Supporting the Employees 

Who Keep Bakersfield Moving 

at Golden Empire Transit: Case Study

Organization Background 

Golden Empire Transitt

« Established in 1973

« Industry: Public transit, 

special district 

« Location: Bakersfield, California

« 330 Employees

Golden Empire Transit (GET) 

provides public transportation to the 

Bakersfield metropolitan area in Kern 

County, California. It operates 16 bus 

routes serving Greater Bakersfield. 

Since 2005, the entire bus fleet has 

been powered by compressed natural 

gas. GET is committed to preserving 

not only the health of the planet, but 

also the well-being of its community, 

including one of its most valued 

resources—its employees. GET 

employees include about 100 nonunionized administrative staff and 230 

unionized drivers and mechanics.

CS257190X

GET applied principles 

of implementing a 

comprehensive workplace 

health promotion program 

learned during the NHWP by 

putting in place a combination 

of programs, policies, and 

environmental supports to 

address multiple areas of 

employee health.

Participating in the CDC’s National Healthy 

Worksite Program

In the past, many of the events sponsored by Golden Empire Transit 

(GET) catered to either unionized employees or administrative staff, 

rather than bringing all staff together. Staying healthy is challenging 

for many GET employees because of the sedentary nature of their 

jobs, their varying work shifts (overnight, variable, and split shifts), 

and the limited healthy eating options at work. Diabetes, high blood 

pressure, obesity, and tobacco use were prevalent among employees. 

The organization also experienced high employee turnover, making 

it difficult to build a culture 

of health. GET was interested 

in setting up a worksite 

wellness program that would 

unite employees around the 

common goal of increasing 

healthy behaviors, with the 

ultimate goal of improving 

health outcomes. 

GET applied to join the 

Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention’s (CDC’s) 

National Healthy Worksite 

Program (NHWP) with the 

hope of learning a structured approach to setting up new wellness 

initiatives. Health and wellness coach Bryan Haver realized that 

putting health promotion strategies and activities in place at GET 

would be challenging. Many of the organization’s employees are 

bus drivers who spend most of their time on the road, not sitting 

in a centralized office. Once GET was accepted into the NHWP, the 

organization received technical assistance to help it identify and 

address its unique needs. 

Setting Goals

One of the first NHWP activities that GET completed was a baseline 

assessment in 2013. The NHWP assessments included employee 

health surveys covering health conditions, healthy behaviors, and 

perceptions about the work environment, as well as biometric 

screenings. Like all of the employers participating in the NHWP, 

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 

Division of Population Health
GET also completed the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard, a validated organizational tool designed to help 

employers assess the extent to which they have implemented evidence-based health promotion interventions.

After receiving the results of the 2013 assessments, GET set the following goals and objectives:

• Goal: Physical Activity.

° Objective: Increase the percentage of employees who get regular physical exercise by 16%.

• Goal: Healthy Eating.

° Objective: Increase the likelihood that employees would eat a more balanced and nutritious diet by 

improving their knowledge and the availability of healthy, practical food choices.

• Goal: Stress Management.

° Objective: Reduce employees’ stress by sponsoring enjoyable social activities.

With support from management and direction from Haver, GET developed a plan for a comprehensive program 

strategy to meet these goals.

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Program Overview

GET kicked off a 

“Jumpstart Your 

Health Campaign” 

with an event that 

included a trivia 

challenge, snack 

bag giveaway, and 

raffle. Employees 

were encouraged 

to sign up for the 

initial health assessment in 2013. GET used multiple 

strategies to build employees’ awareness of the 

organization’s health and wellness activities and their 

knowledge about health. 

Working to Increase Awareness and Participation

To establish an ongoing source of information and 

increase program visibility, GET added a “Health 

Corner” section to its quarterly employee newsletter. 

For example, one issue offered tips on how to make 

healthier choices at fast food restaurants. This 

information was particularly useful for GET’s drivers, 

who have limited time and options for eating during 

working hours. GET also added information about the 

wellness program into its orientation materials and 

trainings for new staff. This approach ensured that 

employees knew about the wellness program from 

the beginning, which the organization hoped would 

increase participation.

