The ETWR Recognition Program acknowledges East Tennessee worksites that demonstrate excellence in delivering worksite wellness. Launched in 2020, ETWR Recognition is now a three-tier program that evaluates efforts a worksite has made to improve employee health, such as evidence-based built environment and policy changes. To receive recognition, worksites must have a supportive wellness infrastructure and must meet a certain number of criteria related to disease monitoring and prevention, physical activity, nutrition, mental health, substance abuse and tobacco use and prevention.
ETWR Recognition Program
Who can apply for ETWR Recognition?
Any member of an organization can apply for recognition if he or she is knowledgeable about wellness initiatives and is willing to be the point of contact. The online application takes about 30 minutes to complete. The application was developed and adapted from the 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worksite Health ScoreCard.
The Three Tiers of ETWR Recognition
ETWR Bronze recognizes worksites that demonstrate a solid foundation for incorporating wellness into their employee culture. (Give an example)
ETWR Gold recognizes worksites that demonstrate excellence in worksite wellness and have implemented evidence-based strategies to achieve a culture of health in their workplace. ETWR remains the core recognition for worksites.
If you have previously received ETWR Gold status, you can maintain your ETWR Gold status or pursue the ETWR Platinum status for advanced recognition.
ETWR Platinum is awarded to worksites that have maintained ETWR Gold status for at least one year, demonstrate sustainability and prioritize quality improvement around employee wellness. These sites have become the standard for successful worksite wellness. ETWR Gold sites do not have to retake the ETWR Gold application in full. They will complete a comprehensive on-site visit with the ETWR Chair to discuss current wellness initiatives.
Click here to view the criteria.
Hear from two of our 2019 ETWR Gold awardees below.
Free Wellness Resources: Sample Items
The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) has received grant funding to help Knox County organizations create cultures of health with evidence-based strategies. KCHD uses this money to purchase wellness items for ETWR Recognized worksites.
Worksites can describe areas where they could use additional resources to start new wellness initiatives or improve upon existing initiatives.
For example, if your workplace would like to have an employee garden but does not have the resources to purchase gardening supplies, you can request resources from KCHD to support this initiative.
Below is a list of some of the available resources and incentives that Knox County worksites can request:
- Signs to identify walking routes or tobacco-free workplaces
- Exercise equipment for worksite fitness rooms
- Kitchen equipment for preparing healthy foods
- Supplies and furniture for lactation rooms
- Supplies for worksite gardens
- Bike racks
- Healthy vending toolkit and vending compliance calculator
- Stickers and decals to highlight healthy vending machine options
- Scales and blood pressures cuffs for monitoring employee health
- Drug-free workplace trainings
- Mental health and mindfulness resources
- Educational materials, such as printed flyers or pamphlets
- Healthy workplace sample policies and procedures
- Window decals and ETWR certificates of recognition
- Publicity through ETWR website, Facebook page and media releases
- View a printable list of available: ETWR Resource List.
Questions?
Click here for frequently asked questions. If you have further questions, please contact Julia Holland at Julia.Holland@knoxcounty.org
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