Galen Winkler, who goes by “Wink” of Juniata, NE, works for Norder Supply, and recently participated in Thayer County Health Services (TCHS) Corporate Wellness Program. The program identified risk factors and if one was categorized as having three or more, the program was required if the participant utilized Norder’s insurance plan. Wink had participated in previous years through Norder and expected the same old, same old, but this year experienced something different and in the end, he was very pleased.
“The best part about the experience was working with Whitney Miller, MPA, Wellness Director. She is very personable and seems like the type of person that could adapt to any personality. The best part about working with her was her candor – I could be honest. Sometimes these programs make you feel like you had better answer it the “right way” or otherwise you would be in trouble but with Whitney, it was a situation where she asked me to be honest with her right from the start with no judgment and therefore I felt like I could be more open and honest in my answers. She knows it is not a perfect world and that the more candid and comfortable one can be the more help the program will provide. I will be honest, I am not the biggest fruit fan and I kind of hate it, but I have it in my refrigerator and I eat it every day, and that without a single doubt came from this wellness program,” said Wink.
When asked if the program when the extra mile, Wink said that Whitney would admit that she made mistakes too. Wink and she would continually discuss portion sizes and to him, that made the biggest impact. Wink does not claim to be an expert on it now, but Whitney made him aware and he has been able to implement it in his life. “She has a passion for wellness and truly believes in it and it shows,” Wink stated.
According to Wink, some programs can come across as robotic, and nothing would stick because they didn’t make you care or invest yourself in it, but the program through TCHS provides participants with takeaways that are easy to implement and understand. The TCHS Corporate Wellness program was personalized and he was very impressed because it had the small-town touch that larger programs are missing and it showed him that TCHS really does care about each participant. “That was something I could relate to because my employer, Norder Supply, and myself have the same goal, which is to provide a small-town touch that focuses on delivering personalized, caring customer service to each client we serve,” said Wink.
“Whitney went above and beyond by addressing further risk factors that were identified through the sessions and not through the initial assessment. I am now more aware of portion sizes and fruit and vegetable servings after the sessions,” said Wink. When asked, Wink wasn’t sure about his overall accomplishments because follow-ups were postponed due to COVID-19, but he said he does feel better in general. “I do know I’m in a lot better direction than I was before. It is a process, not a magic pill. The staff that helped her during the blood draw were very nice and did a great job, which is rare coming from someone with hard to find veins. I was very impressed! I have nothing but good things to say about the TCHS Corporate Wellness Program; I recommend it to anyone on the fence about participating and I want to thank Norder Supply for investing in such a great program. If you are looking for something that will get you on the right path and pointed in the right direction, this is the program. It won’t cure all your problems, but they will get your mind set in the right way so that you can help yourself. At the end of the day you still need to help yourself, they aren’t going to do it for you but what they do does help and inspires you to make a life change,” said Wink gratefully.
“I just want to say thanks to Whitney. When we concluded the sessions she said that if I ever wanted to call or just chat, she was more than happy to answer any questions about nutrition, etc. She kept the line of communication open even though her job was technically done and she didn’t have to do that but it meant a lot that she did. Most people view a program like this as a royal pain and just a box you need to check off, but TCHS made it reasonable and engaging, which went above and beyond anything I expected,” stated Wink.