Health Links ColoradoTM Engaging Colorado Communities to Create Healthy Communities Haan, M., Lapaz, L., Newman, L., Tenney, L.

Training Workplace Wellness Advisors to Create Healthy CommunitiesHaan, M., Lapaz, L., Newman, L., Tenney, L.

Background

Compared to 77% of large employers, only 27% of small businesses offer workplace wellness programs.

Businesses face real and perceived barriers to adopting and implementing programs. This includes lack of resources, leadership commitment, employee engagement, and training.

In order to address these problems, the Center for Worker Health & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health launched Health Links in 2013.

Health Links is a community-based program that certifies, connects, and advises small businesses on evidence-based practices to implement sustainable workplace health, wellness and safety programs. Approach

Health LinksTM trains health and safety, health promotion, health care, public health, and other professionals on an integrated approach to prevention adopted from evidence-based practices tailored from the CDC Worksite Health Score Card and the WHO Healthy Workplace Model.

Health LinksTM aims to:

Train community, health, wellness and business leaders the building blocks of the Healthy Business Framework.

Work with businesses one-on-one to create Healthy Business Action Plans that address specific employer and employee health, wellness and business needs.

Connect businesses to local community providers and vendors and resources that can offer support for creating healthy workplaces.

Train Community LeadersRecruit Small Businesses (