ALEXANDRIA, Va. and
WELLESLEY, Mass., July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The American
Diabetes Association® (Association) today announced 31
new companies as Health Champions as part of its Wellness Lives
HereSM initiative. This brings the total number of
Health Champions nationwide to 191 companies and organizations in
455 locations. Health Champions are entities that have implemented
wellness programs in the workplace and are committed to improving
employee health.
The Wellness Lives Here initiative focuses on employee and
community wellness by working with organizations to inspire and
fuel healthful habits at work and beyond. The new Health Champion
designees – ranging from health systems and manufacturers to a
state university and public transit authority – have implemented
cultures of wellness in their workplaces that provide healthier
food choices, promote group participation in physical activities,
and encourage healthy habits.
"For many Americans, the majority of our days are spent working
sedentary jobs, so it's more important than ever for our workplaces
to encourage healthful habits," said Alicia
McAuliffe-Fogarty, PhD, CPsychol, vice president of
lifestyle management for the American Diabetes Association. "Our
Wellness Lives Here initiative is designed to provide
employers across the country with a roadmap for promoting heathy
habits, and we are pleased to see so many employers working to earn
a Health Champion Designation."
The criteria for becoming a Health Champion include the
promotion of nutrition and weight management, physical activity and
organizational well-being. The Association promotes Wellness
Lives Here year-round with health activation days dedicated to
physical activity, healthy meals and diabetes risk awareness.
Teaming up with the American Diabetes Association, Sun Life
Financial is the exclusive national sponsor* of Wellness Lives
Here. Sun Life is also a Health Champion, encouraging employee
health and wellness through seminars, on-site fitness classes,
active walking/cycling groups, and an annual Global Wellness
Challenge, which in 2016 had over 3,700 participants.
"We welcome the new Health Champions and applaud them for taking
steps to help their teams adopt healthy habits," said Dan Fishbein, President of Sun Life Financial
U.S. "Supporting programs like Wellness Lives Here and encouraging
other companies to embrace health and wellness in the workplace is
a natural fit for our employee benefits business and our commitment
to the prevention of diabetes and its related
complications."
The Health Champion designees named today include:
- Astra Zeneca
- Bayhealth Medical Center
- Beebe Healthcare
- Black & Veatch Corporation
- ConServe
- DeKalb Medical
- Delaware State University
- District of Columbia Department of Health
- FCCI Insurance Group
- Henriott Group
- HospiceCare
- Humana Inc.
- INETICO
- MillerCoors
- National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)
- ONEOK, Inc.
- PDC
- PeoplesChoice Credit Union
- PRA Group
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- Sacramento Native Center
- Salem Health
- Sentara Healthcare
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
- Steward Health Care Network – Dedham
- Sutton Senior Center
- SMP
- TriHealth
- Walsh Duffield Companies, Inc.
- Western Reserve Hospital
- Volvo Trucks North America
To learn more about the Association's Wellness Lives Here
initiative and how your organization can apply to have a Health
Champion Designation, visit wellnessliveshere.org. A complete list
of the Health Champion designees can be found at
diabetes.org/healthchampions .
*Sun Life Financial is the National Sponsor of the
Association's Wellness Lives Here initiative, with exclusivity in
the national corporate group benefits industry
category.
About the American Diabetes Association
The American
Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop
Diabetes® and its deadly consequences and fighting for
those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to
prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of
communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives
voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in
1940, the Association's mission is to prevent and cure diabetes,
and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For
more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at
1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org. Information
from both of these sources is available in English and Spanish.
Find us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter
(@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun
Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide,
including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the
Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information, please
visit www.sunlife.com.
In the United States, Sun Life
Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers serving
more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces
across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and
services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management,
Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary, and Stop-Loss insurance. This
includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016.
For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.
Media contacts:
Michelle
Kirkwood
American Diabetes Association
mkirkwood@diabetes.org
703-299-2053
Devon Fernald
Sun Life Financial
devon.portney.fernald@sunlife.com
781-416-7151
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
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SOURCE Sun Life Financial U.S.