American Heart Association Recognizes Catawba Valley Health System for Workplace Health Achievement

(HICKORY - October 2018) – The results of the American Heart Association 2018 Workplace Health Achievement Index have been announced and Catawba Valley Health System (CVHS) achieved Silver level recognition for taking significant steps to build a culture of health in the workplace.

CVHS was the highest-performing organization in the county, along with the YMCA of Catawba Valley.

The American Heart Association created the Index with its CEO Roundtable members, a leadership collaborative of more than 40 CEOs from some of America’s largest companies who 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 their workplace health 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.

More than 1000 companies completed the Index assessment this year and, of those companies, 75 percent received either Gold, Silver or Bronze recognition. Companies receive benchmarking reports, which allow them to identify potential areas of improvement so that they can advance their annual performance and recognition in the Index and help their workforce move toward ideal heart health.

Marcus Osborne, director of wellness for CVHS, said, "Catawba Valley Health System prides itself on the care it provides to our community and it’s exciting to be recognized for the care we give our employees. We provide services to many local companies that share a desire to improve the well-being of their employees, and it’s gratifying to lead by example in caring for our own staff in the same way."

The Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index allows companies to measure the effectiveness of their workplace health programs as well as the overall heart health of their employees. Unlike other existing organizational scorecards, the Index also scores companies on the heart health of their employees based onLife’s Simple 7®–the Association’s scientifically validated definition of ideal heart health. The American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index assessment is grounded in data-driven science and a quality improvement framework. According to the Nielsen 2016 Employee Health Survey, robust and comprehensive strategies for well-being are associated with positive impacts on employees’ health.

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Photo cutline info: (l to r) Marcus Osborne – Director, CVHS Wellness and Rehabilitation Management; Patti Moore – Wellness Dietitian, CVHS Health 4 Us; Eddie Beard – CVHS President and CEO; Marques Fitch – VP of Health, American Heart Association; Myra McDonough – Health Coach, CVHS Health 4 Us; Taylor Young – American Heart Association, Hickory Heart Ball

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