The Lafarge Concrete Company is very proactive when it comes to the health of its employees. In fact, they offer free health screenings and online assistance to their employees. Their goal is to improve overall health and reduce the risk of preventable illnesses such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and nutrition related health problems.

Keith Odinet, General Manager of Lafarge North America and Kim Edwards, Accounting Supervisor, teamed up to take additional steps to improve the health of their employees. Odinet and Edwards, in an effort to support the Lafarge Wellness Iniative and improve participation by their staff, partnered with the Corporate Wellness Department of East Jefferson General Hospital to develop a health and wellness strategy.

Based on aggregate data collected from the cholesterol screens, a series of educational programs including nutritional counseling, healthy lectures and an interactive weight management program were developed.

The Lafarge Wellness Program was designed to meet the needs of everyone, including drivers, support staff, and office personnel. To accomplish this goal, early morning and afternoon sessions were offered onsite to ensure accessibility to each employee.

Also, unique to this program was the accessibility to the Corporate Wellness Team at EJGH as a resource for health-related questions that most people have, but seldom have the opportunity to ask.