(From naplesnews.com) -- Marian Colli spends a couple of lunch hours a week in a large room in the Collier County Courthouse doing Pilates.
"I didn't think I would like it when I started, but I love it," said Colli, a paralegal with the county attorney's office. "It's been great. My core is strengthened, I have better posture."
Colli, a breast cancer survivor, said she turned to Pilates to keep herself in shape after her diagnosis. She is now cancer-free.
"The process weakens you so much. I can't run anymore," she said. "So much here is really helpful. If you want to quit smoking, if you have diabetes, they have something to help you."
Hoping for a healthier, more productive workforce, Collier County is investing in its employees with initiatives to get them to move more, eat healthier and feel better. The plan also helps the county's bottom line, with fewer employees taking sick days, visiting the emergency room andhaving better work output.
"It's cost containment because the cost of health care is just going to continue to rise," said county Wellness Programs Manager Karen Eastman.
Growing Phenomenon
Collier County is not alone. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that studies the major health care issues facing the U.S., found in a 2012 survey that, of the employers who offer wellness programs, 73 percent reported they were effective in improving employee health. Fifty-two percent said wellness programs were effective in reducing health care costs.
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