City Employees Recognized for Safety and Wellness

The City of Forest Grove was honored with two Gold Awards for achievements in creating and maintaining a safe workplace and for outstanding completion of Health Status Questionnaires (HSQ) as part of the City’s ongoing risk management program. The Award Ceremony was held as part of the League of Oregon Cities Annual Conference in Eugene.

The Safety Award Program was developed 36 years ago and is co-sponsored by the League of Oregon Cities and CIS (CityCounty Insurance Services). Forest Grove received the award based on successful safety training, management commitment and the safe operation of equipment and machinery, all of which contribute to reducing lost time injuries.

The HSQ is a tool that helps employees to better understand their health and possible health risks. Once completed, employees can print a confidential health status report. 2010 marked the eighth consecutive year Forest Grove has been recognized for its efforts in wellness.

“The partnership between CIS and the City of Forest Grove is an excellent one providing “win-win” situations for everyone”, said Mayor Peter Truax. “The bottom line is that our employees are healthier and safer, providing our community with exemplary service.”

About the LOC CIS Safety and Wellness Awards

The purpose of the Safety Awards is to stimulate interest and participation by Oregon’s cities in loss prevention programs. The Safety Awards are given based on calculating the number of person hours (full time, part time and volunteer) times the number of hours worked and then divided by the lost time injuries to arrive at the total time loss index. Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards are presented based on the lowest time loss index in six groups. The groups are configured by number of employees. The 2009-10 contest covered the period 7/1/09 to 6/30/10.

The Wellness Award is based on the percentage of employees who have completed a Health Status Questionnaire (HSQ) during 2009-10. Gold Awards are for 100% Completion of the HSQ, Silver for 90-99% Completion and Bronze for 80-89% Completion.

About CIS

Since 1981 CIS has been providing liability, property, workers’ compensation and health insurance coverage to meet the unique needs of Oregon’s cities and counties. Available exclusively to members of the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties, CIS is member-owned and governed. CIS provides comprehensive, individually tailored risk financing and risk management services designed specifically for public entities.