Vermont Business Magazine Employees of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) worked more than 2,000 hours at community events and BCBSVT devoted nearly $200,000 to community health and wellness initiatives in the last year. The company’s efforts included engaging 201 schools and 85 businesses on its 10th Annual National Walk@Lunch day on April 27, giving more than 50,000 Vermonters incentives to jumpstart their fitness routines in the spring.
Students at Crossett Brook School in Waterbury walk during National Walk@Lunch Day. Courtesy photo.
The 415-employee Vermont plan is not alone among Blue plans in its dedication to investing time and resources toward helping communities live healthier, safer and more productive lives. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, BCBSVT’s trade group, released its eighth annual Investing in America’s Health (IAH) report. The report highlights the 36 Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies’ commitment to improving the health of all Americans, an effort that contributed to a national total of nearly 400,000 volunteer hours and nearly $350 million in community project funding across all BCBS companies and their foundations.
“The commitment of BCBS companies and their employees to improving the health and wellness of the people they serve cannot be understated,” said Scott P. Serota, president and CEO for BCBSA. “As America’s healthcare leaders, BCBS companies take great pride in building on our 87-year legacy as true healthcare pioneers and trusted partners to the communities we serve.”
Featured in the 2016 report was BCBSVT’s “Wellness Revolution” program, a partnership between the Vermont Blue plan and Terry Bicycles that seeks to encourage women to begin or re-start using biking as a fitness vehicle.
“Wellness revolution was just one of many initiatives we’ve undertaken to help our members and other Vermonters improve their health and live healthy lives. We host or partner with other Vermont organizations to sponsor or staff more than 200 events each calendar year,” remarked Megan Peek. “We can do this because our employees are committed to health promotion; a team of some 70 employees called the ‘Blue Crew’ dedicate weekends and evenings to doing everything from hydrating thirsty concert-goers to coordinating free boat rentals at our annual ‘Hike, Bike and Paddle’ events.”
To learn more about how BCBS companies are improving the health and wellness of members and their communities, view the report at www.bcbs.com/investingincommunities. To see what BCBSVT is doing right now in Vermont communities, visit www.bcbsvt.com/community
or find BCBSVT on Facebook.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is the State’s only Vermont-based, not-for-profit health plan, providing coverage for about 250,000 Vermonters. It employs 415 Vermonters at its headquarters in Berlin, a branch office in South Burlington and its Information and Wellness Center in South Burlington’s Blue Mall, and offers group and individual health plans to Vermonters. More information about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is available on the Internet atwww.bcbsvt.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is an independent corporation operating under a license with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for over 107 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit www.BCBS.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog for up-to-date information about BCBSA.
Source: BCBS VT 6.27.2016