AUBURN – About 10,000 area workers are taking healthier lifestyles to heart.

And to lungs. And to muscles. And to every other part of their bodies as participants in Healthy Androscoggin, a coalition of community groups promoting good health.

“We’ve had 11 new employers join us this year who’ve not applied before,” said Marion Browning, coordinator of Healthy Androscoggin. “That’s really exciting.”

Browning brought her enthusiasm for good health to the monthly Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting at Lost Valley, where she applauded 34 local companies that have committed to programs and policies that make for a healthier workforce.

“There are 9,600 employees in this county who work in environments committed to being the healthiest work force they can be,” she said.

Healthy Androscoggin has three levels of participation that cover physical activity, healthy eating and an avoidance of tobacco. The coalition helps employers establish wellness programs by providing resources and support.

For Barbara McKeen of Safe Handling, the program has helped that company’s nearly 100 employees take healthier living up a notch. As of Nov. 1, the company went totally tobacco-free.

“We knew there would be upward challenges,” she said. A committee of tobacco users and non-users was formed to figure out the best way to hit the tobacco-less goal.

Six months later, seven of the 13 tobacco users in the program have kicked the habit.

“We think that’s a great outcome,” said McKeen, as the crowd applauded.

McKeen was joined by two other human resource managers who talked about their companies’ wellness programs. Beverly MacCallum of Androscoggin Bank said her employer was in its second year of participating in Healthy Androscoggin and even the simplest things have made a difference.

They switched vending machine companies to get more water, juice and healthy snack selections. Hand sanitizers are stationed behind each teller window. Employees who commit to 15 minutes of walking three times a week are rewarded with a $6 gift certificate to Subway.

Cindy Letourneau of FutureGuard said her company has taken similar steps, and found that partnering with a local conditioning clinic was really helpful. Fitness professionals helped the company set up its on-site fitness center, and perform individual health assessments that have led to personalized eating and exercise programs.

MacCallum said Androscoggin Bank also has done on-site health assessments as a way to measure future progress. The hope is that as workers become healthier, there will be improvements in health insurance costs, workers compensations savings and a reduction of sick time.

McKeen said that for the workers who’ve been in the program and quit using tobacco at Safe Handling, there’s been about a 20 percent reduction in individual insurance premiums.

Browning said that’s one of the benefits of the wellness programs, but not the most important. In a survey she sent to employers last year, bottom-line benefits weren’t the prime motivator.

“No. 1 was morale, improving morale,” she said. “Productivity was up there, too. But the general concern was for the well-being of the employee, not health-care costs.”

Healthy Androscoggin is sponsoring a workshop Tuesday, April 29, at the LePage Conference Center at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center from 7:30 to 9 a.m. for employers to learn more about promoting worksite wellness. More information is available at www.healthyandroscoggin.org