There are almost two million farms in the USA. About 80% of those are small farms, and a large percentage are family owned. More and more of these farmers are now selling their products directly to the public. They do this through Farmers Markets, Food Cooperatives and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

By purchasing fresh produce and goods from your a local farmer, you can help to maintain a healthy environment, a vibrant community, and build a strong and sustainable local economy. Judith Schwartz explains that when you buy local more money stays in the community. The New Economics Foundation compared what happens when people buy produce at a supermarket vs. a local farmer’s market or CSA program and found that twice the money stayed in the community when folks bought locally (Time.com). A few more reasons to eat local:

• The produce is fresher than foods shipped in and sold at the supermarket
• Seasonal foods are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive
• The travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination

Apples to Oranges: Farm Stand Basics

Farmers Market: a market usually held out-of-doors, in public spaces, where farmers can sell produce to the public. Consumers have access to locally grown, farm fresh produce, and enables farmers the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with their customers and cultivate consumer loyalty.

Food Cooperatives (Coop): worker or customer owned businesses that provide grocery items of the highest quality and best value to their members. Coops can take the shape of retail stores or buying clubs. Food coops are committed to consumer education, product quality, and member control, and usually support local communities by selling produce grown locally by family farms.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Consumers purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”). Shares typically consist of a box of seasonal vegetables, but may also include various breads, flowers, eggs, meat, cheese, honey and other farm products.

♥ Celebrate Eat Local Month in August! Visit http://nheatlocal.org/ for information.♥

Resources

• http://nheatlocal.org/
• www.GreenPeople.com
• www.localharvest.org
• www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets

It’s not easy for moms to find time for themselves. Think about all of the women you know that complete the long to-do lists, shuttle children to school and activities, care for family members and friends, manage careers and households, and are involved with the community. This describes many of the amazing women I know.

-and they know what stress is!

Women who take a few minutes for themselves feel rejuvenated and more energetic, are able to focus clearly, and are less stressed and anxious. A few minutes can work wonders for mental and physical health. Here are a few effective (and simple) ideas from other women:

Get Moving!

Exercise effectively relieves depression and anxiety. Find an activity that you enjoy and feel the stress melt away. Activities may include a 15 minute walk, climb a set of stairs several times, skip rope, go to a yoga class or practice stretching.

Play and Laugh

Laughing has a multitude of health benefits. Read a funny book, watch a comedy, do something silly. Spend time with a pet. Get the family involved by playing tag, climbing the jungle gym, jump through the sprinkler, swing, share a good book or play board games.

Breathe!

Dr. Melissa Stoppler, Stress Management Guide recommends, “Before reacting to the next stressful occurrence, take three deep breaths and release them slowly.” If you have time, sit and breathe this way for three to five minutes or more. Imagine that you are breathing the stress right out of your body.

Get Organized

According to soulgrowth.com, “If one of your main sources of stress is the sheer number of things that need to be done, being organized should help you feel more at peace. A good sense of organization will also make you more efficient. Simplifying will help you feel less overwhelmed.” One easy way to get organized is to use a planner. A planner helps keep track of hectic family schedules. Schedule time to complete routine tasks and schedule time for yourself. Organize your surroundings by putting clutter away and filing important documents right away.

A Little R&R

Kick your feet up once the kids are in bed. Put on comfortable PJs and turn on a good TV show or read a magazine or book that you’ve been looking forward to. Give your brain (and your muscles) a little R & R!

Happy Feet

Foot baths relieve aches and pains and can revive tired, sore feet and a fatigued body. It’s a great way to pamper these hard-working and often-neglected parts! It also forces you to sit down and relax for a few minutes.

Do you have some stress buster tips or ideas to share?

Have a happy and healthy Mother’s Day!

In a memo issued on April 22, 2010 to the OSHA Regional Administrators from the new Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, he laid out the basics of a plan for increasing the penalty structure that OSHA will use. The reason for the increase is that a panel determined that “penalties are too low to have an adequate deterrent effect”. No surprise here. There are a number of changes that will be made in the manner by which penalties are calculated, the way in which discounts may be used, the value of the discounts and the degree to which “bad” experience with OSHA will impact the size of a penalty, generally to the up side.

