NMC honored with Gold Standard Award for worksite wellness

Northwestern Medical Center earned a ninth consecutive Gold Standard Level Award from the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and the Vermont Department of Health on March 27, 2014.

NMC was one of 99 businesses that applied for the 2013 awards and was one of just four Vermont hospitals to earn the Gold Level Award.

“Worksites that promote healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco use cessation, and breastfeeding, contribute to the overall health and wellness of all Vermonters, and they are one of the key reasons we are routinely rated the nation’s healthiest state,” said Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD.

The awards recognize employee wellness programs that decrease absenteeism and employee turnover, and lower healthcare costs. NMC accepted the award at a ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington attended by more than 300 people where more worksites were honored than ever before.

One of the newer facets of NMC’s award-winning program is establishment of medical direction through Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine, who is guiding the further refinement of the program. “It was an impressive day,” said Dr. Fontaine, “and I am honored that NMC took the lead to have a physician brought into the corporate wellness world. It demonstrates NMC’s commitment being a leader in Lifestyle Medicine.”

NMC was also featured in the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports stories of worksite wellness and employee engagement. Northwestern Medical Center is a vibrant, not-for-profit, community hospital, located in St. Albans, Vermont.

Photo Caption: (From left) NMC Director of Occupational Health & Lifestyle Medicine Brendan McMahon, NMC Lifestyle Medicine Supervisor Suzanne Tremblay, NMC’s Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health Harry Chen, NMC’s Cindy Rutkowski and Donna Aguiar, Governor Peter Shumlin.