Cardiologist and Author, John M. Kennedy, MD, Tackles Stress in the Workplace With BREATHE™ for Wellness
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned Cardiologist John M. Kennedy, MD, FACC, is giving companies a way to help their employees effectively eliminate stress while enhancing productivity and reducing absenteeism. Based on the teachings in his popular book The 15 Minute Heart Cure, Dr. Kennedy's BREATHE™ Technique has been transformed into an engaging new video based program called BREATHE™ for Wellness. BREATHE™ is a relaxation technique which combines conscious breathing and guided imagery that, practiced regularly, helps to heal the heart, reduce anxiety, improve coping skills, lower blood pressure, and bolster the immune system. The program is also offered in an individual consumer version.
"Company wellness programs are generally effective, however, most programs address only diet and exercise while ignoring the biggest health issue, namely stress," said Dr. Kennedy. "Eighty percent of absenteeism is due to stress related illness, so why not arm the workforce with a simple, effective stress relieving tool. With BREATHE™ for Wellness, we have created a proven wellness program where everyone benefits. Employees are healthier with increased attendance and performance while employers spend less money on health care and have a workforce that is more positively engaged," he concluded.
The BREATHE™ for Wellness platform has a variety of features, is HIPPA compliant, private, secure and password protected.
BREATHE™ for Wellness is scalable to include:
- Easy access from workplace, home, and internet connected mobile devices
- Optimal exercise length (about 11 minutes) fits into any schedule
- Designed for repeated use
- Dedicated Web page with corporate identity branding
- Tracks and reports personal data (blood pressure, heart rate, weight, etc.)
- Tracks and reports usage data for HR reporting purposes
- Desktop icon for program page launch
Dr. Kennedy's wellness program was recently implemented by medical manufacturing giant Medtronic and has been featured on The Doctors, EXTRA, ABC News with Diane Sawyer, Discovery Health, KNBC, KABC News and more. Dr. Kennedy is on the Board of Directors for the American Heart Association and is the Director of Preventive Cardiology and Wellness at Marina Del Rey Hospital, in Marina Del Rey, California. He lectures regularly on the subject of stress, how it adversely affects our cardiovascular system and has helped companies educate employees on how to manage stress in the workplace.
SOURCE John M. Kennedy, MD
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