Elite Winners Announced for Michigan's Best and Brightest Wellness Champions

WARREN, Mich., Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michigan businesses that consider the health and wellness of their employees a priority were honored today with a Best and Brightest Wellness Champion Award. In addition, the Michigan Business and Professional Association together with Wellco named six of those winning companies as Elite Winners. (See following list.)

The Best and Brightest Wellness Champions awards program is the premier program that celebrates organizations that are making their workplaces, their employees and the community a healthier place to live and work.

Nominated companies were put through a thorough examination based upon eight criteria to benchmark and improve wellness program effectiveness: policies, environment, leadership, awareness-motivation, assessment-intervention, incentives-integration, measurement and health care costs. This year's elite winners excelled in all criteria required.

"This year's Elite winners had high marks in every measurable requirement. We are proud to honor them for their achievements," said Jennifer Kluge, president and CEO of the Michigan Business and Professional Association.

For the Best and Brightest Wellness Champions program, the distinguishing quality of successful wellness programs was dedication towards comprehensive wellness across all criteria rather than a single emphasis such as awareness or assessment. This approach produces greater, more long-term results compared to a standalone, entry-level program. In addition to comprehensiveness, the top three criteria that most set apart top wellness programs from their peers were:

• Policies -Nominees have an average of four formal, written wellness policies.
• Leadership – Nominees' senior leadership are involved in an average of three annual supportive wellness activities.
• Incentives - Nominees provide financial incentives for an average of five activities.

To determine the winning companies, the Best and Brightest Wellness Champions used the WellCompanies assessment, created and administered by Wellco, the nation's leading wellness systems provider.

"The Wellco assessment recognizes and improves wellness effectiveness. Employers want to know what is proven to make a difference in their bottom line. The WellCompanies Assessment is the only system of its kind to quantify, track and improve wellness program success," said Scott Foster, Wellco president.

Michigan's Best and Brightest Wellness Companies
2013 Elite Award Winners

Michigan's Best and Brightest Wellness Champions was co-presented by Michigan Business and Professional Association, Michigan Food and Beverage Association, Wellco and Corp! magazine. Event sponsors included St. John Providence Health System, McGraw Wentworth, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MI, VisTaTech Center, Health Management Systems of America, Walgreens, Austin Financial, I Eat Super, Quicken Loans and Michigan Wellness Council.

The Best and Brightest Wellness Champions celebrates those companies that are making their businesses more healthy, the lives of their employees better and the community a healthier to place to live.  The Best and Brightest program provides yearlong education, benchmarking, assessment tools and interaction amongst the best employers throughout Michigan. Nominations are now being accepted for 2014. Visit www.101bestandbrightest.com to obtain an application.

The Michigan Business and Professional Association boasts a statewide sphere of influence that no other organization of its kind can claim, leveraging a depth of programs and community initiatives that positively impact more than 150,000 businesses.

Michigan Business and Professional Association
27700 Hoover Road
Warren, MI  48093-6306
(888) 277-6464 * www.michbusiness.org

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact:  Sue Voyles (734) 667-2005
-or- Jennifer Kluge (586) 393-8800

SOURCE Michigan Business and Professional Association