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Walk to Paris
photos on
page 47.
Building a Wellness Culture
Just a few weeks removed from the conclusion of the Walk to Paris, I can say without hesitation
that it was the most successful employee engagement we’ve ever done. You demonstrated your
enthusiasm right from the start, with about 15,000 employees (1,493 teams of 10) enrolling in this
first-ever fitness campaign and 914 teams (comprising 9,000+ employees) successfully completing
the challenge, each team collectively walking 7.2 million steps – the approximate distance from New
York to Paris.
All told, participants walked over five million miles and took more than 10 billion steps.
You lost an estimated 145,000 pounds – the equivalent of 764 adult males, 73 elephants or 66
Honda Civics.
We’re pleased to have recognized your efforts by raffling off free trips to Paris to four
teams (40 employees) and giving out some great consolation prizes to 10 additional teams (100
employees), including choices
of gym memberships, wellness
retreats and massages.
But as we all know, the
Walk to Paris was about more
than winning a trip to Paris –
the overriding goal is to change
our culture and help us make
wellness part of our lifestyle. It
has to be part of our DNA if we
are going to change the health
of our communities.
We have already made some
major progress. Several years
ago, we became a tobacco-free
organization, and through
our free smoking cessation
program, nearly 1,000
employees have quit smoking.
We started our “Weight
Watchers At Work” program,
enrolling thousands of
Rosemarie Ennis celebrates when the team she captained, Twinkle Toes, was
randomly selected to go to Paris. Other Paris-bound teams were: Walka-
Walka-Walka of Patient Financial Services in Westbury, Microbiologie Marche
A’Paris of North Shore-LIJ Laboratories in Lake Success, and Champs-Elysees
of LIJ Medical Center.
employees across the health system. We also opened our own fitness facility, Vivo Health Fitness,
and offer various discounted gym memberships across the New York metro area.
Perhaps most importantly, as part of our Know Your Numbers Program, more than 8,000
employees participated in free onsite health screenings and another 5,000 saw their personal
physicians to learn about their numbers and their risks for serious illness just this past winter.
Going forward, we’re planning another team-based competition and education program to
help you and your families incorporate more fruits and vegetables (five servings a day) into your diet.
Many of our cafeterias also are undergoing food and nutrition makeovers, and will be offering more
nutritious foods with more fruits and vegetables. We’re also looking to roll out fruit and vegetable
carts at our hospitals, particularly during night shifts, where healthy eating is most challenging.
So, welcome to the wellness revolution – and congratulations on an incredible achievement.
The New Standard
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