Two of the most significant announcements pertain to what can happen at the Area Office level when someone requests an informal conference as the result of an inspection. Up until now, the Area Director has always had the ability to “discount” penalties at that meeting, mostly in the interest of getting the company that was cited to “accept” the citation and go about fixing the violations included in it. It was routine that the Area Director could, and would, offer up discounts as high as 50% to strike a deal right there and then. Under the new guidelines, the Area Director will be authorized to offer only up to a 30% discount and any additional discount will need to be authorized by the Regional Administrator. The Area Director will also be authorized to offer up to an additional 20% discount to employers with less than 250 employees if “that employer agrees to retain an outside safety and health consultant”. If an Expedited Informal Settlement Agreement is being sought, the Area Director can offer up to a 30% discount with an additional 20% if the employer commits to hiring an outside safety and health consultant.

The memo is available at OSHA’s website www.osha.gov in the “Latest News” section in the upper right corner.

Attendees were able to view the effects of sun exposure with a Derma Scan, indulge in a massage from Chichester Massage, and taste healthy foods prepared during a cooking demo. It was a ‘first’ for many to experience Reiki and acupuncture. Coppola Physical Therapy tested grip strength and Workforce Wellness LLC screened biometric measurements.

The Dover and Concord Police Departments entertained the crowd! People realized the visual effects of impairment by wearing the ‘beer goggles’. Attendees were reminded of the importance of wearing a safety belt after taking a ride in the car crash simulator.

There were many products to sample such as Badger Balm and Stonyfield Farm yogurt.  Care providers such as Delta Dental, MVP Health Care and The Center for Health Promotion were well represented. Healthy recipes, nutrition and health information were exchanged.

The positive vibe and focus on healthy living was at the very foundation of this outstanding event! Thank you to all the exhibitors and organizations that donated their time, goods and services:

• American Cancer Society
• Arthritis Foundation
• Concord Community Acupuncture
• WS Badger (Badger Balm)
• Bikram Yoga Concord
• Center for Health Promotion
• Concord Police Department
• Coppola Physical Therapy
• Body Works Martial Arts
• Chichester Massage
• Delta Dental
• Dover Police Department
• Melcher & Prescott Insurance
• MVP Health Care
• Northeast Organic Farming Association
• Stonyfield Farm
• Workforce Wellness

An employee wellness program coupled with a high-deductible health plan, backed by a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), offer a solution. These health plans also referred to as Consumer Driven Health Plans. The underlying principle is to engage the employee in personal health care.

Employee wellness programs encourage healthy living through health education and support. Wellness program participants gain access to the tools and resources needed to make positive change. Employers that support the well-being of their workforce create a healthier, more productive and sustainable work environment.

Additional benefits of a worksite wellness program include:

• recruitment and retention of healthy employees
• decreased illness and injury
• reduced absenteeism rates
• improved employee relations and morale
• increased productivity
• overall reduction in health care cost

The health care spending account (i.e.,HSA, HRA) is used to pay for qualified medical expenses both covered and not covered under the insurance plan.  Employees can maintain health care benefits and continue to access their providers. The health plan allows employees to determine the best use of their benefit dollars and decide what care and treatment to receive. A more economical approach to the expenditure of health care dollars will develop. The employer benefits from a significant premium reduction. Savings can be applied to fund wellness programs which will lead to a greater return in the long term – and have net savings.

Numerous health plan options are available and there are creative ways to design an effective wellness program. The overall goal of integrating wellness and a high deductible plan, supported by an HSA or HRA, is to save money on health care cost and promote a healthier environment and attitude.

Contact Jennessa Bissonnette at Workforce Wellness for more information at 800-544-8434 or email jbissonnette@slgl.com.

The key to a successful wellness program is to engage as many participants as possible. As programs emerge, the question becomes, which approach is most effective at inspiring behavior change; the carrot or stick?

