Wellness Summit helps businesses improve health and bottom line

We spend much of our day at work, so the American Heart Association (AHA) wants that time to be as healthy as possible. On Wednesday, the AHA hosted about 100 people representing dozens of Central New York businesses that want to keep their employees healthy in the workplace. The second annual Executive Wellness Summit at the DoubleTree Hotel in East Syracuse brought together local companies and health experts to discuss the best ways to create a culture of health at work.

The total cost of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. will exceed $1 trillion by 2035. That’s nearly $3 billion per day. Physical inactivity costs U.S. employers $9.1 billion per year, but many of us sit for most of our day at work. In fact, sedentary work has increased 83% since 1950. With Americans spending more time at work than ever before, workplace wellness can play a major role in the overall health of adults.

The Executive Wellness Summit featured expert keynote speakers, breakout sessions tailored to companies at different levels of workplace wellness, networking opportunities and movement activities.

Keynote speakers included Dr. Renee Downey, professor of practice at Le Moyne College discussing generational differences in the workplace; Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO on how our region can attract and retain employees; and Dr. Christine Allen, psychologist and executive wellness coach with Insight Business Works discussing how to achieve work/life harmony.

The summit is sponsored by Life is Why sponsor St. Joseph’s Health, along with KeyBank, Upstate Medical University, and Carrier.

For more information about how the American Heart Association can help local businesses improve worksite wellness, please contact Denise McGraw or Kristin Thompson-Henry at SyracuseHeartWalk@heart.org or visit www.heart.org/workplacehealth.