GET also organized lunch-and-learn sessions on 

healthy eating and other wellness topics, like physical 

activity and summer safety. These sessions were led 

by a wellness professional and sponsored through 

GET’s insurance provider. They included a 30-minute 

lesson followed by Q&As. Employees were also able 

to follow up with the instructor by phone or e-mail. 

Participation ranged from 10 to 20 attendees 

per class. 

Focusing on Healthy Vending Choices

GET’s nutrition goal was to encourage all employees 

to eat a more balanced and nutritious diet. Because 

the organization does not have a cafeteria, it focused 

on increasing the number of healthy options in its 

onsite vending machines. Before GET’s participation 

in the NHWP, about 20% of vending machine options 

were healthy. By the end of the program, healthy 

options had increased to more than 50%. Healthy 

options were also labeled with green stickers and 

placed at eye level to increase their visibility. In 

addition, GET put posters on vending machines that 

read, “The right choice for a healthier you, look for the 

green tab” to encourage employees to choose the 

healthy options.

Promoting Physical Activity

One of GET’s goals was to increase the percentage 

of employees who get regular physical exercise and 

meet CDC recommendations for physical activity. The 

first step was to educate all GET employees about 

CDC’s recommended level of physical activity and 

how to meet it. 

Golden Empire Transit (GET) bus. 

Photo from GET Facebook page.
To help employees increase their physical activity 

level, GET set up programs and promoted 

environmental supports. For example, it began 

promoting its on-site gym, reminding and 

encouraging employees to use it. The company also 

offered exercise classes led by certified instructors. 

When employees had to pay a fee to participate, 

attendance ranged from 3 to 10 participants per 

class. Attendance tripled when GET covered the cost 

for employees, but the organization did not have a 

budget to continue paying for the classes.

GET also put up a bulletin board that featured a 

rotating exercise of the month, with information 

on how to perform each exercise safely and 

effectively. It tailored the program to drivers by 

including several ways to “busercise.” Because only 

about one-third of GET employees have regular 

access to e-mail at work, a physical bulletin board in a 

high-traffic area was an effective way to communicate 

to the most employees.

To complement these efforts, Haver organized an 

8-week weight-loss challenge. Participants were 

given a tracking log and optional counseling sessions 

during weekly weigh-ins. The challenge encouraged a 

“slow and steady” approach, with a goal of losing 

1 pound a week. Participants received a gym towel if 

they lost 1 to 5 pounds, a water bottle if they lost 10 

pounds, and a gift card to a sporting goods store or 

grocery store if they lost 15 pounds. The program was 

so successful that GET drivers began another weightloss challenge among themselves after completing 

the initial challenge. 

GET also tried to start a bike-sharing program, but not 

enough employees participated. Haver speculated 

that the program might have generated more interest 

if it had provided enough bikes to allow employees 

to check them out for longer periods. GET also tried 

to implement “10 Minute Recess,” which encouraged 

coworkers to take a break and engage in a playful 

activity like hula hooping together. However, because 

of its multiple shifts, the organization could not find a 

good time to make this initiative work.

Building Social Support and Teamwork to 

Manage Stress

One of GET’s most popular new activities for 

employees has been a monthly bowling night. About 

20 employees have been participating. Bowling 

night has helped employees relax together, and it 

has improved morale. Best of all, this event brings 

together employees from throughout GET, including 

drivers, administrative staff, and mechanics The 

energy and team-building momentum that bowling 

night has generated can help make other health and 

wellness initiatives successful in the future because 

employees are more likely to feel comfortable 

participating and supporting each other.

Program Success

After it finished the NHWP in 2015, GET completed 

the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard again as part of 

its follow-up assessment. The organization increased 

its total ScoreCard score from 104 to 164 out of 

a possible 264 points. It made improvements in 

several areas, including its use of evidence-based 

interventions for its goal areas of physical activity and 

nutrition, as well as for other ScoreCard modules 

(e.g., blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol). GET’s 

2015 score on the Stress Management module 

declined because of the elimination of some 

programs and training.

Some examples of the evidence-based strategies that 

GET received points for in its 2015 ScoreCard that it 

did not have in place in 2013 included the following:

• Making sure that most (more than 50%) of 

food and drink choices in vending machines, 

cafeterias, snack bars, or other purchase points 

are healthier food items.