Economic incentives can increase participation and prompt healthy behavior change. In order for incentives to work, they need to be designed and administered effectively. They need to be significant enough to promote habit change and designed to be fair, convenient and realistic.

Voluntary, incentive-based programs produce positive results. The support from management along with an opportunity for employees to participate in the decision-making process benefits the employer and the employee.

Mandatory participation is not recommended. Studies show that mandatory participation may result in resentment and retaliation, primarily in the form of increased absence and reduced productivity. Penalties or disincentives for a lack of participation can also lead to charges of discrimination and violation of personal health information.

The employer can provide the tools and resources to educate and identify health risk factors. The motivation to change those unhealthy lifestyles habits is derived from encouragement, support and incentive for wellness participation.

What is an HRA?  The HRA is a confidential health questionnaire used to identify personal health risks. The HRA asks basic questions about health habits and history. Employees fill out a survey.  The assessment generally takes about 15-minutes to complete.

The standardized form of the HRA allows for an overall evaluation of the participant’s current health status based on factors such as sleep, fitness, stress management and nutrition.  Participants receive an in-depth personal report upon completion of the HRA survey.   The report is in a format that is easy to understand.   An overview of the participant’s current health status is given.  The report educates about how to make positive and lasting lifestyle changes.

Aggregate HRA results may be used by the employer to promote employee health and address specific health risks. Offering health screenings, education and risk reduction activities creates awareness and supports healthy behavior change.

Research shows that poor health practice and the existence of health risks have a significant impact an organization’s bottom line.  Taking steps to protect and improve the health of your employees is good business.  This can pay off in lower health care costs, less sickness and lost work time, improved productivity, and increased morale.  Health behavior research has shown that helping people identify threats to their health encourages the process of healthy change.

Say that five times fast!

OSHA has ben busy conducting inspections in the last year and also increasing the dollar amount of the penalties they assess. The word is they also are less forgiving in negotiating reductions in penalties. One of their inspections we were notified of that bears significant interest is a sawmill where the total penalty the company was assessed was $293,000. Of that amount, $202,500 was for a handful of violations that the company had been cited for previously and either failed to correct or correct properly. There were a few machine guards removed but the bulk of the penalties were for lack of proper lockout tagout procedures and for NOT conducting audiograms (hearing tests) on workers exposed to noise. To avoid serious penalties for noise exposure not properly dealt with read on.

OSHA reissued their noise standard around 1980 and it became known as the “Hearing Conservation Standard”. The objective is to determine what levels of noise employees are exposed to and then to develop a Hearing Conservation Program around them to train and educate them, provide them with proper types of hearing protection and test their hearing on an annual basis to make sure it is not being affected. The OSHA standard is more comprehensive than this but these are the key points of the standard (law).

A huge point of contention centers around how people get placed into a Hearing Conservation program in the first place. Many companies rely on, in some cases, decades old tests to determine areas where employees are exposed to “too much noise”. Other companies use the provider of their audiometric testing to tell them who needs to be included in the program. Still others just designate areas of their company where it “sounds too loud” as areas where people need to be included in the program. There can be problems with all of these that can get you in a bind with OSHA.

Unless a worker is exposed to the exact same level of noise for a significant part of their work day, it is almost impossible for an untrained person to determine by using a sound level meter how much noise that person is exposed to. For people with varied tasks, who are in and out of different noisy areas during their workday, the only good way to get an accurate assessment of their noise exposure is throughout he use of a noise dosimeter. Here is the basic difference between a sound level meter and a noise dosimeter.

A sound level meter will measure what the noise level is right now, at this moment, in this place. If the person you want to assess moves around, the measurement that the sound level meter takes will go up and down as that person moves from quiet to noisy area and since the meter does not record the measurements it takes (in most cases), when you turn the meter off, there is no data saved. Determining exposure with a sound level meter can be done but it takes a mathemetician with a stop watch and a scientific calculator to get an accurate number. Many people will walk past a worker and take a reading that is over 90 decibels and assume, in many cases incorrectly, that worker to be exposed to enough noise that hey must be included in a Hearing Conservation program.

