AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company and BP America Receive C. Everett Koop National Health Awards for Efforts to Improve Employee Health and Reduce Costs

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health promotion and disease prevention programs have become ubiquitous in workplaces across the country. However, to deliver on their promises to improve employee well-being, reduce avoidable costs and enhance organizational functioning, these programs must be well designed, based on good scientific evidence, effectively executed and properly evaluated.  

To recognize organizations for outstanding health promotion programs that produce documented health improvements and cost savings, The Health Project announced AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company and BP America as the winners of its 2014 C. Everett Koop National Health Awards.

"Successful organizations understand that employee well-being and business performance will be enhanced when health is ingrained in the organization's norms, values and beliefs," said Dr. Ron Goetzel, president and CEO of The Health Project. "AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company and BP America have adopted effective and sustainable programs that help employees and their families improve health, while producing a positive return-on-investment (ROI) for the company."

AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company introduced the WellBody Program as its signature health and wellness program in the early 1990s. The program, designed using best practices that align with proven health and wellness models, provides employees, retirees and family members with opportunities to support healthy lifestyles. The resulting culture of health at the company has proven to be a foundational component of the program's success. With strong management support, the WellBody Program offers an on-site wellness center, individual health coaching sessions and access to registered dieticians and exercise instructors. More than 80 percent of employees participate in WellBody's annual health screening and health coaching program, which offers substantial financial incentives to engage and reward those who maintain or improve their health. Over the past five years, this high level of engagement and positive impact has been sustained, resulting in a significant health risk reduction of 9 percent. The ROI for the program was $1.70 for every dollar spent during this time period.

With a primary focus on prevention, productivity and safety, BP America launched its integrated BP Wellness Program in 2010. BP's program offers a variety of options to employees helping them achieve their personal health goals. Components of BP's comprehensive program include on-site biometric screenings and fitness facilities, disease and lifestyle management coaching and access to healthy food choices at work, all wrapped in a strong communications strategy. The BP Wellness Program has maintained outstanding participation rates, with over 91 percent of incentive-eligible employees and spouses participating in some aspect of the program every year since its introduction. BP employees' overall health risks have been reduced by nearly 10 percent, far exceeding industry benchmarks. A rigorous analysis showed a cumulative ROI of $2.10 for every dollar spent over the program's first three years.

"The 2014 Koop Award winners have exemplary programs that are consistent with evidence-based best practices, achieve high participation rates and show significant reductions in health risks, as well as cost savings," said Dr. Jim Fries, Chief Science Officer for The Health Project and Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The Health Project has been awarding annual prizes to organizations with proven health improvement and cost savings programs since 1994. More than 50 winners have received the prestigious award since the organization was established, with Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former Surgeon General of the United States, as its honorary chairperson. Although Dr. Koop passed away last year at the age of 96, his legacy and contributions to public health and health promotion live on.

"For more than 20 years, The Health Project has sought to identify and recognize high-quality health promotion and disease prevention initiatives and make information about them freely available to the public," said chairman and co-founder of The Health Project Carson Beadle. "Our hope is that others will learn from these successful efforts and use this knowledge to develop even more effective programs in the future."

This year, 11 applications were submitted for review by The Health Project Board of Directors. In addition to the 2014 award winners, Lockton Companies received honorable mention recognition. The awards will be presented on October 1, 2014 at the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) Forum in San Diego, CA. Information about past C. Everett Koop National Health Award winners and their health promotion programs is available free at www.TheHealthProject.com. Details about the 2014 winners and the award application process will be available on the site in October.

The Health Project (THP) is a non-profit private-public consortium dedicated to bringing about critical attitudinal and behavioral changes in the American health care system, so that providers and consumers employ its vast resources with increasing knowledge and understanding. THP's mission is to seek out, evaluate, promote, and distribute programs with demonstrated effectiveness in influencing personal health habits and the cost effective use of health care services. The C. Everett Koop National Health Awards are given each year to worksite, community or provider programs which have soundly documented improved health and decreased medical costs.

SOURCE The Health Project