Worksite wellness professionals in the Wilmington area have formed a group to share best practices and promote workplace wellness in the community.

The group, Worksite Wellness Consortium, is composed of numerous human resources and other professionals involved in worksite wellness at companies in the area and public entities, including New Hanover County and the city of Wilmington.

"We started meeting to combine our strengths and to push our individual strengths together to push forward health in the Wilmington community and Wilmington region," said Jennifer Gallo, health promotion specialist in the human resources department at Liberty Healthcare. "We saw that there were other areas of health promotion being covered, so we didn't want to overlap, but we did see a gap in the worksite wellness programming."

Gallo said in many cases, one employee in a company or organization is tasked with the job of promoting wellness at work, often in addition to his or her main duties.

"By meeting together, we can support each other and give more power to the worksite wellness planning that way," she said.

A recent announcement about the formation of the group, which meets the second Wednesday of each month, pointed out studies that showed a reduction in sick days, health costs and worker's compensation and disability management claims as a result of worksite health promotion programs.

"The numbers are there; the statistics are there," Gallo said. "It's just a matter of locally sharing programs and sharing efforts."

The consortium's recent announcement said, "Employers and employees benefit from a healthier workforce, since most adults spend more than one-third of their waking hours at work."

Other professionals interested in the group can contact Gallo at [email protected]. The consortium has also started a Facebook page.