In Central New York and the Southern Tier, eight organizations received recognition for taking significant steps to build a culture of health and invest in the health of their workforce as part of the 2020 results of the American Heart Association Workplace Health Achievement Index. The American Heart Association, a global force for longer, healthier lives, created the Index in 2015 with its CEO Roundtable, a leadership collaborative of more than 45 members from some of America’s largest companies who are committed to applying evidence-based approaches to improve their employees’ overall health.
In Central New York and the Southern Tier, the following organizations were recognized in the Workplace Health Achievement Index:
- American Heart Association, Gold
- Hillrom, Gold
- eni, Silver
- Fust Charles Chambers LLP, Silver
- UHS, Silver
- Broome County Health Department, Bronze
- The Guthrie Clinic, Bronze
- Pathfinder Bank, Completer
The Workplace Health Achievement Index is a web-based scorecard that looks at organizational best practices and aggregates employee health data to evaluate the overall quality and comprehensiveness of workplace health programs. A unique feature of the Index is that it calculates an average heart health score for employees of participating organizations that securely submit aggregate health data.
More than 750 organizations completed the index assessment this year, which evaluated the time period of July 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Of those companies, 35% received gold recognition, the highest percentage to date, 29% silver and 25% bronze. Organizations receive benchmarking reports, which allow them to identify potential areas of improvement so that they can advance their annual performance and recognition.
“The American Heart Association applauds these local companies for their efforts in cultivating healthier work environments and communities. With the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacting how organizations work, we are enthusiastic about the number of organizations committed to building a culture of health and well-being,” said Franklin Fry, executive director of the Greater Syracuse American Heart Association.
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. The Index scores companies on the heart health of their employees based on Life’s Simple 7®, the seven risk factors the American Heart Association has defined for ideal cardiovascular health that people can improve through lifestyle changes: smoking status, physical activity, weight, diet, blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
The American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Solutions offers a suite of evidence-based tools to help optimize current employee health programs. These tools leverage the science behind the Index while improving consumer engagement and promoting healthier behaviors. For more information, visit www.heart.org/workplacehealth.