With more than 200 employees, Valley Residential Services (VRS) is the twentieth largest employer in Walla Walla County, and Executive Director, Nancy Riggle, leads the charge. To keep employees healthy and well, VRS offers standing desks, free vaccinations during work hours, two private employee-only Facebook pages to help with communication and well-being information, regular employee social gatherings, routine team trainings, and lunch and learn events. They also have a wellness committee dedicated to improving the health of all employees.
Valley Residential Services has seen increased engagement from their employees since the pandemic since they invested in healthy programming for their employees. Over 120 employees attended a virtual health fair and 40 attended a BZP Purpose Workshop.
Regular meetings of the employee wellness and engagement committee continue to push the needs of employees to the forefront. The Board of Directors have updated their mission, vision, and values statements and have included items regarding client and employee wellness.
“Blue Zones Project has been a terrific addition to our Employee Wellness Program at Valley Residential Services. They have enabled us to make big progress in giving employees more tools to use in their quest for wellness and establishing healthier lifestyles. We appreciate the handouts, the surveys, the classes, and the other things that have kept us from having to ‘recreate the wheel’ and bog down our workdays searching for wellness information. Thank you to Blue Zones Project for enabling Valley Residential Services to become a healthier workplace,” said Riggle.
Kudos to VRS and Nancy Riggle for taking the leap and becoming a Blue Zones Approved Worksite – making health and wellness a priority.
