Here at Episcopal Retirement Services, we take our residents' health very seriously. We also take our own health seriously.

In recent years, there has been an increasingly urgent focus on improving health trends in the United States — especially as the costs of treating preventable, long-ranging illnesses like obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, certain cancers, heart disease and chronic pain continue to sharply rise.

Per capita, the United States currently spends more than double the average amount other major industrialized nations pay for health care. Yet our health outcomes are arguably worse than those achieved by peer nations like the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada.

It's no wonder, then, that the federal, state and local governments, health care providers, insurers and employers are all seeking to reduce the cost of providing health care, improve efficiency in care delivery and improve the overall health of the American people.

We're happy to announce that Episcopal Retirement Services is doing its part. And we're being recognized for it. This year, Episcopal Retirement Services was named one of 28 Healthiest Employers® finalists in the Cincinnati area.

What is the Healthiest Employers® award?

Every year, the Cincinnati Business Courier sponsors the region's Healthiest Employers® program award for employers in the Tristate area who are leading the way toward achieving better health and wellness in the workplace. Cincinnati's is just one of 45 Healthiest Employers® award programs nationwide.

From a countrywide perspective, Episcopal Retirement Homes is only one among 4,000 employers that actively participate in the program — along with 68 percent of the companies that make up the Fortune 100. Overall, more than 60 million workers are employed by companies participating in the Healthiest Employers® program.

The award uses an online assessment that measures companies' wellness promotion efforts in six categories:

• Communication and marketing: Employers must use internal communications and external marketing to change perceptions about wellness, incentivize health awareness and participation in wellness-related programming.
• Programming and interventions: Employers must use effective engagement strategies to encourage workers to positively change their own health behaviors.
• Reporting and analysis: Employers must identify wellness benchmarks, track and report the results of their internal wellness programming and use those results to continually improve employee health levels and engagement.
• Leadership commitment: Without a strong, wellness-oriented corporate culture, the probability of achieving success is low. This recognizes the critical role company leadership plays in improving the wellness of a workforce.
• Foundational components: Wellness programs need to be built to last; there are no quick solutions for improving employees' health. This measurement takes into account how well an employer has structured and positioned its wellness programming for long-term success.
• Strategic planning: Overall success is also determined by vision. This category evaluates a company's mid- and long-term wellness improvement strategy.

Thank you for allowing us to serve you.

In helping you, we're also able to help our own.

We work very hard to provide quality retirement home communities, to render dignified, person-centered care for Cincinnati's seniors and to minister to the needs of their caregivers and loved ones.

We also work hard to improve the lives of the members of our staff, by supporting their physical, mental and spiritual wellness efforts. We're honored to be included among the 28 finalists for this year's award.

Cincinnati's Healthiest Employers® finalists will be recognized and winners will be announced at an awards event on Tuesday, May 24, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Xavier University's Cintas Center (1624 Herald Avenue, Cincinnati, 45207).

Episcopal Retirement Services will be there, helping to spread awareness about the importance of improving the health and wellness of all Americans.

Interested in working at ERS? Visit our careers page