Guardian Custom Glass Solutions Millbury focuses on health

“Roughly 75 percent of our healthcare costs are attributed to the way we live and the choices we make,” said Krissy Ernst, HR Generalist at CGS in Millbury. “We work hard to form partnerships with our employees and their families and educate them and provide tools and resources to help them make healthy choices.”

The HealthGuard Team that helped create the garden.

To further encourage involvement in health and wellness at CGS, a team of volunteers from different areas of the plant, called the HealthGuard Squad,  meet every few weeks to discuss and develop health related activities and learning opportunities for their peers. The team is focused on educating employees on serious health conditions, preventative care, and promoting health and wellness.

One role of the HealthGuard Squad is to determine monthly health focus topics throughout the year and to set the tone throughout the plant. “With health and wellness, everyone plays a role in developing these programs – not just management,” Ernst said. “This knowledge, combined with a desire to live a healthy lifestyle, continues to help drive employee engagement.”

This year, the broad focus has been on preventative care, eating smart and exercising more, Ernst said. The HealthGuard Squad brought in doctors from The University of Toledo Hospital and the Toledo Clinic to perform artery scans and skin cancer screenings for employees.

A chef from Owens Community College Culinary Program provided healthy cooking demonstrations for employees on site.

Recently, Millbury hosted its annual Step it Up Program at Clay High School, where employees and their family members participated in a health and fitness day with trainers from the local YMCA offering a variety of different fitness classes and activities.

April was Cancer Awareness Month, so the HealthGuard Squad decided to plant a cancer awareness garden in front of the facility. “Everyone knows the color pink is associated with breast cancer,” Ernst said. “But not everyone knows purple is for pancreatic cancer or yellow is for bone cancer. The color scheme of the garden helped us learn about other forms of cancer.”

The garden was designed to honor families and friends who have been affected by cancer, and serves as a constant reminder for employees to remain vigilant for warning signs. But Ernst says the planning and planting of the garden was every bit as important as the colorful final product. “Our people really came together and worked hard for a common cause. Building that sense of teamwork and camaraderie is priceless.”

With the help of Jim Gray, owner of Gray Services, LLC, in Curtice, CGS employees planted a color-coordinated flower garden to represent awareness for various forms of cancer.

While employees and visitors enjoy the new garden in front of the plant, the HealthGuard Squad is on to brainstorming ideas for their the next challenge. “Health and wellness has become a strong part of our culture here at Millbury,” said Ernst. “We need this knowledge to become engrained in our people to help them change some behaviors and make healthy choices.”

For more information about Guardian Custom Glass Solutions, visit www.customglasssolutions.com.

Members of the HealthGuard Team at Custom Glass Solutions Millbury helped create a flower garden that was color-coordinated to represent awareness for various forms of cancer.