In almost 40 years of performing noise assessments, I have found that the only consistently reliable method for collecting noise exposure data is a use noise dosimeter worn for as close to a full work shift as possible to get an accurate determination of worker exposure to noise. In addition, the OSHA noise standard (1910.95(d)(1)(ii)) states that “When circumstances such as high worker mobility, significant variations in sound level, or a significant component of impulse noise make area monitoring generally inappropriate, the employer shall use representative personal sampling to comply with the monitoring requirements of this paragraph unless the employer can show that area sampling produces equivalent results (call the matemetician).

Dosimeters cost in excess of $1,000 and more like $1,5000 compared to sound level meters that can be bought for under $500. It takes a full 8 hours to measure one person with one noise dosimeter whereas someone can walk through a plant in a much shorter time with a sound level meter. Clearly it can be a lot less expensive to take noise readings with a sound level meter but unless that person is highly trained at interpreting the data it could be way off. Typically, sound levels miss some people who should be included in a program and significantly overestimate the number of people that need to be included, costing a lot more in the long run to conduct audiograms every year.

In addition, if you can not prove the actual exposure to noise while in your employ and a worker suffers a hearing loss from hunting or racing motorcycles, it is much harder to defend yourself in the face of a workers’ comp claim.

Lastly, the OSHA Hearing Conservation Standard calls for retesting every time there is a change in noise levels due to job assignment or equipment changes that may affect the overall exposure and the only way to accurately measure that is through the use of noise dosimeters. The standard says “Monitoring shall be repeated whenever a change in production, process, equipment or controls increases noise exposure to the extent that: Additional employees may be exposed at or above the action level or the attenuation provided by hearing protectors being used by employees may be rendered inadequate to meet the requirements of the standard”.

The point is, companies are required to determine who is exposed to noise above 85 dBa averaged over their workday, include them in a proper Hearing Conservation program which includes, among many other things, accurate exposure monitoring, conducted to determine who must participate in the program and that testing needs to be conducted regularly when conditions have changed (one Appendix to the standard suggests yearly or every other year) to determine who else needs to be included in the program and who also may be removed.

One news release reported a penalty of $233,500 against a Long Island, New York retailer for blocked exits and other exit hazards. The company had been cited for similar violations at other retail locations in 2006 and 2007 hence the increased severity of the penalty for these repeated violations.

The obvious hazard here is the lack of accessible exits in the case of an emergency and this was the cause of the 146 fatalities in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City in 1911. There have been other such fire related tragedies since.

There have been numerous penalties issued for inspections in the last several months that are well in excess of $100,000 and are indicative of what appears to be an increasing use of significant penalties to get employers to pay more attention to the requirements of OSHA. Many of the penalties are for issues that were cited and never fixed. One noteworthy lumber company on OSHA’s web site was penalized almost $300,000 for repeated violations including noise exposure and lockout tagout violations that were never corrected. This is one of the largest penalties I have seen in almost 40 years for this type of violation and is a strong indication of OSHA’s intent to be taken seriously.

We recently had meetings of the Boards that run our two self insurance groups and they represent about 275 New Hampshire companies. Many of the Board members noted that they have hired in the last 60 days, one company increasing their staff by over 10%. Several of the companies noted that the fourth quarter of 2009 was better than forecast and a few even noted that their 4th quarter was better than normal. One Board member reported they have been doing a lot of recent training for the sales reps that sell their product at retail and have been swamped by the number of new requests for quotes that have come in just in the last three weeks and he said his office staff can barely keep up.

One company we visited just before the New Year said their business had dropped by over 50% in October of 2008 and another 50% in November of 2009 causing significant downsizing. At the time of our visit, they were just about back to full employment.

Perhaps the best news comes from an Employment Agency we work with who employed 50 in November of 2009, now has 150 and is working seven days a week to keep up! They are seeing that increase across the board.

We are actually starting to hear more good than bad on the employment front and that will hopefully continue into 2010.