Innovative programs supporting diabetes care, new parents and nursing moms win Louisville’s Worksite Wellness Council award
New additions to healthcare benefits at GE Appliances have not only been a boon with team members, they’re also getting recognized by the public. The company won this year’s award for innovative programs that include improving diabetes care, expanding care to manage chronic illnesses and supporting maternal health and lactation.
“There’s nothing more important than our employees’ health and wellbeing, at work and at home,” says Michele Clark, Workplace Wellbeing and I&D Professional. “We work hard to bring WellWithin to life for employees by connecting them to internal and external resources. We are honored to be recognized by the Worksite Wellness Council of Louisville.”
Last year, GE Appliances (GEA) partnered with an outside vendor, Virta, on a diabetes reversal program to reduce costs and better support employees. After the pilot program proved successful, Virta’s no-cost option became available to all GEA health plan members, including employees and dependents 18 and older.
In addition to diabetes reversal, GEA’s goal was and continues to be helping employees manage other acute and chronic illnesses like heart disease and high blood pressure. GEA partnered with a health-based care navigation concierge service, Alight, to allow all employees a one-on-one wellbeing contact and onboarded CareATC, an onsite primary care provider. CareATC currently offers services at Appliance Park and Roper with plans to expand onsite primary care to all our U.S.-based manufacturing sites.
Lastly, to better support new parents, and specifically moms, GEA expanded paid parental leave to include its production manufacturing employees and upgraded and increased the number of lactation rooms so nursing mothers could pump breastmilk at work.
The Worksite Wellness Council of Louisville was created as part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Initiative to ensure better health outcomes for Louisville residents. The Worksite Wellness Awards recognize companies for “the stellar work they have done to focus on mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing in their workplaces and communities.”
This is the fourth year in a row GEA’s WellWithin has applied and won the annual Worksite Wellness Award.