National Business Group on Health Honors Walgreens with Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles® Award

The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of large U.S. employers, today honored Walgreens for its ongoing commitment and dedication to promoting a healthy workplace and encouraging their workers and families to pursue and maintain healthy lifestyles. Walgreens was among 65 U.S. employers that received the 2013 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles® award at the Leadership Summit sponsored by the National Business Group on Health’s Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being. Walgreens received a gold award for its “You and Walgreens.” This marks the first year Walgreens has received the award.

“You and Walgreens” provides 250,000 Walgreens team members and their families’ access to a variety of health and wellness resources such as free health testing, online health assessment, personal health coaches, online wellness programs, tobacco-free program, fitness center, on-site Healthy Living Centers, weight management programs and Work & Life Resources (EAP). Participants are also eligible to receive incentives through medical premium reduction and gift cards.

“For more than 111 years, Walgreens has been committed to helping its customers and team members get, stay and live well,” said Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Walgreens senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “We recognize the importance of team member engagement by providing the tools and resources to keep our organization happy and healthy.”

Helen Darling, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, commented: “We are proud to honor Walgreens for its ongoing commitment to providing lifestyle improvement programs that encourage healthy lifestyles for their employees. Walgreens is among an elite group of organizations that are leading the way to promoting healthy workplaces and lifestyles. Walgreens and its management team should be proud of their commitment to their program and we congratulate them on receiving this award.”

Winners of the “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles®” awards were honored in one of two categories: Platinum, for established healthy weight, healthy lifestyles programs with measurable success and documented outcomes; or Gold, for creating cultural and environmental changes that support employees who are committed to long-term behavior changes.

About Walgreens

As the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become America’s first choice for health and daily living. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,086 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

About the National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit, membership organization of large employers devoted exclusively to finding innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their most important health care and related benefits issues and to being the voice for large employers on national health care issues. The Business Group, whose 363 members include 66 of the Fortune 100, identifies, develops and shares best practices in health benefits, disability, health and productivity, related paid time off and work/life balance issues. Business Group members provide health coverage for more than 55 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.