Jersey City Medical Center Named Gold Fit-Friendly Company By AHA

The American Heart Association (AHA) has selected Jersey City Medical Center as a "Gold Fit-Friendly" company. The award is given to employers who create a corporate culture of health and wellness that improves the health of its employees, thereby reducing the financial burden brought on by a lifestyle of inactivity and poor nutrition.

Fit-Friendly Companies reach Gold level status by implementing various activities and programs to encourage physical activity, nutrition and culture enhancements.

"We believe the health and wellness of our staff goes hand-in-hand with delivering quality patient care," said Maureen Corrado, Director of Corporate Outreach and Development, Jersey City Medical Center. "To support this, we provide employees with an array of benefits and programs."

These include:

• A comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package that provides employees with 100 percent coverage for such things as breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening.
  
  
• Free treatment for employees who participate in the hospital’s "I Quit Smoking" cessation program.
  
  
• Discounted fitness center memberships.
  
  
• A health benefits program that promotes employee wellness by offering $0 co-pays for annual checkups and physical exams, and a health assessment and guidance for living and maintaining healthier lifestyles.
  
  
• Participation in local sports leagues.
  
  
• Preventative health care, health maintenance, health education programs and counseling services through the hospital’s Employee Health Services Department. This includes such things as the Get-a-Lift program to help prevent injuries among health care providers when lifting and transferring patients.
  
  
• Healthy eating incentive programs promoted in the hospital’s cafeteria.

Worksite wellness programs, according to the American Heart Association, are a proven strategy to prevent the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. By creating a wellness environment, companies can help lower healthcare costs and protect its most important resource — their employees.

Research shows that companies can save anywhere from $3 to $15 for every $1 spent on health and wellness within 12 to 18 months of implementing a worksite wellness program. Beyond cost savings and increased productivity, visionary employers are realizing the value of an employee’s total health. An effective worksite wellness program can attract exceptional employees, enhance morale and reduce organizational conflict.