Amy Walter, a 23-year-old office worker, stepped on the scale at work Monday morning. Other co-workers followed.

Up a pound, Walter was not surprised.

"I did eat out at Chili's. I get the chips and salsa," she said. "And I didn't run this weekend."

Walter's participation in the weekly workplace weigh-in was not mandatory. But it is part of her employer's comprehensive effort to take control of rising health care costs by creating a healthier and less injury-prone workforce.

Pleasant View Retirement Community, near Manheim, where Walter has worked for almost two years, employs a wellness director and a wellness coach. One of their roles is to encourage Pleasant View's 375 workers to take charge of their health by monitoring blood pressure and cholesterol and by breaking out of America's culture of ease and overeating.

Workout bonuses

Pleasant View, of course, has a big advantage that other workplaces can only envy: a gleaming fitness center with all the bells and whistles.

The health club was built for Pleasant View's exercise-minded residents, but employees are encouraged to use it. Those who work out there an average of twice a week get their $15 monthly fees reimbursed at year's end.

But Pleasant View has learned it's not enough to offer an on-site fitness center or to have a wellness coach show up at department meetings to talk to nursing aides and maintenance workers about eating veggies and stretching before lifting. To encourage real change, a little bribery helps, too.

Last year, employees who met specific criteria — among them getting a health-risk assessment, taking an exercise class or bringing in grocery store receipts to document purchases of lean meats, fruits and vegetables — earned points qualifying them for American Express gift cards worth up to $200 a year.

The anti-obesity organization Lighten Up Lancaster was so impressed that it recently presented the retirement center with its annual Innovation Award.

"It's definitely a nice thing to be reimbursed (for the fitness center fee) and to get points," said dietary aide Tiffany Shirk, 23, after she stepped off the scale, happy to have shed 4 pounds. "When I did the (health) assessment, I got a $25 gift card."

Coverage discount

This year, however, Pleasant View is cutting back on gift cards. In their place is an incentive tied directly to health. The more points an employee earns, the less he or she will pay for health coverage in 2013, wellness director Sue Rohrer said.

Smokers be forewarned, though. It's not all carrot and no stick at Pleasant View. Starting in 2013, smokers will be assessed a surcharge for health coverage, paying for risky behavior.

Employee Lori Epps said her hectic life as a working mother of two makes it hard to exercise. She admitted that her initial reaction to Pleasant View's wellness push was, "That's not their business."

"On the other hand," Epps said, "I know (health coverage is) expensive. I work in the business office. I know what the expenses are. They aren't encouraging anything that's not good for me."

For Walter, even though she gained a pound last week, Pleasant View's culture of wellness has been a game changer.

"I had a gym membership before I came here," she said, "and I hardly used it."

But now she has workout buddies, runs regularly and lost 22 pounds she's committed to keeping off.

Not only that, Walter placed first in her age group in Pleasant View's 5-kilometer race last year, and she's aiming to defend her title.

jhawkes@lnpnews.com