Also in the workforce, you've got just the general population.

It's an aging population.

And there's some significant issues associated with aging that that bring about some high risk rates.

Those risk rates, once they're identified, then you can provide that education and coaching to to promote the individual, to have a better, you know, state of health.

Sure.

Great guys.

Ready to take a quick break here in the studio.

We're going out into the field George Lepeniotis my co-host is out to give us an inside look at some programing happening at the Y. George, let me toss it to you.

Thanks, Jeff.

I'm in Niles, Michigan, and I'm joined by a good friend of mine and colleague, Mitt Drew Thanks for being with me today, George.

Thanks for having me.

So, Matt, tell our viewers a little bit about our relationship.

You are a local attorney here in Niles, is that right?

That's correct.

And I've been practicing since 1999, and you and I have had the opportunity to work together on a number of occasions.

My practice is here in Niles, out in Longmeadow, and we have offices that serve the entire region.

Michigan and northwest Indiana.

And so like many of us, you do more than just that in your world and you like to give back to your community.

You also have a secondary title here at the YMCA.

Would you tell us a little bit about that job?

Yeah, very excited to be the chief volunteer officer for the YMCA of Greater Michiana, been a lifelong member of the Y.

My family is a member of the Y and continue to serve as a volunteer in that capacity.

You started your role here.

You told me before we went on camera about 15 years ago.

Yeah.

So I've been a member of the board of directors for 14 years and have had the privilege and honor of serving as the chief volunteer officer for the last nine.

What does the Chief volunteer officer do for the Y?

So I work closely with the management team and more importantly, our volunteer board of directors to develop and implement policies and strategies as it relates to our mission and impact on the communities.

So the Y is, I think of it from my history of the YMCA, is a place where youth go to have fun.

There's usually gyms, there's sports leagues and activities.

But before we went on camera, you and the gracious staff here were showing me around and telling me a lot about the other programing.

What would you say if you had to encapsulate it?

What is the Y's mission?

What is it here to do for the community?

Well, so so first and foremost, right, it is to fully serve and impact each community where we have a physical presence.

And that presence is in the form of our actual facilities, but more importantly, the programing that we offer to teen youth and and our older membership.

So you're the Greater Y of Michiana is the title of the organization.

I understand that you employ over 500 people at your various locations.

Let's talk about the locations.

We're here at the Niles facility, which is a very large and sprawling facility.

We're going to get a little bit into what this room is that we're standing in, but there are other facilities.

Let's talk about those.

There's St Joe Benton Harbor.

Yep, that's correct.

We have a facility in Benton Harbor, Saint Joe, which is on Hollywood Road, just off of Niles Avenue.

We have our facility in South Bend, which is currently at the O'Brien Center, and then we have Camp Eberhart, which is located on Quarry Lake in Three Rivers.

Okay, so those four facilities that make up the Y of Greater Michigan, and that is something that you're seeing as far as the Y is concerned, that instead of a Y being necessarily located in just one community, that there's a regional symbiosis to be had.

Yeah.

And George, quite frankly, that's the reason behind our growth in why we have expanded in the manner which we have over the last ten years.

So we could have a physical presence in those communities and provide a greater impact by having again, that presence we talked about.

Our show is economic outlook and the region's economy.

We focus on what we colloquially call Michiana.

What would the Y's role in our economy be if you had to categorize it so that so the simplest thing that I can point to, which I think is incredibly important, is that part of our mission and our goal is to work collaboratively with our community partners.

Those community partners are not only other nonprofits, but also employers, health care industry, school districts, etc.

And we have confirmed and identified that one of the greatest needs that we have in our respective communities is the need for meaningful and quality, affordable daycare.

So we have wraparound services and programs that we provide before school, after school.

We have summer camp programing, we have these daycare programs that we offer.

And so when you when you look at that through the economic lens, that's how we're impacting the local economies is by helping folks with that great need.

Yeah, and that is a huge need, especially when we talk about workforce development and the costs that some folks incur as they go back to or they need to be at work, the Y can serve that.

We said we'd come back to this room.

Well, here we are.

