Greatwide Logistics Services – a national provider of non-asset-based transportation and third-party logistics – announced on Friday, Aug. 24, pilot testing of what it describes as a breakthrough wellness program aimed at improving the health and well-being of owner-operators.
Designed to assist owner-operators in improving their individual lifestyles to promote personal health, the new Greatwide Drive and Thrive program consists of an initial health assessment, conducted by registered nurses, that collects a wide range of information on the participant’s health status. Equipped with the participant’s Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, HDL, LDL and triglyceride levels, the nurse works with the owner-operator to identify and adopt lifestyle changes and additional medical intervention appropriate to improving their overall health.
While nurses staffing the program are prepared and equipped to address a wide range of health issues and concerns, it is anticipated that the major areas of focus in Drive and Thrive will be on diet, exercise and smoking cessation, the three most significant areas of impact on the health of owner-operators.
Greatwide says Drive and Thrive differs from many other workplace wellness programs that leave participants on their own following the assessment function. In this new program, the driver will be referred to an independent program administrator who will be responsible for all aspects of the program. The program nurse who assists the owner-operator during the assessment phase will consult with the program participant throughout his or her entire involvement in Drive and Thrive. It is believed that regular contact with a program nurse in a coaching role will further motivate owner-operators to maintain the healthy lifestyle recommendations initially proposed and seek ways of further improving their health, according to Greatwide.
“In evaluating interest in increasing and expanding their quality of life, a survey of 500 Greatwide owner-operators returned more than 180 positive responses for development of a program, more than one-third of those surveyed,” says Rob Newell, vice president of owner-operator recruiting and retention at Dallas-based Greatwide Logistics Services. “Because Greatwide is ‘Owner-Operator Proud,’ we believe creating and testing Drive and Thrive is another way of showing our commitment to the best owner-operators in the industry and recognizing their central role in our success.”
In working with Greatwide to create the program, Dallas insurance broker John Mondics sought to integrate other resources available to Greatwide owner-operators with this new programming to assisting drivers in combating poor health habits.
“From years of working with leaders in the transportation industry and the professional drivers who support these companies, we know the challenges that many owner-operators face in adopting a proper diet and exercise program, and maintaining other positive health practices,” says Mondics, president of the Mondics Insurance Group. “By combining access to quality health services through Greatwide’s Greatcare program with this new Drive and Thrive program, owner-operators are better equipped than ever before to know their health situation and what to do to improve it.”
Greatwide’s pilot wellness program initially is being evaluated in two locations, Terrell and Temple, Texas, and is being offered at no charge to about 375 owner-operators. Data collected from the two pilot sites will be used to determine future program direction. Drive and Thrive complements Greatcare, Greatwide’s benefits and services program, which was launched in August 2006.
