HTC Recognized as an American Heart Association Platinum Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company

HTC was recently recognized as one of only 108 businesses in the nation as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association’s Start! Movement for helping employees eat better and move more.  HTC Chief Executive-Human Resources, Glenda Page, accepted an award on behalf of HTC at the American Heart Association ceremony held in Myrtle Beach this month.  In addition to the honor, HTC was also recognized as one of the top three annual contributors for the Heart Walk event.  HTC employees donated over $17,378.28 for the American Heart Association this fall with 44 employees, family and friends participating in the annual walk held in October. 

According to Ryan Hannan, Director of Heart Walk 2009, HTC was one of only 108 businesses in the nation to attain Platinum level out of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 applicants.  HTC and its employees are consistently in the top 3 of local businesses raising the most money for the Waccamaw Chapter of the American Heart Association.

“Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities at HTC.  We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association’s Start! movement as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company,“ said Glenda Page, HTC Chief Executive-Human Resources. “We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible. This will benefit our employees’ health and produce even more positive results for our company overall.“

Platinum-level employers:

· Offer employees physical activity options in the workplace
· Increase healthy eating options at the worksite
· Promote a wellness culture in the workplace
· Implement at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture
· Demonstrate measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness

The Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping companies make their employees’ health and wellness a priority.  American employers face increasing healthcare expenses and health-related losses in productivity that cost an estimated $225.8 billion a year. Many American adults spend most of their waking hours at sedentary jobs. Their lack of physical activity raises their risk for a host of medical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone. Start! helps change corporate cultures by motivating employees to start walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity.

“The Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program offers a unique, easy-to-implement opportunity for corporations to increase employees’ physical activity, which will help improve their health – and their employers’ bottom line,“ continued Page.  “Even people who haven’t exercised regularly until middle age can reap significant benefits by starting a walking program. A study published in 1986 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that individuals could gain two hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular, vigorous exercise they performed.“

Start! is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY® Restaurants, Healthy Choice® and AstraZeneca. For more information about the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program and how it is helping to improve the health of Americans by focusing on an activity that is convenient, free and easy, visit http://www.startwalkingnow.org.