Well Workplace Award Gold Winner: Shenandoah Medical Center

Shenandoah Medical Center (SMC), a 2025 Well Workplace Award recipient, has demonstrated exceptional and comprehensive worksite wellness strategies grounded in the 7 Benchmarks, earning them recognition as a Gold Winner. At SMC, wellness is more than a program; it’s a culture of care rooted in belonging, encouragement, and psychological safety.

SMC is a critical access hospital in southwest Iowa. Guided by the mission to “provide quality health care, one patient at a time,” SMC also makes employee health and well-being a top priority. This focus enables staff to stay productive, efficient, and self-aware while fostering growth and professional development. Their commitment to wellness has not only recognized them with a Gold Well Workplace Award, but it has named them as one of America’s healthiest companies.

Leaders at SMC see wellness as central to a positive culture, and regular reporting keeps them engaged and supportive, according to Amy Zona, manager of corporate wellness. They also show support through connection and recognition. Town halls, SMC’s monthly all-employee meetings, spotlight successes, recognize achievements, and share key organizational updates. Daily huddles are quick meetings where departments review priorities, stay connected, and celebrate wins. Standing ovations are peer-to-peer recognitions that let employees celebrate one another, and what makes them special is that senior leadership personally hand-delivers the standing ovations to those who are recognized! These practices strengthen SMC’s culture of wellness by tying purpose back to the organization’s mission and values—integrity, teamwork, and compassion.  

Along with leadership support, Amy highlights employee engagement and participation in wellness offerings as one of the organization’s proudest accomplishments. Still, wellness comes with challenges. SMC has learned that wellness is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. To meet the diverse needs of their employees, they embrace holistic, purpose-driven wellness, centered around both movement and nonmovement initiatives that address all dimensions of wellness.

SMC encourages creative approaches to wellness. Challenges go well beyond step counts, featuring mental health journaling, team-building exercises, and even classic games turned into wellness activities, such as the following popular initiatives.

• Monopoly—Participants walked a certain number of steps to earn a chance to roll the dice on a Monopoly-style board designed specifically for SMC wellness, featuring various SMC departments. Just like the classic game, drawing cards allowed participants to earn board pieces. This activity encouraged movement while keeping participants actively engaged!
• Guess Who—An individual wellness challenge in which every participant received a game board. For every 20,000 steps, participants earned a guess to identify the “Who.” All questions were yes/no and related to pictures of select SMC staff. When someone correctly guessed the “Who,” they were given a new game board. To maintain engagement and excitement, a life-size version of the game was displayed in a well-traveled hallway.

Some highlights of the SMC wellness strategy include:

• Quarterly challenges
• Monthly calendars with daily wellness activities
• Quarterly educational opportunities.

Amy explains that these initiatives are built around a wellness theme. For example, one theme was “Great Adventures With SMC.” As part of this theme, a quarterly challenge encouraged teams to collectively “walk” the Appalachian Trail, while a nonmovement challenge invited participants to track their snacking and share healthy recipes—eventually creating a cookbook that was distributed amongst employees. The educational activity asked participants to review a slide deck on macronutrients and answer quick questions to test their knowledge. Together, these initiatives combine fun, learning, and healthy habits, keeping wellness top of mind.

Of the 7 Benchmarks, SMC shines brightest in Benchmark 2: Collaboration in Support of Wellness. With a dedicated wellness committee and strong leadership backing, they stay ahead of wellness trends by attending webinars and remaining active members in the Wellness Alliance, constantly introducing fresh ideas to keep employees engaged and motivated.

Amy shares that a growth mindset isn’t just encouraged among staff—It’s a core practice within the wellness team itself. Through annual surveys and ongoing conversations with the wellness council, leadership, and employees, the committee stays flexible, adapting initiatives to ensure everyone feels supported, engaged, and energized.

If another organization is looking for advice on starting or improving their wellness strategy, Amy’s response is simple: “Start with the data and ask your people. You have the best opportunity to learn more right at your fingertips. Don’t be afraid. Just ask!”

Shenandoah Medical Center is a 2025 Well Workplace Award recipient. Click here to review a complete list of award winners.

Interested in applying for a Well Workplace Award? Learn more about the Well Workplace Award application process here.

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  Ashton DeMoss

  Wellness Content and Information Specialist

  IFEBP

  As a Wellness Content and Information Specialist at the Wellness Alliance, Ashton is passionate about supporting employee well-being and advancing workplace wellness initiatives. With over 12 years of experience as a certified health coach, Ashton has worked extensively in the worksite wellness sector, empowering individuals and organizations to prioritize health and create sustainable wellness strategies. Outside of work, she enjoys group exercise classes and participating in a monthly book club to nurture both her physical and mental well-being.