CANANDAIGUA – The results of the American Heart Association 2020 Workplace Health Achievement Index were announced recently and for the third consecutive year, UR Medicine Thompson Health achieved national Gold-level recognition for taking significant steps to build a culture of health in the workplace.
Thompson is one of 776 organizations that completed the Index assessment this year, evaluating the period of July 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Of the organizations that completed the Index assessment, 35 percent received gold recognition, the highest percentage to date.
The American Heart Association created the Index 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. The 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. Studies show that worksites with a culture of health with comprehensive, evidence-based policies and programs, and senior leadership support are more likely to have engaged employees and a healthier, more productive workforce.
“Thompson Health works very hard to offer our associates a number of opportunities to improve their health, so achieving Gold-level recognition once again is something we’re very proud of,” said Vice President of Associate Services/Wellness Jennifer DeVault. “We are one of the area’s largest employers and this achievement lets potential hires know we are fully committed to their well-being and have demonstrated this commitment in such a way that an outside organization ranks our internal wellness offerings as among the very best.”
A unique feature of the Index is that it calculates an average heart health score for employees of participating companies who securely submit aggregate health data through Life’s Simple 7®,the American Heart Association’s definition of ideal cardiovascular health based on seven risk factors. Life’s Simple 7® includes smoking status, physical activity, weight, diet, blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure. Companies receive benchmarking reports, which allow them to identify potential areas of improvement so that they can advance their annual performance and recognition.