Members and guests of the Southcoast Worksite Health & Wellness Collaborative met at the Fall River YMCA on November 10, 2016 for a brief forum. The event was an opportunity for employers and human relations personnel to meet up and share their wellness ideas as well as to hear about low or no-cost resources that they could use for worksite wellness programs. The first portion of the program featured a panel of of two experienced worksite wellness coordinators -- Kristi Aimone of Southcoast Health and Susan Potvin of Family Service Association -- as well as an employer, James Riley, CEO of Better Community Living. The second half featured resource providers Annemarie Holly speaking about the annual Greater Fall River Fitness Challenge, Dara Midwood talking about the YMCA Southcoast Diabetes Prevention Program, and Shioban Torres, DrPH, MPH of the Mass. Department of Public Health talking about the Working on Wellness Program and the Worksite Wellness Tax Credit. A monthly Collaborative meeting, often held at the Sylvia Insurance Company headquarters on Faunce Corner Road in North Dartmouth, offers presentations on a number of topics related to worksite wellness. Click here for a  40-minute video of the first panel and here for a 30-minute video of the second panel. Anyone planning to attend the monthly meetings is asked to RSVP Chairperson Angela Bras at 774-400-4466.

(Top row) Participants gather on the fourth floor of the Fall River YMCA as Partners Worksite Wellness Coordinator Angela Bras confers with Julie Jennings of Sylvia Insurance Company before beginning the program. (Row two) Ms. Jennings introduces members of the first panel including Kristi Aimone of Southcoast Health, Susan Potvin of Family Service Association, and James Riley, CEO of Better Community Living. (Row three) Ms. Aimone and Ms. Potvin share their experiences running worksite wellness programs before Dara Midwood described the YMCA Southcoast Diabetes Prevention Program, and Shioban Torres, DrPH, MPH of the Mass. Department of Public Health talked about the Working on Wellness Program and the Worksite Wellness Tax Credit. (Bottom row) Ms. Jennings asks a question and Mr. Riley, Ms. Midwood, and Jeannie Boisvert of High Point Treatment Center talk as Ms. Bras describes some of the materials that she provided in participants'; folders.