ROCHESTER, N.Y., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has named Step Up from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) as the winner of an Innovation in Prevention award. The Step Up weight management program is being recognized as one of 10 programs across the country that encourages people to live healthier lifestyles. HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt presented the award at a ceremony in Washington, DC today.
“As a society, we eat too much and don’t get enough exercise,” said Kevin Hill, president and COO of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “We believe that the key to fighting obesity is to help individuals in our communities adopt a healthier lifestyle -- through small, manageable steps every day. We are honored that Secretary Leavitt and the Department of Health and Human Services regard the Step Up program as an innovative and effective way to address the challenge of obesity.”
Step Up focuses on the message that simple steps -- such as parking farther away at the supermarket or eating smaller meals -- can make an important difference in the health of individuals and the community. The Step Up Web site http://www.stepup.excellusbcbs.com offers a free online profile that makes it easy to record and monitor a participant’s daily steps and their daily fruit/vegetable intake. The Web site also offers useful tools such as a body mass index (BMI) calculator and a calorie counter. Since Step Up was launched in August 2004, there have been more than 19 million hits on the Web site. More than 21,000 people have registered on the site and about 1,400 more registrations are recorded each month.
Step Up also offers Healthy Competition -- a program for businesses and other groups that want to organize teams and participate in the program together. Through Healthy Competition, a group creates a team -- or multiple teams to form a league -- that measure their steps and how many servings of fruit and vegetable that they eat. Excellus BCBS provides a kit with posters and other materials to get these groups started. To date, more than 300 organizations -- representing more than 22,000 employees -- have requested start up kits.
The Innovation in Prevention award was created three years ago as part of President George W. Bush’s Healthier US initiative and HHS’s continuing focus on preventing chronic disease and improving Americans’ lives. The awards highlight businesses and organizations that are leading efforts to promote healthier lifestyles in seven different areas. Ten organizations are being honored this year. In Rochester, the University of Rochester Medical Center is also being recognized for the church-based Healthy Living Program.
For more information on Step Up, or to request an employer kit, visit http://www.stepup.excellusbcbs.com.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a nonprofit independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, is part of a family of companies that finances and delivers vital health care services to 2 million people across upstate New York. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield provides access to high- quality, affordable health coverage, including valuable health-related resources that our members use every day, such as cost-saving prescription drug discounts and Member Rewards. To learn more, visit http://www.excellusbcbs.com.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
CONTACT: Jim Redmond for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, +1-585-238-4579
