PBN Healthiest Employers Awards 2022
500-1,499 EMPLOYEES
2. Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island
CEO (or equivalent): Peter Marino, CEO and president
Number of employees: 587
NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH PLAN of Rhode Island built an important facet of its wellness plan before the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, the Providence-based health insurer opened an on-site gym. Returning remote workers knew they had a place to exercise.
“The wellness committee told employees to cancel their gym memberships; we have the treadmill and weight machines right here,” complete with lockers and showers, Neighborhood Health Benefits Manager Nicole Voller said.
Employees also have the walking path option, with recent mile markers and motivational signage added. Fitness points earn cash rewards through well-being platform Virgin Pulse, Voller said. Customizable, the program has covered issues related to the return to the office.
Voller is a success story. More sedentary working from home, she pledged in 2021 to lose 100 pounds by February 2022. She got a vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure, and lost 87 pounds.
“Neighborhood’s well-being program, aside from the medical plan benefits, constantly keeps me in check and always learning,” she said.
A Healthy Thought: ‘Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island saw a 50% engagement rate among its 600 employees in the wellness program it revamped in 2021.’
NICOLE VOLLER, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island benefits manager
