June 14, 2012 - NC Prevention Partners awarded Pitt County Schools with a Trailblazer Award for its strong progress in school employee wellness. The award was presented at the NC Prevention Partners Annual Meeting held on June 6 in Chapel Hill.
Trailblazer Awards were given to organizations that contribute to making North Carolina a healthier place to live, work, learn and play. The award recognized diverse workplaces that have made meaningful progress in promoting physical activity, healthy eating and a tobacco-free workplace.
Pitt County Schools’ leadership for employee wellness is unique in North Carolina. They recently approved their first Staff Wellness Policy & Procedures aimed at protecting the health of teachers, staff and administrators. While most school systems insert a brief employee wellness section in their student wellness policies, Pitt County Schools is the first to place an emphasis on employee wellness alongside student wellness. The comprehensive guidelines establish a culture of wellness by promoting physical activity breaks, healthy food offerings campus-wide, breastfeeding support and stress management.
Pitt County Schools participates in the NC Prevention Partners WorkHealthyAmericaSM initiative. WorkHealthyAmericaSM guides businesses, hospitals and schools in implementing programs and policies that promote healthy nutrition and physical activity among employees. WorkHealthyAmericaSM is currently being used by 33 schools and districts state-wide.
“Over the years our community partners have worked collaboratively to support us in developing physical activity and nutrition initiatives for students. We are extremely pleased to complete that circle of wellness with our Staff Wellness Policy and the ability to establish local level wellness programs,” stated Dr. Beverly Emory, Superintendent. Through the leadership of the Public Health Department, Pitt County also successfully secured a CDC Take Step Two (formerly known as Communities Putting Prevention to Work) grant which enables them to build a sustainable infrastructure for wellness with strong local partnerships, where the school system has an important place at the table.
About NC Prevention Partners:
NC Prevention Partners is a state and national leader in guiding schools, hospitals and workplaces to improve their culture of wellness by improving policies and environments that address tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and obesity.
