By Jill Nagy
The Workplace Health and Wellness Council of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce tries to spread a culture of wellness in the business community. An all-volunteer committee plans monthly meetings with guest speakers on timely topics.
The May meeting, Wellness from Head to Toe, focused on mental health as well as physical wellness.
“It was a really beautiful panel,” said Ava Kanninen, the council liaison and the chamber’s membership chair. “It was beautiful to see these women calling back to the other speakers’ messages,” she added.
All three speakers that month were women. Erin Kivitski, a psychologist and wellness coordinator, moderated the program. Speakers were Susan McManus, a mental health and addiction specialist; Cathy Reichen, a physical therapist who manages the return to work program at Glens Falls Hospital; and Lyndsey Brainard, who discussed the importance of access to nourishing food.
The June meeting will observe Pride Month with a look at LBGTQ health issues, led by Pam Cardinale of Lower Adirondack Pride. July’s meeting will focus on gun safety. In August, the council will work with the Glens Falls Collaborative on a celebration of city parks. Earlier meetings this year examined autism awareness, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer awareness.
So far, the meetings have been open only to council members. A small fee is charged to attend. The audience is active, aware, and eager to learn, Kanninen said. “They have a real passion for taking care,” she noted.
As, in the coming year, the program widens its attendance to more of the general public, “We hope to grow it without losing that passion,” she added.
Workplace Health and Wellness is one of several similar committees of the chamber. In addition to its monthly meetings, council members try to spread the word through individual members’ networks, in the chamber’s newsletter, and on social media.
“We try to meet people wherever they are,” Kanninen said.
The council was formed in 2011, using grant money. When the grant ran out, Kanninen explained, the group tried out different formats and eventually became part of the chamber. The council shares office space with the chamber at 68 Warren Street in Glens Falls.