Raleigh, N.C. - The 2016 Wellness & Safety Expo connected thousands of state employees and retirees with community resources that promote a safe and healthy lifestyle.

The event took place Thursday inside the Jim Graham Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

“We want state employees to keep wellness and workplace safety a priority,” said Neal Alexander, Director of the Office of State Human Resources. “We care about their well-being. The expo increases their awareness of workplace hazards, which plays a key role in reducing injuries.”

In 2013, Governor McCrory’s Executive Order 13 established the state’s Health and Safety Leadership Team. Since then, workplace injuries in North Carolina State Government have fallen by 14-percent. That number is expected to improve even further this year. Director Alexander credits the decrease in injuries to ongoing hazard recognition and safety training programs.

Some of those training programs were on display at the expo. More than 150 vendors participated, providing information on topics like workplace ergonomics, fall prevention and hazard awareness and reporting.

Wellness was also a focus at the expo. State employees were provided access to health screenings, CPR and fire-extinguisher trainings and an interactive driving simulator. There were opportunities to give back too. Many state employees donated blood to the American Red Cross and contributed non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.

To see photos of the 2016 Wellness & Safety Expo, visit our Flickr page.