The CommonHealth of Kentucky
A 13-part KET production aimed at improving the health of all Kentuckians by sharing health and wellness projects from across the state that are succeeding in making their communities healthier.
Be Well Kentucky
a project of KET’s Be Well Kentucky initiative
The CommonHealth of Kentucky is a 2005 KET production. Produced in partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Logan Alive Employee Wellness Program
c/o Logan Aluminum, Hwy. 431N, Russellville, KY 42276, (270) 755-6178
At Logan Aluminum in Russellville, more than 900 employees turn out various grades of sheet aluminum that will eventually become everything from buildings to food cans. To help take care of those employees—and to benefit its own bottom line—the company instituted the Logan Alive wellness program in 1993. The project includes on-site fitness centers, lifestyle counseling, a healthier menu in the cafeteria, classes and educational materials, health monitoring services, and even cash incentives for employees who meet their health goals.
The wellness program mirrors the organization of the plant itself by having employees work in teams to set health goals related to weight, tobacco use, and time spent in physical activity. Things started a little slowly, with only 10 employees meeting their goals in the first year. But by 2004, 99% of the plant’s employees were participating in the program—and in 2004, more than 800 of them achieved their goals.
To help with the physical activity part of the equation, Logan Aluminum created fitness centers offering cardio and resistance training, two outdoor walking paths (one of which takes you to a private lake), a basketball court, and a softball field. Employees can also visit a wellness center for health and fitness tests or to talk to a counselor.
Logan Alive is funded entirely by the company, from start-up and operational expenses to the staff person who serves as program coordinator. The program planners also found that offering fresh salads, wraps, and other healthier alternatives in the cafeteria increased food cost somewhat. But the expenses seem to have been more than offset by savings in other areas. In 2003, Logan Aluminum reported an 18% decrease in health care costs—a result so impressive in this era of spiraling insurance costs that Logan’s human resources director was invited to testify before a congressional committee on how the company had pulled it off.