COLUMBUS, Ohio - Health care reform and wellness have been on the agenda at Hopkins Printing in 2013. Monthly wellness meetings, encouragement, education and a friendly "Biggest Loser" competition have all added to the learning, camaraderie and fun. The company just celebrated the conclusion of a friendly weight loss competition in which teams came together to lose a combined 136 pounds in four weeks.

Employees joined teams of three for the competition which included weekly weigh-ins, daily tips, weekly updates, and prizes.  Teams shared their creativity by selecting fun names like Fat Guys on Second, Chunky Monkeys, Chocolaholics Anonymous, Famished Females and La Lean Losers.  The winning team, Weapons of Mass Reduction, lost a total of 29 pounds and 3.9 percent of their bodyweight by exercising every day and eating healthy foods. 

Since Hopkins Printing is a 100 percent employee owned ESOP, each employee knows that health care costs impact the bottom line of their company.  "If we work to improve our health, our insurance costs should go down," said lead cutter operator and ESOP committee member, Scott Hughes. 

Wellness is part of a companywide educational goal for 2013 which includes monthly wellness meetings, quarterly safety sessions and financial training for all employees.  Wellness to date has included topics on smoking cessation, heart health and generic prescription drugs.  Safety topics focused on Personal Protective Equipment and all employees practicing with live fire extinguishers in the front yard.