To commemorate “National Workplace Wellness Week,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic Leadership Center yesterday hosted a forum entitled, “Workplace Wellness: How Business is Part of the Solution,” to address the state of workplace wellness programs and highlight the new trends, challenges, and opportunities to improve health and wellness.

“The trend is now clear,” said Randy Johnson, senior vice president for Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits for the U.S. Chamber. “Workplace wellness programs are now front and center in becoming another tool by which employers can help control health care costs while improving the morale and health of their employees. While every employer is different and the form of wellness programs varies from simple to complex, developments in this area are truly a win-win for both employers and employees.”

The Chamber calls worksite wellness programs a “vitally important mechanism” for improving health and controlling costs. “These programs keep employees healthy, and studies demonstrate that healthier employees are more productive at work,” according to a Chamber statement.

Speaker Paul Speranza Jr. of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. called wellness and health care community collaboratives “the wave of the future.”