I think that's a good tie in this room was designed and built recently and one of your most recent expansions and it's rather impressive.

I'm sure our viewers will see some some some footage of it, but it is a very comforting space.

What's its purpose?

Yeah.

So this is our youth and teen center.

And again, going back to our strategic business plan and looking at the needs of the community, this was a huge void and there was no physical space, quite frankly, for our youth in our teens to congregate.

We didn't have an area to offer specific programing.

So this room allows for specific programing at certain times of the day, and also an area where our youth and teen can simply congregate.

So if they just finished in the gym with basketball, they're able to come here, play pool, socialize with one another, play play games and have that high level of interaction that, you know, is so important.

Yeah.

To promote their their health and well-being.

100%.

Yeah.

Well Mitt thanks today.

Thanks for being with me and thanks for showing me around this great facility and good luck with the I know that there's plans to expand the rest of the facilities to have spaces like this.

Jeff, back to you in the studio where you've got more to talk about.

I'm sure about how our community partners, whether they be for profit or non for profit, are coming up with unique ways to help expand and support our region's economy.

George, thanks.

Appreciate the inside look there.

This is great.

Appreciate the chance to go see some of the facilities that you've got going there.

So, Denise, something to make your way.

So is we wrap it up before the break.

And Andy was talking about just employee retention, keeping people out.

Employers are really but into health wellness kind of a lot of wraparound services.

Talk a little bit about just sort of the whole the whole picture, if you will, you know, besides health and wellness.

Yeah.

Well, I think when I when I think of the workforce, I think we have to take care of people.

And I think that's what I think about the Y we take care of people.

We take care of our communities in that way.

And I think that when you look at an employee, they have a lot of needs besides coming to work and doing the job that they do.

So just taking care of their family and making sure that they're aware of their of some ways that impacts their health, managing their stress.

The Y does a lot of those things so people can, if they have a membership the way they can do that there's also wellness programs that people can join and be a part of in the workforce.

And we also collaborate with other businesses or that can help bring positive workforce health.

So it's just like that wrap around and the childcare factor of getting people back into the workforce and making it worthwhile to go to work and knowing that their kids are in a safe and structured environment, give us a feel for it.

Just quickly on the child care piece of this, for example, because I think this is something you've done well that's been really helpful for employers to help somebody who who needs that kind of service understand what you do there.

Yeah.

So from infant and toddlers to after school care, you know, and so we have kids in after school care that are after school.

They come to the Y and they can do different activities there and parents can stay at work and then pick up their kids after work, which is really nice because the busses will drop them off.

We also have infant, a toddler.

So if parents are in the workforce.

So with that, the Y is just a great I mean that's what they're nationally known for, is child care across the nation.

And we do a really good job of that with the education.

They can also do sports and swimming and things while they're there in that program and get their homework done.

Andy let me come make your way.

So as we think about from an employee standpoint, and I use myself as an example of a who is a customer who benefited greatly from Connie's advice.

So, you know, I, I'm not sure I learned some of the stuff that that maybe I learned when I sat down with with your company right.

You know, like, I like I might have remembered nutrition from a long time ago.

I'm not sure that I understood how certain things affected this or that either to talk about this, just the education piece and in helping people understand or be better students of of the things that can help and be healthier, I think that that's a missing component in the education system.

The health and wellness isn't really a subject that you you're taught in school.

You get out there in the world and you may not understand how to read a lab report that you get from your doctor.

I go to the doctor and I wait for them to call me and tell me what's going on.

And and what we do is through that one on one coaching, we get a chance to sit down with the individual and have conversations with them about things that maybe they don't want to disclose to their employer.

And this is all protected information.

When we have conversations and it may give you some insight and some education into making some significant changes in your life for your own benefit and for the wellness or your family long term.

I think that's what we're seeing with premier employers out there, is that they're they're dedicated to that.

I love the nurses collaborative, you know, using the word collaboration.

That's that's really what it's all about.

You've got employers out there who recognize the retention of employees, these good quality employees that they've had for years and years.

They need that little extra benefit.

It'll it'll help them be more productive.

