Kaiser Permanente Receives Silver Recognition in the American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index

Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest integrated health system, announced it has received the 2016 silver level recognition in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) inaugural Workplace Health Achievement Index, a science-based and evidence-informed measurement that assesses and recognizes workplace health programs. Initiated by the AHA’s CEO Roundtable, the index provides employers with best practices to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of workplace health programs.

“Our employees, nurses and physicians are our greatest assets and to be recognized for our workplace health programs shows that we are on the right path in caring for our work force,” said Colleen McKeown, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Service Area. “We are proud to care for our patients as well as our Kaiser Permanente team.”

As we observe American Heart Month in February, Kaiser Permanente’s robust efforts to improve heart health, lower hypertension, and improve cardiovascular fitness for its more than 220,000 employees and physicians are particularly relevant. Highlights of these efforts include:

• More than 58,000 Kaiser Permanente employees have participated in the AHA’s annual Heart Walks since 2006, raising $4.3 million at 42 walk locations around the U.S.
• The creation in 2015 of Go KP, the online workforce wellness program for all Kaiser Permanente employees that provides tips and tools, motivation, and social features to help employees get fit and stay healthy.
• Pre-recorded webinars on topics like “Weight Loss for Busy People,” “Trendy Foods, Trendy Diets” and “Whole Food Plant-Based Eating.”
• Access to wellness coaching to develop strategies for reducing stress, becoming more active, managing weight or quitting tobacco use – a tool that a recent Kaiser Permanente study showed can aid significant weight loss.

Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Service Area has many programs designed to keep employees and physicians healthy. The annual Diablo Family Wellness festival provides flu vaccinations for all physicians, employees and their families along with biometric testing and family-friendly activities. Lunch time classes like Zumba, massage, mindfulness and yoga encourage exercise and physical activity. And cooking demonstrations led by registered dietitians help expose employees to vegetarian and plant-based dining options, complete with samples and recipes.

The AHA’s Workplace Health Achievement Index scores and recognizes companies based both on the structure of the workplace health program and employees’ heart health based on the AHA’s seven behaviors and metrics for ideal heart health (smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose). People who achieve ideal cardiovascular health by age 50 have significantly lower lifetime risk of heart disease and stroke, and live, on average, approximately 10 years longer than people with two or more risk factors.

For more information about improving heart health, find Kaiser Permanente resources online.