By Carol Coultas,Business Writer

LEWISTON – Health care is in everyone’s best interest.

So when Oxford Networks saw its health-care costs continue to rise (about 16 percent last year) and saw the sobering statistics about smoking (one of every seven deaths in Maine is attributed to it), the telecommunications company decided to launch a campaign encouraging its employees to take better care of themselves.

With the help of Healthy Androscoggin – a community-based program that promotes tobacco cessation, exercise and nutrition – Oxford Networks began offering a weight-loss program and a smoking cessation program Jan. 1. Six weeks later, employees are getting results.

“It’s made a difference,” said Dawna Hannan, director of human resources. “We expected there’d be some fallout from the new smoking policy, but in fact everyone has been very supportive of it.”

Hannan was one of three panelists invited to speak at the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly breakfast meeting, which focused on employee health. About 180 people braved the snowy weather to get to the Ramada Inn to hear about programs available from Healthy Androscoggin. Hannan was joined by panelists Jennifer Willey of Canteen Services and Donna Thompson of Tambrands.

Hannan said a key component to the success of Oxford Networks’ smoking policy was inviting the company’s smokers to help craft it. About 12 of the company’s 130 employees took up that invitation.

Before this year, employees were allowed to smoke outside the building and to smoke in company vehicles or in carpool vehicles, with the permission of passengers. As of Jan. 1, there is no smoking on any Oxford Networks’ property, including the vehicles.

“We asked what we could do to help them through this process,” said Hannan. The answers led Oxford Networks to offer 100 percent reimbursement for any employee to go through St. Mary’s smoking-cessation program and 50 percent for spouses, to clean the smoke odors from company vehicles, to reimburse a portion of acupuncture or hypnosis costs and to help employees get free smoking-cessation gum and patches through the state’s Tobacco-Free program.

“Some couples are going through the program now,” said Hannan. “It’s going along really well.”

Willey, a nutritionist, said employers should look at what they’re offering in their vending machines because there are many healthy options available. She said employers can replace junk food with more healthful items, such as trail mix, raisins, baked chips, yogurt and juice.

“Education is key to encourage employees to make better choices,” said Willey. As an example, she said one of her employees lost 50 pounds in a year by eating healthy foods from vending machines.

Thompson said only three or four employees signed up for a Healthy Androscoggin Get Fit program last year. But this year, Tambrands promoted the program and gave out pedometers to participants. Now 124 employees are walking around the plant and comparing how many miles they walk with their co-workers.

“It’s helped increase morale and heightened awareness of fitness,” she said.

“We expected there’d be some fallout from the new smoking policy, but in fact everyone has been very supportive of it.”
Dawna Hannan, Oxford Networks’ director of human resources