More Than 130 Leading Organizations Pledge Support for June's Fourth Annual National Employee Wellness Month

Organizations Join Virgin HealthMiles, STOP Obesity Alliance, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and WorldatWork to Promote Prevention, Workplace Wellness This June


BOSTON, MA and WASHINGTON, DC and SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - May 16, 2012) - June's fourth annual National Employee Wellness Month is once again providing a key platform for leading businesses to demonstrate their support for prevention and healthy lifestyles. Today, Virgin HealthMiles, the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and WorldatWork announced more than 130 US organizations have pledged their support for June's National Employee Wellness Month.

Now in its fourth year, National Employee Wellness Month showcases how prevention, coupled with supportive social communities like the workplace, helps to improve employee health and productivity, lower healthcare costs and create a workplace culture of health. This annual initiative helps employers learn from best practices of how companies are developing successful strategies around prevention and good health.

Forward-thinking employers know helping employees make healthy lifestyle choices can have a significant impact on curbing the rising cost of preventable and highly manageable chronic diseases. Throughout June, participating organizations will promote the benefits of healthy lifestyles, and provide motivation and opportunities for employees to engage in a range of healthy lifestyle behaviors.

National Employee Wellness Month's supporting organizations include:

AGCO, Alere, Alliance for Work-Life Progress, Alliance to Make US Healthiest, Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Alpine Bank, American College of Preventive Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American Medical Women's Association (AMWA), American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA), American Society of Bariatric Physicians, AOL Inc., Arogya World, Aspect, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Avon, Balance Concierge, Baptist Health, BBVA Compass, Belmont University, Benemax, Benjamin Moore & Co., Best One Tire, BestCompaniesAZ, Bingham Greenebaum Doll, Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Broadway Bank, bswift, Buffalo Rock, Building Healthier America, CBIZ, Chandler Chicco Companies, Children's of Alabama, Circle K, Coca-Cola, Colonial Life, CPSI, Dignity Health, Domino's Pizza, EBSCO, Enghouse Interactive, EnPro Industries, Fairchild Semiconductor, Farm Credit Services of America, Ferguson, First Horizon, Frontier El Dorado Refining Co. LLC, Frost Insurance, Fyda Freightliner, Georgia-Pacific, Gore Design, Gregory & Appel, Greystar, Harlandale Independent School District, The Hartford, HCA-NPAS, Healthcare Leadership Council, HealthEquity, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, Horizon Healthcare Services, Howard County Public School System, Hunter Douglas, Ingersoll Rand, Innovize, The Institute for Family Health, INTEGRIS Health, International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Intrepid Potash, Intuit, IRIS International, Jack in the Box, KapStone Paper and Packaging, Kenexa, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Louisville Water Company, Luxottica, Maidenform Brands, MainSource Financial Group, Mercy Health System, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, Metropolitan Sewer District, MetroWest Medical Center, Midwestern University, The Motley Fool, MWV, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, The National Council on Aging, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Norbord, Norfolk Southern, NW Natural, Nypro Packaging, Obesity Action Coalition, Ochsner Health System, Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services, OhioHealth, OWL - The Voice of Midlife and Older Women, PHH, PVH Corp., Regency Centers, Regions Financial, Resource Training and Solutions, Revo Innovations/FitDesk, Rush Copley, Sanofi US, Santa Rosa County District Schools, Schlitz Park, Schwabe North America, Self Chec, Sharp HealthCare, Sonic Automotive, Spalding County, St. Joseph Health System, SunTrust, SWIMKids USA, Texas Health Resources, Timberland, Total Wellness Health, United Methodist Church/General Board of Pension and Health Benefits, University of Florida Jacksonville, Vera Bradley, Visant, WellPoint, WLS Lifestyles Magazine, and WomenHeart.

Learn more about National Employee Wellness Month at www.nationalemployeewellnessmonth.com. Here you'll also find information and resources about workplace wellness, and simple ideas for how your company can get involved. Contact Marian Hughes at mhughes@tieronepr.com or 708-246-0083 for more information. Follow #WellnessMonth on Twitter for the latest National Employee Wellness Month news.

About Virgin HealthMiles, the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and WorldatWork

Virgin HealthMiles, part of Sir Richard Branson's famed Virgin Group, provides programs and technologies that engage your workforce in good health. Leveraging Virgin's deep consumer roots, we create compelling, personalized digital health experiences that drive long-term healthy behavior change and employee engagement rates more than three times the industry average. Our range of Pay-for-Prevention™ solutions and program integration capabilities: drive higher awareness and engagement across multiple providers and programs; deliver better measurement and insight into the impact of your investments; and power your overall employee health strategy. Learn more at www.virginhealthmiles.com.

The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance is a collaboration of more than 50 consumer, provider, government, labor, business, health insurers and quality-of-care organizations united to drive innovative and practical strategies that combat obesity. The Alliance receives funding from founding sponsor, Sanofi. For more information, visit www.stopobesityalliance.org.

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is a national coalition of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: chronic disease. For more information, visit http://www.fightchronicdisease.org/.

WorldatWork® is a not-for-profit organization providing education, conferences and research focused on global human resources issues including compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork has nearly 30,000 members in more than 100 countries. www.worldatwork.org.

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Marian Hughes

708-246-0083