Metro Water Recovery Employees Supported by Award-Winning Wellness Program

Posted on in Currents
A group of employees on bicycles.

Metro Water Recovery provides a support station during Denver’s annual Bike to Work Day event. Staffed by volunteers at Metro, the station offers water, snacks, and bicycle tools for event participants from the community. On the day of the event, our tent is located along the South Platte River trail, opposite from the outfalls area at our Robert W. Hite Treatment Facility in Denver.

At Metro Water Recovery, you can be part of a workforce that is a small community with a common purpose but large enough to provide competitive pay and employee benefits. Established in March 2000, Metro’s award-winning Wellness Program has supported employees and their wellness goals – from mental and financial health to healthy eating, fitness, and more – for over 20 years.  

In fact, Metro has been named one of the Healthiest Employers in Colorado (Springbuk) and is a Certified Healthy Workplace Leader (Health Links). Led by Norma Arnwine, Benefits Administrator, the Wellness Program has also earned numerous accolades, such as the Cigna Well Being Award and a Workplace Health Achievement from the American Heart Association. 

 Here’s a snapshot of Metro’s Wellness Program offerings:    

  • Weekly activities at our facilities. Ranging from 15-30 minutes, these activities include morning stretches, yoga, food journaling, walking meetups, and more. 
  • Goal setting seminars. Past topics include depression, stress, blood pressure, cholesterol, nutrition, cooking demos, mindfulness, and financial wellness.  
  • Healthy lifestyle challenges. Spanning 4 to 8 weeks, past topics include: 10k steps, bike miles challenge, be mindful, and fit, flexible, and strong. 
  • Instructor-led fitness classes. Spanning 4 to 8 weeks, fitness classes are 45 minutes to one hour in length. Classes have included yoga, speed walking, Zumba, and running.   
  • Events and single-day programs. Examples include blood drives, cooking demos, Bike to Work Day, immunizations, and more.  
  • Reimbursement program for eligible fitness expenses (up to $400 a year). These include facility memberships, initiation fees, punch card passes, drop-in charges, race entry fees, class registrations, and more. 

Colleen Dempsey, Director of Human Resources, reflects on the value of our program. “Metro’s Wellness Program is so robust that it not only helps our employees maintain physical wellness, but also financial and emotional wellness.” Dempsey adds, “I am very proud that the program takes care of the whole person, which ultimately benefits the person, the employer, and the person’s family.”  

Metro plans to offer several exciting challenges and events for employees in 2022, starting with a health detox challenge to kick off the new year. To learn more about what it’s like to work at Metro, visit our careers page here.  

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