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

Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest integrated health system, today 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.

"At Kaiser Permanente, our mission of total health encompasses our employees and the communities we serve. I’m proud that even as we work hard to deliver the best care to our members, our professionals can access information, programs and resources to improve their own health as well. To sum it up: we practice what we preach," said Senior Vice President and Area Manager Michelle Gaskill-Hames, of Kaiser Permanente’s Southern Alameda County service area.

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.

A heart-healthy wellness meal at the San Leandro Medical Center cafeteria

In Kaiser Permanente's Southern Alameda County service area, workplace wellness services include fitness programs such as yoga, Zumba, walking challenges, circuit training and line dancing. Healthy dining options, including meatless entrees, are prepared fresh each day in the cafeterias. The San Leandro and Union City medical facilities both provide staff gyms, and all employees are encouraged to visit the on-site Healthy Living Centers for information on healthy lifestyle practices, and staff and families are invited to monthly weekend hikes. At the San Leandro Medical Center, many employees participate in lunch time music therapy to reduce stress and spur creative thinking.

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.