• Providing organized individual or group physical 

activity programs for employees (other than the 

use of an exercise facility).

• Making blood pressure monitoring devices 

available with instructions for employees to 

conduct their own self-assessments.

• Providing free or subsidized self-management 

programs for cholesterol or lipid control. 

• Providing brochures, videos, posters, pamphlets, 

newsletters, or other written or online 

information that address the risks of diabetes.

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CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard Overall Score 

in Wellness Programming, 2013-2015

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Organizational Supports

Physical Activity

Nutrition

Cholesterol

High Blood Pressure

Diabetes

Stress Management

2015 Scores 2013 Scores

GET increased its score for the Organizational 

Supports module, which assesses the extent to which 

organizations have a foundation and infrastructure 

in place to support and maintain a workplace health 

promotion program. GET now has an annual health 

promotion budget and annual organizational 

objectives for health promotion.

In 2013, a total of 73 employees completed the 

baseline health assessment. In 2015, a total of 16 

employees completed the follow-up assessment, 

including 7 of the original 73. Due to small numbers, 

follow-up assessment data is not reported.

2013 Employee Health Issues and Lifestyle Risks Profile

(Employees = 73)

Self-Reported Health Assessment Survey

Health care provider diagnosed high blood 

pressure 

30%

Eat at least 5 daily servings of fruits and 

vegetables

4%

Engage in little or no physical activity 85%

High stress 47%

Biometric Screening

Elevated blood pressure (systolic >140 mmHg 

or diastolic >90 mmHg)

26%

High cholesterol (>240 mg/dL) 12%

Prediabetes (100-125 mg/dL) 26%

Diabetes (>126 mg/dL)) 15%

Overweight (Body mass index 25.0-29.9) 33%

Challenges

Some GET employees did not receive the results 

from their 2013 health assessment early in the NHWP 

program, which made it difficult to convince them 

of the value of participating in program activities 

or in the follow-up health assessment. The wellness 

committee worked to build employee confidence in 

GET’s wellness program by conducting some of its 

own surveys to assess employee interest and needs. 

The committee made sure to follow through and 

report results back to employees any time it asked 

for data.

Because GET has a mobile workforce and only about 

one-third of employees have regular access to work 

e-mail, effective communications about the wellness 

initiatives were a challenge. The wellness committee 

collected non-work e-mail addresses from employees 

and sent messages about wellness activities to 

these accounts. GET also used creative ways to get 

messages out, like banners, posters, streaming video, 

word of mouth, and break room postings. The most 

successful modes of communication were flyers 

and other materials posted in high-traffic areas like 

break rooms and areas where employees clock in or 

clock out. 

To overcome the challenge of multiple shifts, 

GET offered programs at varying times to give all 

employees the opportunity to participate during 

their working hours. GET also offered educational 

resources that employees could access at any time.

Another major barrier to the successful 

implementation of the wellness program was a 

35-day work stoppage by 250 bus drivers in 2014. 

The work stoppage occurred in the middle of the 

weight-loss challenge, bringing the program to 

a temporary halt. It was also likely a contributing 

factor to the increased stress levels reflected in the 

2015 assessments. Fortunately, when it was over, 

the drivers resumed participation in GET’s wellness 

initiatives and used the program as an area to 

rebuild trust. 
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What’s Next?

GET is committed to continuing to improve employee well-being and to applying what it learned while 

participating in the NHWP. Specifically, GET plans to do the following: 

• Collect feedback from employees on a regular basis. The organization plans to survey employees annually 

and provide wellness programs based on the results.

• Share results every time information is collected from employees to maintain employee trust.

• Continue providing health information to help foster a workplace culture of health. GET will continue 

featuring health information in its quarterly employee newsletter and plans to add a separate newsletter 

focused on health and wellness.

The National Healthy Worksite Program was designed to help employers put into action 

science- and practice-based disease-prevention and wellness strategies that would lead 

to specific measurable health outcomes to reduce chronic disease rates. From 2013-2015, 

each participating employer received support, training, and technical assistance to put 

in place a combination of program, policy, and environmental interventions to support 

physical activity, good nutrition, and tobacco-use cessation.