“A healthy workforce is not only good for individuals, but for businesses and for society,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, at an executive breakfast to celebrate the launch of the American Heart Association’s Start! Program.

Dzau is serving as the chairman for the Start! Triangle chapter. Start! is the American Heart Association’s new national campaign that calls on all Americans and their employers to create a culture of physical activity and health in the workplace.

Duke Medicine and Quintiles are the first Triangle Start! partners, providing financial support and leadership. They are also sponsoring the Start! Triangle Heart Walk (formerly called the American Heart Walk) in October.

“I’m honored to be part of this program because I know that cardiovascular disease and stroke are the greatest health threats for employees at Duke -- bigger than cancer,” said Dzau. “For years we have talked a lot about what you should and shouldn’t eat, but that’s only half of the equation. The other half is how much you move. The Start! Program is one way to address that.

“Duke has had a long relationship with the AHA, particularly through grants for research into heart disease,” said Dzau. “We are delighted to now be partnering with them in encouraging companies across the Triangle to make health and wellness of employees a priority. We have made great strides in this area at Duke Medicine -- for example, with our Live For Life® activities, and our recent decision to join other hospitals in the area in making our campuses 100 percent tobacco-free on July 4, 2007. But the statistics show that there is still much more that we all can do to encourage healthy lifestyles.”

Award Winning Programs
Duke Medicine was recognized by the American Heart Association in March as a winner of the Start! Fit-Friendly Platinum Award winner. The only other company in the Triangle to win the Platinum level award was Rex Healthcare. Duke Health Raleigh Hospital received recognition as a Gold level award winner.

The Start! Fit-Friendly program assists and recognizes companies that demonstrate progressive leadership by making the health and wellness of their employees a priority. The goal is to increase employees’ activity physical activity to improve their health. The cornerstone of Start! Is a program that celebrates the health benefits of increased activity through walking.

Duke received the Start! Fit-Friendly Platinum Award for the many employee health activities sponsored by Live For Life, the employee health and wellness promotion program -- including walking programs, smoking cessation programs, health checks, stress management, discounted gym memberships and other health-related programs.

“The Live For Life program has been working to improve employee health since 1988, by providing opportunities to develop positive health behaviors at the worksite,” says Julie Joyner, manager for Live For Life. “The work setting provides an ideal environment for health and wellness activities. It provides the daily human connection and the social support that people need when attempting to make and maintain life-style changes. When support for this type of program comes from the top, it sends a message to employees that they are valued by the organization and creates an environment in which positive change can occur.”

Watch for more information about Start! in upcoming issues of INSIDE.

For a full listing of healthy activities sponsored by Live For Life, visit www.hr.duke.edu/liveforlife.