The two-hour sessions focused on early detection and prevention of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer as well as super foods for optimal health. They were led by educators Karen Hoare and Norma Prosser and dietitian Novella Lui from York Region Public Health, which partnered with the workplace wellness team earlier this year as a pilot project.

Debra Sayewich, committee chair and Preferred Health Care Services marketing director, says the workshops were held in two different locations to accommodate staff working in Preferred’s large service area.

A total of 45 staff attended the first session at Preferred Health Care Services’ Red Maple Road office in Richmond Hill, and 19 from the Keswick, Aurora, Mount Albert and other areas came for the repeat at the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place Centre.

About 95 per cent of respondents to a post-workshop survey rated the event and the information provided as excellent, Sayewich says.

She notes that the topics had been chosen by the staff themselves in a survey completed by personal support workers at Preferred Health Care Services’ annual general meeting in June.

Wellness had also been previously identified as a key area of interest.

“This is what they want to learn,” Sayewich says.

Fun and interactive elements enhanced learning at the workshops, including the offering of healthy snacks such as veggies and dip and fruit, giveaways for all attendees, and a game fashioned on the TV quiz show Jeopardy that tested workshop participants on what they’d just been taught. The winning team received gifts from York Region Public Health.

Sayewich says it was “awesome to see how much they did retain and learn.”

Staff can apply the information to their lives, share it with their families and keep it in mind when interacting with clients, Sayewich says.

The goal is to create a work environment meeting needs with regards to overall mind, health and heart, so team members look and feel better and be the best they can be.

In addition to the workshops, the workplace wellness team focused on cancer in October which was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

They held a Pink-o-licious fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, selling pink lemonade and home baked goods trimmed in pink in Leisureworld Caregiving Centre Richmond Hill’s lobby. The event raised $202.85.

Sayewich notes the sale received “great support” from residents at the home as well as staff.

Other efforts include a yoga class at a Richmond Hill studio that has just begun, and a wellness fridge and food baskets at the Red Maple Road office stocked with nutritious snacks that office and front-line staff can buy for 50 cents to $2.

In 2011, a Nutrition Works program from January to April will look at reading labels, eating on the go, shiftwork and other topics.

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