Awards, Recognition and Success Stories
We hope that our workplace wellness success stories can motivate you to start similar programs at your organization, as well as foster creative ideas for unique types of programs and resourceful ways to implement them.
CareFirst's Awards and Recognition
CareFirst has been recognized for its commitment to quality in its care management programs and resources.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) awarded CareFirst BlueChoice, our HMO, with "Excellent Accreditation," the highest rating awarded for an HMO. BluePreferred, CareFirst's Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) in the Greater Washington area, was granted "Full Accreditation," NCQA's highest level of accreditation for a PPO.
Following are some of our other achievements:
Prevention:
- In November 2009, CareFirst became one of the first 12 health plans to receive Wellness and Health Promotion Accreditation. This evaluation program helps employers and others compare wellness programs using standardized results in order to select one with demonstrated value and quality.
- FirstHelp (24/7 nurseline) is fully accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC).
- Vitality, our member newsletter, has won several awards including:
- Communicator Award of Excellence
- Alfred Knight First Place for Community Publication
- International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Quill Award of Excellence
- My Care First, the health and wellness section of our Web site, is fully accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC). The site has won many awards, most notably:
- eHealthcare Leadership Awards for Best Healthcare Content for the past two years
- Healthcare Marketing Report Gold Award for Best Web site
- Hermes Creative Gold Award for Best Web site
- MyHealthProfile Wellness Program communications have won the IABC Silver Quill Award of Merit.
- Our Pharmacy Management program has won the following awards:
- American Pharmacist Association's 2009 Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management Merit Award for the Promotion of Pharmacy Practice
- Maryland Pharmacist Association's 2009 Honorary President's Award for the Promotion of Pharmacy Practice
Disease Management:
- CareFirst is one of five health plans in the U.S. to have earned the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium certification and to have won the Health Industries Research Companies award for three years consecutively.
- The program won the Most Effective Disease Management Program from Health Industries Research Companies and was named best program in the mid-Atlantic/PA region.
Case Management
- Our Case Management program is fully accredited by URAC.
- The Case Management Society of America cited CareFirst's Case Management program for its best practices in cultural diversity.
Success Stories
At CareFirst, we have implemented a number of wellness initiatives in our own workplace. Highlights include:
- Annual health risk assessment and biometric screenings
- Wellness Wednesdays, when employees are encouraged to wear active attire to the office to encourage physical activity sometime during the workday
- Weight loss and stair-climbing contests among employees
- Smoke-free campus
- Fitness center with onsite exercise and nutrition classes as well as access to a personal trainer
- Reduced fees for gym memberships
- Free flu shots
- "Lunch-and-learns" related to pre-diabetes, smoking cessation, breast cancer awareness, alcoholism, colon and rectal cancer awareness
- Ergonomic-friendly furniture, work stations and aids to help minimize repetitive motion syndromes
- Healthy alternatives in the cafeterias and vending machines
As a result of our wellness efforts:
- The CareFirst employee population saw decreases in cholesterol numbers and in both smoking and obesity rates.
- We won the American Heart Association's Gold Level National Recognition as a 'Start! Fit Friendly Company' in 2007 and 2008.
- We were the 2007 recipient of the Health & Wellness Trailblazer Award. The award was created through a partnership of the Alliance of Workplace Excellence and Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce to recognize employers with exemplary commitment to workplace health and wellness.
- We have demonstrated improved employee morale, as indicated by the following comments from our associates:
- "We found ourselves walking more at lunch time and taking the stairs more often because we weren't wearing dress shoes."
- "I always wanted to do yoga so when they offered it here, I decided that I was going to give it a try."
- "I feel fresh when I’m finished. I have so much more energy. I'm in a better place to go on with the rest of my day. It's an added bonus when a health company cares about your health."