DAYTON – Premier Health again has been named a Gold Level employer for workplace health by the American Heart Association.
More than 1,000 organizations applied for the Health Achievement Index, with only 250 being recognized as a Gold Level employer.
This recognition comes from the American Heart Association’s 2019 Workplace Health Achievement Index, which identifies organizations that are committed to applying evidence-based approaches to improve their employees’ overall health. The index uses science-based best practices to evaluate the overall quality and comprehensiveness of workplace health programs.
This achievement acknowledges Premier Health’s commitment to wellness for its more than 13,000 employees. Premier Health offers comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs through Premier Healthy Living. This incentive-based program is available to all employees enrolled in the Premier Health Employee Plan.
“Premier Healthy Living focuses on wellness dimensions of nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction and overall lifestyle,” Brenda Bodenmiller, employee wellness manager for Premier Health, said. “Just last year, our employees collectively lost 3,753 pounds in our Healthy Living challenges.”
Premier Healthy Living provides employees with biometric screenings, preventive health exams, wellness challenges, health related videos and ways for employees to track their daily steps.
“Empowering employees with the tools to further their well-being aligns with our mission to build healthier communities,” Dr. Melinda Ruff, chair of Premier Health’s employee wellness committee, said. “This organization has created a culture where employee health and safety are valued through these workplace programs.”
A unique feature of the index is that it calculates an average heart health score for employees of participating companies that securely submit aggregate health data. Companies receive benchmarking reports, which allow them to identify potential areas of improvement so that they can advance their annual performance and recognition.
