Valentine's Day Healthcare
New Brunswick hospital helps employees be well
Saint John, N.B. – February 14, 2008 – This Valentine's Day, Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation in Saint John, N.B., will give its 5,000 employees the chance to find out just how healthy they are and how best to stay healthy.
Today, Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation (AHSC) will become the first Regional Health Authority in Canada to launch a unique employee wellness tool. It's an extension of the regional health authority's ongoing commitment to wellness and healthy lifestyles, this time encouraging its physicians and staff to focus on wellness.
“Employee wellness is one of the strategic directions of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation” says Dora Nicinski, AHSC's President and Chief Executive Officer. “Nearly 89 per cent of all deaths in Canada are attributed to chronic diseases, according to the World Health Organization, and diabetes is costing the Canadian healthcare system more than $13 billion annually. We believe that something as simple as monitoring activity levels could motivate more of our employees to change those numbers. For instance, the Beat the Boss Challenge is designed to raise awareness of the impact that lifestyle changes can have on your health.”
AHSC's employee wellness tool, developed by Saint John-based AnyWare Group, will be launched at the regional health authority's sixth Feeling Good Wellness Expo. Staff and physicians will be able to log their daily activity and earn points for time spent. The results will pave the way for ongoing corporate challenges such as Beat the Boss (employees raise their activity level to earn more points than the CEO).
After the expo, the tool will be accessible to employees through AHSC's secure Web portal, encouraging them to track their activity level on an ongoing basis. The ultimate goal is to increase employees' health awareness and encourage lifestyle changes.
The Feeling Good Wellness Expo will feature more than two dozen booths showcasing a range of health-related issues – from cholesterol monitoring and nutrition to belly dancing, smoking cessation, retirement planning and much more. The expo will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Atlantic Time).
Jill Barton McPhee, AHSC's administrative director, and an AnyWare Group spokesperson are available for interviews to discuss the regional health authority initiative and the many ways healthy, productive workforces contribute to healthy communities.
About AnyWare Group
AnyWare Group is an innovative provider of customer-driven business solutions. Leveraging the Internet and the ROAM platform, AnyWare Group cost effectively enables organizations to deploy highly reliable, secure information-based business solutions. ROAM is a complete, secure platform for delivering information and applications to authorized users where they need it. ROAM is packaged with powerful tools, capabilities and engineering services designed to simplify the user experience, integrate with any application, and ease support efforts.
To schedule an interview or for more information contact
Suzanne Wintrob
MAVERICK Public Relations
416-640-5525, ext. 226
suzannew@maverickpr.com
Patricia Crowdis
Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation
506-648-6116
cropa@reg2.health.nb.ca