It goes without saying that having dedicated, skilled nursing staff at any assisted living or nursing care community is one of the most important, if not the most important, factors in providing quality care. In talking with the nursing staff at EPOCH’s communities, the overwhelming sentiment is that EPOCH treats its team members well, which is why so many of our nursing staff members have been with us for so many years. In an industry in which turnover is common, especially in jobs such as certified nursing assistants, EPOCH has a long-standing history of hiring good people and keeping them for many years.

We’ve written before about the various wellness efforts EPOCH’s team has engaged in. From healthy potluck lunches to recipe exchanges to creating a calming staff retreat with healthy reading materials, we’ve seen lots of great ideas and efforts. At EPOCH of Norton, employees took the initiative to create a Biggest Loser-style competition to promote healthy habits and weight loss. About 20 people participated, and nearly all stuck with it to the end of the 8-week long challenge. Employee Sonja Langlois took away the grand prize of $200 – each participant donated $10 at the beginning of the competition toward this prize – and credited her success to her extremely competitive personality.

At EPOCH Senior Living, we take employee wellness seriously. It’s no secret that employees working with companies that place an emphasis on wellness initiatives are happier in their jobs, are more productive, and, of course, enjoy greater physical and mental wellness. We’ve seen our EPOCH team pursue wellness in a number of ways, from walking initiatives to healthy potlucks to blood pressure checks and more.

At EPOCH Senior Healthcare of Brewster, the Wellness Team there is making great process in transforming part of their break room into a relaxation area. They’ve separated a portion of the space from the rest of the room with a screen featuring relaxing outdoor imagery, and they’ll soon include comfortable chairs and a reading rack with materials focused on wellness.

Have you heard of Movember? During each November, Movemeber is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches and beards on the faces of thousands of men across the nation and the world. Much like the pink hair extensions many women sport as an effort to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer, the Movember movement seeks to raise awareness for men’s health, particularly for prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. At EPOCH, our corporate office in Waltham is participating in this effort to raise money for three men’s health organizations: the Prostate Cancer Foundation, LiveStrong, and the Movember Foundation. Here are the rules:

EPOCH and its fantastic employees have spent a good deal of time and energy on employee wellness, whether it’s forming walking teams, holding healthy potluck lunches, creating healthy recipe books to share, and much more. Employee wellness doesn’t stop at just the physical, though; EPOCH understands the importance of helping employees maintain a healthy, positive outlook on life as well. That’s why EPOCH leaders have taken steps to help employees who may be anxious or depressed.