FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 30, 2006

Contact:    Michele Egan, 216-255-3610

The Center for Health Affairs Announces

Healthy Workforce Grant Recipients

CLEVELAND – Hospitals work every day to help patients have good health, but The Center for Health Affairs (CHA) announces that three area hospitals will be receiving grants to help them improve the health of their workforce.

Ashtabula County Medical Center’s Health for Life, Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital’s STEPS Employee Wellness Program and Lake Hospital System’s Get Healthy LHS will be receiving funding beginning in 2007 to support programs aimed at helping their employees to make improvements in their health and wellness. A total of $86,755 is being awarded to the three programs for 2007.

While each of the three programs takes a slightly different approach, all are designed to help employees improve their diet and exercise habits and improve overall wellness through a variety of means, including education, health evaluations, the identification of chronic health conditions, and the use of customized plans for employees based on their existing lifestyles and health status.

As part of the funding process, each of the recipient institutions will benefit from having access to a consultant with expertise in workplace wellness programs to help them ensure their programs’ success. Demonstrating measurable outcomes will be an integral component of each program. CHA hopes that these programs will become models that can be replicated by workplaces throughout the region to improve the overall health of Northeast Ohioans.

The grants are drawn from funds that were set aside to help hospitals within the Northeast Ohio community. These three programs are being funded in the first of two funding cycles. Next year, an additional two to three grants will be awarded to programs at other hospitals in the area. Grant recipients in both funding cycles will be eligible to receive funding for up to three years. They must undergo a program evaluation in order to qualify for each additional funding year.

The Center for Health Affairs is a hospital trade association representing 35 hospitals in Northeast Ohio and serving those organizations and others through a variety of advocacy and business management services. CHA also works to educate the public on issues that affect the delivery of healthcare.