News Release

Mercy Medical Center Achieves National Wellness Awards

(L to R) Megan Stopulos, Amercian Heart Association Heart Walk Director presents the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program Award to Mercy Medical Center's Wellness Coordinator Andrea Barnett for Mercy's achievements this past year in the national program. Mercy Medical Center was the only organization in Iowa to receive this recognition.

Mercy Medical Center - Clinton has been named the recipient of two national awards for its employee wellness program.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently recognized Mercy with the highest-level award an employer may achieve for wellness efforts. The AHA honored Mercy with its Start! Fit-Friendly Companies - Platinum Level Recognition.

Mercy Medical Center was the only organization in the state of Iowa to receive this designation. By earning this distinction, Mercy was listed in a recent Wall Street Journal ad by the AHA recognizing Start! Fit Friendly Companies nationwide.

This past spring, Mercy and AHA worked together to introduce the Heart Association’s Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program. Under the program, Mercy developed indoor and outdoor walking routes at both the North and South campus, which workers and visitors may utilize. In addition, a community Heart Walk was initiated and raised approximately $20,000 to benefit the AHA’s efforts in research and education to prevent heart disease.

Several area companies partnered with Mercy to sponsor the Heart Walk including Lyondell (Equistar), Ashford, Medical Associates, US Bank, Gateway State Bank, Air Control, and Sethness. In addition, US Bank, Drives, and Lyondell have worked with Barnett to introduce wellness programs such as health screenings, informational sessions and the Start! Program to their employees.

According to Megan Stopulos, Heart Walk director with the AHA, companies can increase productivity and reduce absenteeism, turnover and health care costs by initiating a walking program at the worksite. “Mercy did a great job not only inspiring staff members to take walks during their breaks, but also by designating walking paths for visitors to use and encouraging other companies to join them.” said Stopulos.

Mercy was also the recipient of a silver award from the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA), marking the third time that the medical center has received WELCOA honors. According to Andrea Barnett, Mercy wellness coordinator, the Wellness Councils of America rates companies on seven benchmarks including senior leadership support as well as the participation rate, when it designated Mercy a Well Workplace. Nationally, 114 companies were selected to receive the 2007 WELCOA awards.

Mercy began offering a wellness program in 1998 to help and encourage employees to improve overall wellness. Although participation is voluntary for Mercy’s staff of over 1000 people, an average of about 40 percent of workers elect to become involved.

Participation begins with individual health screenings, whereby the medical center checks vital health indicators, such as lipids, blood pressure and blood sugar. Then each participant sets his or her own wellness goal. Examples include decreasing cholesterol, losing 10 percent of body weight and walking three times each week. During the program year, a wellness coach is available to help employees stay on track and reach their wellness goals.

Throughout the year, Mercy offers an array of workshops and activities to educate workers and to help them reach their goals. Employees are encouraged to participate in “Lunch and Learn” sessions and in Mercy-sponsored walks, blood drives, and other wellness activities.

In addition, Mercy provides a “supportive environment” for making healthful lifestyle choices, according to Barnett. “We offer healthy foods in the cafeteria and in the vending machines, place reminders at the elevators for employees to take the stairs instead and provide challenges to employees to participate in team activities,” she said.

“The year concludes with a re-assessment of each participant’s health through a screening to determine if they have met their goals,” said Barnett.

The increased focus on wellness has been reflected positively for the employee-paid portion of the organizations health insurance. Mercy has not seen an increase in its health-insurance premiums for the past three years, according to President and CEO Donna Oliver.

“We have been able to keep our health insurance premiums steady for our employees,” she said noting that this is contrary to the national trend of rising insurance rates. Oliver attributes this, in part, to the increased awareness in employee health and wellness.

“It starts with each of us being responsible for getting appropriate care in a timely manner,” Oliver said. “It is especially fitting for health facilities to encourage good health habits. It would be difficult for me to talk about the importance of wellness if we weren’t practicing in wellness first,” she said. “It’s a matter of leading by example.”

“It is the right thing to do personally, the right thing to do for our society and the right thing to do for our organization,” she added.

Both the awards presented to Mercy by the American Heart Association and WELCOA recognize the medical center for creating a supportive work environment for health and wellness, something that Oliver would like to see more area companies implement.

“We were recognized by the American Heart Association because we engaged others with us,” Oliver said. “I am extraordinarily proud.”

STORY SOURCE: Marketing, Mercy Medical Center - Clinton, 1410 N. 4th St., Clinton, IA 52732

CONTACT: Julie Dunn, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Coordinator (563) 244-3519, dunnja@mercyhealth.com