Vidant Health Hospitals Recognized For Wellness Efforts | Eastern NC Now

    GREENVILLE     All eight of the Vidant Health hospitals received high marks in nutrition, tobacco-free environment, culture of wellness and physical activity from Prevention Partners.

    Prevention Partners is a nonprofit organization that builds healthier communities through a suite of products that hospitals, workplaces and the like use to address the leading causes of preventable disease.

    The Outer Banks Hospital, Vidant Beaufort, Vidant Bertie, Vidant Chowan, Vidant Edgecombe, Vidant Medical Center and Vidant Roanoke-Chowan all received the Quit-Tobacco Gold Star. Key components of this award include a tobacco-free policy, system approach to cessation, provide and promote benefits and provide incentives.

    The same seven hospitals listed above also all earned the Nutrition - Gold Apple award. Key components of this distinction are providing access to healthy food, pricing incentives, marketing techniques and benefits and incentives.

    Vidant Duplin hospital received excellence recognition for scoring straights "As" in all categories, including, tobacco-free environment, nutrition, culture of wellness and physical activity.

    Each hospital completed a questionnaire on the focus areas listed above. The questions evaluate and benchmark an organization's current wellness policies, benefits and environment. The letter grade received translates into evidence-based practices.

    Receiving an "A" translates into the following recognitions: Culture of Wellness, Nutrition - "Golden Apple," Physical Activity - "Golden Medal," Tobacco Free - "Golden Star," Receive "A's" in all 4 areas - "Excellence Recognition."

    The questions focus on prevention policies, environments, benefits, programs and practices. They are based on national standards for what works in workplace wellness, including but not limited to: the Centers for Disease Control's Guide to Community Preventive Services, Healthy People 2020 targets and the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services.

    The grades are useful for helping workplaces benchmark their practices and set goals for improvement. Prevention Partners works with more than 600 organizations to create a healthy workplace.

• Contact: Amy Holcombe
•     amy.holcombe@vidanthealth.com