AHA partners with 22 companies in employee health initiative

The American Heart Association has launched a “CEO Roundtable” initiative, joining with 22 companies to improve the CV health of Americans through workplace programs.

“With the AHA CEO Roundtable, we're starting a movement to transform the culture of the workplace to meaningfully engage employees to take simple steps that can dramatically reduce their risk of heart-related death and illness,” AHA CEO Nancy Brown said in a press release. “Together with some of the country's most influential CEOs, we are working to tackle this issue head-on, share best practices and identify cutting-edge new programs to help get America heart-healthy. We can't wait to start bringing our ideas to practice to help build healthier work places around the country.”

The initiative will focus on the AHA’s “Life’s Simple 7” plan in the workplace, encouraging employees to get more exercise, control BP, eat healthy foods, lose weight, reduce blood sugar, manage cholesterol and quit smoking, if applicable. According to the AHA, people who meet three to four of the seven criteria can cut their CV-related mortality risk by half.

According to the press release, the 22 companies involved in the Roundtable employ over 2 million people collectively. The companies include AT&T, Big Heart Pet Brands, management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Boston Scientific, Campbell Soup Co., CVS Caremark, Dow Chemical, Express Scripts, Humana, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Kindred Healthcare, global investment firm KKR & Co., Macy’s, Merck, research firm Nielsen, United Parcel Service, US Foods and Walgreens.

Part of the incentive to begin the initiative was the result of an employee survey in which 74% of respondents indicated being in good or very good health, while 43% of these participants had a chronic health condition, such as hypertension or hyperlipidemia.

The survey also showed that employees appreciated CEOs and other senior leadership who led by example with healthy lifestyles, and that about half believed that workplace health programs were related to job satisfaction.

“Our employees are what make our company great, and their health is an important part of our success,” Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said in the release. “We know that in the US, at least 200,000 deaths from heart disease could be prevented each year through changes in health habits. We need to make it easier for our employees to make these changes — to make healthy choices and lead healthy lives. That means leading by example.”

KKR CEO Henry Kravis said that because people spend much of their day in the workplace, the roundtable is “uniquely positioned” to impact people’s lives.

“We are taking what we know — from the CEO Roundtable companies, leading doctors and scientists, and this new data — and combining it with the expertise of the AHA to make a meaningful impact on our employees' health.”