Kaiser Permanente Named A Best Employer For Healthy Lifestyles

Taking Top Honors at National Business Group on Health Awards

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Jun 27, 2012, 08:15 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente today received a pair of Platinum Awards from the National Business Group on Health as they recognized the 2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles. Kaiser Permanente is one of only 30 U.S. employers honored with the platinum award for its continuing commitment to promoting healthy work environments and encouraging workers to live healthy lifestyles.

Kaiser Permanente was acknowledged with its first Platinum Awards for its dynamic and innovative national Healthy Workforce programs, tools, and resources, including Thrive Across America, KP Walk! and the Take and Give campaign to promote the total health assessment. Through its Healthy Workforce initiative, Kaiser Permanente supports the health and well-being of employees by promoting healthy lifestyles with a focus on healthy eating and physical activity — especially walking. Kaiser Permanente's workplace-wellness program in Northern California, Live Well Be Well, was also recognized with a Platinum Award. These awards exemplify the importance of total health in the workplace.

"We are honored to be recognized for our long-standing commitment to total health at Kaiser Permanente. Our employees and caregivers dedicate so much of themselves to caring for our members and patients; we also want them to have the resources they need to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit," said Tammy Jones, vice president, Healthy Workforce, Kaiser Permanente. "Our wellness programs are extremely popular with our employees and that is a reflection of how we all partner together to support total health so everyone can thrive."

Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions partnered to launch the Healthy Workforce program in 2010. Healthy Workforce was developed as an extension of the comprehensive health care services that Kaiser Permanente provides to more than 180,000 employees, physicians, dentists, and their families. These services are delivered through Kaiser Permanente's unique integrated system — with a strong focus on preventive services and healthy living resources. The commitment to encourage healthy lifestyles is further extended to employer groups through a Kaiser Permanente program called HealthWorks.

NBGH is the nation's largest non-profit organization devoted to health policy and health care issues from the employer perspective. NBGH annually recognizes exceptional employee wellness programs with the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award. Winners were honored in one of two categories: Platinum and Gold. Platinum recognition is awarded to organizations that have established healthy weight and lifestyles programs with measurable success and documented outcomes.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

Contacts
Amy Wang, 510-506-5569
[email protected]

Patrice Smith, 510-271-6813
[email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente