The grueling physical work found in the coal yard at NRG Keystone Power Station can be tough on a body. But with help from the corporate wellness program offered by Indiana Regional Medical Center, aches and pains are becoming more tolerable.

Workers are also learning how to take better care of themselves, creating a healthier and more reliable workforce, which results in fewer sick days or health claims.

Those involved say it’s been a good match.

“Our guys are outside, working on scaffolding and on cement, on their feet a lot, bending over, crawling into small spaces,” says Cheryl Thomas, an administrative assistant in the power station’s human resources department.

Thanks to a daily stretching program and a massage therapist who visits twice a month, workers are not hampered by as many nagging injuries.

NRG Keystone, which generates power for the Eastern part of the U.S., is a busy place for 178 employees. But the 15-minute sessions with the massage therapist have won rave reviews.

“The guys here say it really helps with their back issues and other issues,” Thomas says. “The wellness program has been really great for us. As a plant, we’ve always had some sort of wellness program, but those plans were more focused on walking and running.”

Things changed about 10 years ago when the company built a gym for employees. “The gym really helped also with state-of-the-art equipment,” Thomas says. “Amanda (Augustine) and her team gave the guys instruction on how to lift weights properly.”

Workers rack up points with the more they work out and cash them in for clothes, CDs and gift cards.

As IRMC’s director of corporate wellness, Augustine says hospital representatives have “been able to identify health risks people were not aware they had.”

A quarterly “Lunch and Learn” offers healthy foods with discussions that center around advice for a healthy daily life.

“NRG is a very engaged employer that’s really committed to the health of the employees there,” she says. “They have a wellness committee and invite IRMC to attend the meetings. We sit down and discuss things and give them ideas. Or, maybe there’s a program they’re interested in and we help develop it for them.” One such program especially kicked into high gear recently, a program that had folks eating healthy over the holidays from mid-November to early January.

“It’s not necessarily a weight management program over the holidays because that’s not realistic,” Augustine says. “It’s more of a way to maintain your weight over the holidays.”

From left IRMC’s Program Assistant Kaitlin Cadile, Registered Dietitian Lori Smith, Manager of Corporate and Community Wellness Amanda Augustine and Registered Dietitians Rebecca Williamson and Nicole Dann-Payne all work to make wellness easy for NRG Keystone Power Station employees.

NRG Keystone is one of 17 corporate clients in the wellness program. The power plant, located in parts of Armstrong and Indiana counties, supplies power to New Jersey, Maryland and New York. Thomas laughs when asked if their power is used by Bruce Springsteen for his electric guitars.

Saving money is no laughing matter, and there’s plenty of that going on.

“I’d say this program has defrayed our health care costs because it’s helped so many of our employees to be at work every day,” Thomas says. “They’re feeling better and aren’t taking as much time off as they may have before.

“Amanda and her team are absolutely wonderful. I can pick their brains at any time. The nutritional team is exceptional, too. Last year, while we were trying to maintain weight over the holidays, we had 80 people sign up and only three or four didn’t make it. They stayed focused.”

“Employers are making not only the commitment, but they’re making investments in the wellness program offered at their worksite,” Augustine says. “They are looking for outcomes, so a lot of times, employees’ health and participation is tied in to their insurance premiums.”

Ryan Bailey, the station’s outage manager, says he’s noticed improved health.

“It has been effective so far,” he says. “IRMC always brings something different to the table. The whole goal is to create healthy habits for the employees, and we’re trying to give them the tools to do that.”

Coal yard equipment operator Ken Setlock, who has worked nearly 40 years there, agrees. His family has a history of heart troubles, so he’s keen on staying in shape. Talking with IRMC dietitian Lori Smith, Setlock says, has him helped learn how to better read food labels, which also helps.

Setlock, 59, enjoys the stretching exercises before work. “The fitness center is nice,” he says. “You go in, do what you want, as long as you want. I wish we had it when I was younger.”