It'll help them be a healthier individual.

And, you know, really just a general feel good benefit, kind of stay with the employee piece for a second here.

So how do employees react sometimes, Right?

Do they do they bring it to the table kicking and screaming, Stay out of my personal life.

I'm just here to make widgets.

Or are are do please welcome this.

Are they are companies offering incentives?

Just give us an employee perspective here.

Yeah, I think it is very welcome by the employees to know that your employer cares about you in that way and to to be able to have that interaction with with a nurse on a consistent basis.

Initially, there's it's maybe a little standoffish, but they warm up pretty quickly once they understand that they're there for their benefit.

And and, you know, we just even this week, we've we've recognized some things through some personal health assessments where we've got some blood sugar issues that are that are really, you know, very, very elevated.

And there's some things that have been addressed just this week by one of our nurses that are going to help an individual recognize and and do something about the issues that he's he's facing.

So so yeah, it once there's a couple of feel good stories and that interaction happens that it settles out pretty quickly and people recognize the tremendous benefit of having having a nurse onsite.

You know it's interesting is your mention that I think of the the data piece no disrespect to doctors for example but the but but but people just don't understand that sometimes.

Right.

So through either maybe classes that Denise you have at the Y or through the assessments that you're doing, people better understand what that data means and how to how to affect it one way or the other.

Yeah, I think also in awareness, it brings in awareness to them.

So then they know how is that, how does that affect me, how does that affect my family?

And then how small changes can make a huge difference.

So I think you even shared your story.

You're making small changes at a time.

I'm that you do that I love.

One of our programs we have is called healthy you and that's with our preschoolers and our afterschoolers.

And we talk about nutrition.

We talk about go foods, well foods and slow foods.

And so kids go home and I have grandkids.

And so they go home and they tell their parents, Oh, I can only have one of those, can I?

Because that's how loaf you know.

So just that awareness and that education.

And I think that that's really good.

So when you wrap that around, that's pretty awesome and the awareness for the workforce.

So you know it's interesting I think as companies around the state really and just an Indiana number more than we know we have Michigan area but the cost to the economy is is significant.

So Indiana, for example, has high smoking and high obesity rates and those have a $4 billion annual impact on the health care system that this money wouldn't have to be spent if we had a healthier workforce.

And so so those kind of things really help both of you helping in that space as well, right?

Yeah, I think the mission is very similar.

The long term change, the better, you know, self-improvement, those things one step at a time.

That's that's really what it's all about.

And over a long period of time, we can make some of those significant changes through maybe it is a specific program or maybe it's just that awareness of what the individual may or may need to do.

Yeah.

Denise in our last 2 minutes here.

So just so advice to somebody who's watching who maybe doesn't have some of the best habits now wants to do something different.

Where do they start Start out just coming to the Y, you know, coming to the Y or even if you can't come to the Y, come somewhere in your community.

There's so many resources out there.

Just reach out.

Like I was thinking to the stop smoking.

Indiana has a big force for that and a lot of opportunities for people to have smoking cessation classes and we can partner with those groups.

But I think if you come into the way we have scholarships, so even if you can't afford, you don't think you can afford a membership at the Y?

We offer scholarships so everybody can be included in the Y in the Y program.

So those small steps make significant changes.

And one and as a health educator, one small change always leads usually to another small change which leads to better health.

You have less 30 seconds.

What advice to somebody who wants to make some changes?

Advice?

It's like, yeah, yeah, I think I think really just take that first step.

I mean, that's really what it does.

It's really what it boils down to.

And I think from an employer perspective, if you want to be a premier employer and be engaged in the better health and wellness of your employees, it starts with, you know, finding out exactly how that works.

And and, you know, take a look at the programs, get in depth, you know, realize some of these goals can be achieved and it makes a huge difference in your workforce because thank you so much for the conversation and grateful to have you both.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's it for our show today.

And we have the entire team here at PBS Michiana Thank you for watching or listening to our podcast to watch this episode of many of our past episodes.

You can find economic outlook at WNIT.org or find our podcast on most major podcast platforms.

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I'm Jeff Rea.

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