Vidant Health to co-sponsor Healthy Eastern NC Prevention Academy | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

    GREENVILLE     Vidant Health is taking the lead in helping businesses build healthier workplaces and reduce health care costs from preventable diseases.

    Together with MedCost Benefit Services and First Carolina Care Insurance Company, Vidant Health will co-host the NC Prevention Partners' Healthy Eastern NC Prevention Academy on Jan. 30 at The East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University.

    "We are excited to work on this important initiative." said David C. Herman, MD, president and CEO of Vidant Health. "Our mission is to improve the quality of life and to create a healthier eastern North Carolina. Although the principles that drive health and wellness in our communities are well established, each community has its own unique attributes. By working together with these organizations, we hope to encourage health and wellness in the workplace and ignite change in our communities in a manner that best assures the increased levels of health and wellness that all of us need."

    NC Prevention Partners' signature product, WorkHealthy AmericaSM, helps workplaces promote wellness and cut health care costs by creating work environments, policies and benefits that support healthy behaviors. WorkHealthy AmericaSM assesses businesses' current wellness practices and delivers tailored information on improving these practices. Businesses will also receive feedback on their wellness progress going forward, as well as training and support from NC Prevention Partners.

    "MedCost Benefit Services is pleased to be a part of the Healthy Eastern NC Prevention Academy," said Kathryn Showalter, COO for MedCost. "Innovative programs such as this are helping employers understand the positive impact a workplace wellness initiative can have on overall employee health and controlling health plan costs."

    The prevention academy provides an opportunity to bring together the employer community to improve the health of eastern North Carolina. The agenda features health experts from across the state, including academy participants from other communities who will share insight and strategies on creating a culture of wellness in the workplace.

    "The health benefit and health care markets are changing dramatically," said Ken Lewis, president of First Carolina Care Insurance Company. "The ideas, principals and programs that have been developed by NC Prevention Partners, along with the co-sponsors of this event share a new culture, a culture of wellness. The success of that change, improvement of population health and the improvement of cost growth that go with those efforts must be led by the employer community in concert with the hospital and physician community."


    About NC Prevention Partners

    NC Prevention Partners is a state and national leader in guiding schools, hospitals and workplaces to improve their culture of wellness by improving policies and environments that address tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and obesity.

    About First Carolina Care Insurance Company

    FirstCarolinaCare Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstHealth of the Carolinas and supports its parent company's mission to care for people. FirstCarolinaCare is committed to reducing the rate of growth of the uninsured by making coverage more accessible and affordable. This is accomplished through improving the health status of members, developing affordable benefit products, encouraging use of evidence-based medicine by participating providers, minimizing administrative costs all leading to minimizing premium rate increases and providing premium predictability for its client businesses. FirstHealth and FirstCarolinaCare are committed to the communities they serve.

    About MedCost Benefit Services

    MedCost Benefit Services is a full-service health care benefits administrator, serving employers throughout the Carolinas and beyond with customized solutions that effectively manage member needs and health plan dollars. Administering benefits such as medical, dental, COBRA, flexible spending, health savings account and short-term disability for employers of various sizes, MedCost Benefit Services focuses on controlling health care costs and effectively managing trend through a comprehensive PPO Network, innovative population health management programs and cost containment solutions. MedCost Benefit Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of MedCost, LLC, which is jointly owned by Carolinas Healthcare System and Wake Forest Baptist Health. For more information, visit www.mbstpa.com.


   Contact: Carissa Etters, Strategic Development, (252) 847-0413 or Carissa.Etters@VidantHealth.com or Doug Boyd, East Carolina University News Services, (252) 744-2482 or boydd@ecu.edu

    Vidant Health, a mission-driven, not-for-profit corporation, owns, leases or has a majority membership interest in nine eastern North Carolina hospitals and has a management agreement with one other. The health system includes Albemarle Health, Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Vidant Bertie Hospital, Vidant Chowan Hospital, Vidant Duplin Hospital, Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, The Outer Banks Hospital, Vidant Medical Center, Vidant Pungo Hospital, Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital, Vidant Home Health and Hospice, Vidant Wellness Centers, Vidant Medical Group and is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. On the web at www.vidanthealth.com.