Supporting Each Other at LI Community Hospital

These two 1199SEIU members are part of a group of coworkers from Long Island Community Hospital who have joined WeightWatchers together.

Joanne Rosso, Unit Secretary

Joanne wants to continue doing the work she loves—and prepare for a healthy retirement when the time comes. So she’s making her health a priority by joining WeightWatchers and riding her bike for exercise.

Joanne Russo has been a Unit Secretary at Long Island Community Hospital for over 37 years and is not ready to stop any time soon. When she learned about her Benefit Fund’s partnership with WeightWatchers, Joanne was thrilled. She’s off to a great start, losing eight pounds in eight weeks. “It’s important to me that you can eat regular food with WW,” Joanne says. “You use their Points® system and budget your diet accordingly to what’s going on in your life.”

You can scan a barcode to find out the points—how great is that?

She attends workshops about five times a week—either in-person at a nearby WeightWatchers Studio or by Zoom. “I love sharing my experiences with other members—and getting feedback is great, too,” Joanne says. “I always walk away feeling like I learned something. And everybody at work who’s joined is absolutely loving it!”

Joanne loves all the things she can do with the WeightWatchers app, like track her food.

Salvatore Oliveri, Radiology Associate

Joining WeightWatchers makes it easier for Salvatore to spend time doing what he loves—treasure hunting—without worrying about his weight. “I’m still looking for that lost million-dollar Picasso,” he says with a laugh.

Salvatore Oliveri knows how effective WeightWatchers can be, having used it to lose weight in the past. Since being diagnosed with diabetes, he brought his numbers down by changing what he eats but had trouble developing healthy eating habits and maintaining his weight. “I needed to do something about my weight,” Salvatore says. “The WW partnership with the Benefit Fund was a great opportunity, so I jumped on it.” He’s off to a good start, having lost 12 pounds in just about a month.

If Joanne shows me something on the WW app I didn’t know about, I’ll try to return the favor. We help each other out and encourage one another that way.

Salvatore regularly shares tips with his coworker Joanne Rosso. “It’s awesome having other people at work use this benefit,” he says. “If Joanne shows me something on the WW app I didn’t know about, I’ll try to return the favor. We help each other out and encourage one another.”