Employers recognized for taking further steps in improving employee health, wellness

The National Business Group on Health this week recognized 63 U.S. employers for their continued efforts in promoting healthy work environments and encouraging employee wellness.

Winners of the 2014 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards were honored in one of two categories: Platinum, for exemplary workplace well-being programs, cultures and results; and Gold, for making cultural and environmental changes and developing comprehensive programs that support employees’ healthy lifestyle goals.

Marriott International, one of eight first-time winners, created its TakeCare program in 2010 to empower employees to take personal responsibility for health management.

From worksite wellness challenges and monthly webinars to free health coaches, assessments, maternity support and a smoking cessation program, Marriott says TakeCare has helped employees both improve and maintain health. Additionally, the company adds that it is piloting a new certification program to recognize its hotels that are going above and beyond to create a healthy work environment for associates.

See also: An inside look at wellness program strategies

“The health and wellbeing of our associates are top priorities and we are committed to providing the appropriate tools to help them adopt a healthy lifestyle,” Jill Berger, vice president of health and welfare at Marriott International tells EBN. “This award is a testament to not only our hard work establishing a sustainable wellness culture at Marriott, but also our passion to make choosing health every day both easy and fun.”

Meanwhile, petrochemicals manufacturer SABIC, also one of the first-time recipients, believes its employees are the most important asset.

“We know that the path to a healthy lifestyle starts with disease prevention, which is why we’ve made health screening the cornerstone of our employee wellness program,” says Mark Bourne, senior director of HR, SABIC Americas. “By encouraging biometric risk assessments for our employees and providing follow-up counseling on the results, SABIC is helping employees to uncover disease risks and delivering the education and support necessary for them to take charge of their health.”

 

The full list of winners are:

PLATINUM

Aetna**

Aramark

Baptist Health South Florida***

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama

Cerner Corporation**

Cigna**

Eaton

Fidelity Investments

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

Hewlett-Packard

Humana Inc.

NextEra Energy, Inc.

PepsiCo

Sprint

The Boeing Company

The Hartford

Union Pacific

UnitedHealth Group

WellPoint, Inc.

Willis North America Inc.

GOLD

Accenture, LLC

Assurant, Inc.

AstraZeneca

Bank of America

Baylor Health Care System*

BD

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

BP America Inc.

Cardinal Health

Carolinas HealthCare System

Chrysler Group LLC

CNO Financial*

Cummins Inc.

CVS Caremark

DTE Energy

Erie Insurance

Geisinger Health System

Health Care Service Corporation

Healthways

JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Kaiser Permanente

KeyBank

Lockheed Martin Corporation*

Marriott International, Inc.*

MasterCard*

McKesson

MGM Resorts International®*

Michelin North America, Inc.

Pitney Bowes

SABIC*

Sanofi US

State Farm®

Target Corporation

Texas Health Resources

Texas Instruments Incorporated

The Kroger Co.*

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

Unum

UPMC and UPMC Health Plan

Vanderbilt University and Medical Center

Visant Corporation

Walgreens

Zurich North America*

* Denotes first time winner

** Denotes winning platinum honors five consecutive years

*** Denotes winning platinum honors for ten years

 

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