Community employees invited to play at Recess ‘08
Health care workers deal daily with life-threatening injuries and illnesses in a workplace that requires long hours, knowledge of increasingly more complicated technology and skill and tact working with sometimes emotional and fearful patients and their families. All of these factors present challenges and contribute to stress.
So Community Medical Centers is encouraging its employees to take time out the evening of June 20 to de-stress and have fun with their co-workers at Fresno State’s Save Mart Center.
As part of Community’s employee wellness program C-Fit, the Valley’s largest private employer has invited employees to grab their sneakers to come out and play at Recess ’08 from 4:30 to 9 p.m.
Dodge ball, jacks, hopscotch and four-square – vital games on the playground – are part of Community’s fun-filled evening, designed to rejuvenate employees by enhancing their health and well-being.
C-Fit’s aim is to improve the lives of employees as well as the morale, health and even the financial situation of central California’s largest hospital network. Community spends about $25 million on health care benefits annually. C-Fit Director Jack Lazzarini said C-Fit will save Community money in the long run that could go directly back to employees.
Nearly 500 employees have registered for the Recess ’08 event, which includes team sports and individual challenges that range from the strenuous rock wall climbing races and volleyball to low-key skills such as paper airplane folding and flying. The most popular sign-up so far has been for musical chairs, with basketball free throws on Fresno State’s Save Mart Center hardwood court and hop-scotch coming in distant seconds.
More than 90 members of Community’s corporate administration have signed up and are squaring off against teams from Community’s three hospitals – Community Regional Medical Center, Clovis Community Medical Center and Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital.
Ginny Burdick, senior vice president of human resources, challenged Colleen Strom, vice president of quality & risk management, to a Hula Hoop contest where whoever can swivel their hips the longest and show the trickiest moves without dropping the hoop wins.
This story was reported by Erin Kennedy and Millie Tang. They can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org or mtang2@communitymedical.org.