WCWV History

...1980...1989...1992...Today...

In the mid 1980’s…

West Virginia Rehabilitation Services via West Virginia Research and Training Center (WVRTC) – created a “think tank” and research center that:

• Worked with employers and disabled workers

• Recognized that many disabilities are preventable and sought role for rehabilitation in prevention

The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health was active in prevention but didn’t have connection to the workplace so the West Virginia Rehabilitation and Bureau for Public Health convened a group of government and business leaders to determine: “How can we involve employers in health promotion and disability prevention?

There were seven state & local “Wellness Councils” across the country at the time that were involved specifically with employer wellness and prevention.  West Virginia representatives contacted some of these councils to find out how things worked and attended a national council meeting in North Carolina.  At this time, the sponsors were insurance companies. 

At this meeting, West Virginia decided to sponsor a conference for employers to introduce them to wellness.  The keynote speaker was NASA’s Medical Director, Dr. Berry. During the planning of the first conference, organizers contacted Governor Moore’s office and met with his top assistant.  The Conference was a great success and met the goal of communicating the importance of Workplace Wellness to employers.  WV Rehab had an Employer Service Agent in each region.  So, the rehab and a Health Educator from the different agencies (funded from a Health Department grant) teamed up to promote Worksite Wellness statewide. 

...By 1989…

• A WV Rehab employee was assigned (donated) to be the Director of the WCWV.  WV affiliated with the Wellness Councils of America.

• Don Springer, Human Resources Director of Union Carbide was the first president of the Wellness Council of West Virginia (WCWV) and helped “sell” council to business.

• The WCWV director and board chair traveled all over WV to recruit companies.  The major theme was, “To become a part of a National Movement/Trend”

Organizations behind the WCWV “movement” at this time were:

• Union Carbide

• Employers Service Corporation

• Charleston Area Medical Center

• McDonough Caperton (now Acordia)

• Eastern American Energy

• Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield

• Other state hospitals

WCWV held meetings, recruited members and searched for the key to involving business in wellness.

An Awards Program was in place in South Carolina but this program wasn’t fully developed. 

...By 1992…

The South Carolina awards program was adopted nationally with a program emphasis.  WV volunteered to work with the program for one year to pilot the Well Workplace Awards program.  The WV Board designed the program.  Employers Service was a vital organizational contributor to the process.

When Governor Gaston Caperton was elected, he embraced the model.  He wrote letters for the Council, hosted CEO breakfasts at the annual conference, etc.   

A benchmark model was created with development work from the WV Board, then was submitted nationally for further development.

...Today…

The Wellness Council of West Virginia is an independent Council collaborating with other state councils to develop and present the best resources possible for organizations seeking to begin or enhance a wellness initiative.

The Wellness Council of West Virginia has 200 corporate members representing over 110,000 WV workers.  Council staff is regularly asked to present at venues in and around the mid-Atlantic region. 

The WCWV is a pioneer in the field of worksite wellness and strives to stay on the cutting edge of issues relevant to employers.