RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Quintiles Transnational Corp. today announced it has joined the ranks of a handful of best in class companies that have made a profound commitment to the health of employees and their families -- and that have been certified as CEO Cancer Gold Standard companies.
The CEO Cancer Gold Standard is a U.S. initiative demonstrating a corporate commitment to the health of employees and their families by developing and implementing programs that reduce the risk of cancer, enable early diagnosis and facilitate access to best-available cancer treatment. To attain accreditation, employers must exceed the scope of typical wellness efforts.
Quintiles’ Executive Chairman and CEO Dennis Gillings, Ph.D. C.B.E, is an active participant in the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, a group of CEOs and business leaders from diverse industries united by a pledge to apply the untapped power of business to fight cancer and save lives. “I am proud that we have set in place steps to ensure that our culture, policies, and benefit programs assist our employees and their families in practicing good health habits. Achieving CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation is an honor.”
Other accredited organizations include the American Cancer Society, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and OSI Pharmaceuticals. Up to 20 other employers from academia, banking, health care, insurance, manufacturing, retail and technology are targeted to receive accreditation by the end of next year.
Quintiles met the Gold Standard’s accreditation requirements through its comprehensive wellness program, “Healthy U Healthy Q.” This program lays the foundation for overall wellness and reduced cancer risk by promoting fitness, healthy food choices, reducing tobacco use, facilitating cancer screening and early detection activities, and ensuring access to cancer treatment and clinical trials for the benefit of Quintiles employees and their families across North America. In order to reach employees across many locations, a critical element of the program is an innovative, customized, and interactive web portal. Weekly updates with inspirational stories of Quintiles employees, special reports on cancer and other health topics and access to advice from certified personal trainers and dietitians are main features of the web portal. The program also offers Fitness Center membership reimbursements; new on-site fitness centers in the largest offices; subsidized weight management programs; tobacco cessation programs and medications at no cost; and cancer screening tests such as mammograms and colonoscopy at no cost.
Oren Cohen, M.D., chief medical officer of Quintiles Transnational Corp. says, “I am delighted that our comprehensive employee wellness program has received accreditation. Quintiles is addressing health and wellness, and we have an opportunity to set a great example in the power of wellness, starting with our own employees.”
This year alone, 1.4 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer, and 565,000 people will die from the disease. In addition to depriving companies of their greatest resource-their people-cancer cost them more than $118 billion in lost productivity in 2005 and resulted in medical costs five times higher than those for employees without cancer.
For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard and the accreditation process, call 866-526-7830, a dedicated toll-free number staffed by the American Cancer Society, or visit www.cancergoldstandard.org .
About Quintiles
Quintiles is the global leader in pharmaceutical services, improving healthcare worldwide by providing innovative, quality professional expertise, market intelligence and partnering solutions to meet the dynamic needs of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. Quintiles have 16,000 specialized employees and offices in 50 countries. For more information visit the company’s Web site at www.quintiles.com .
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Quintiles Transnational Corp.
CONTACT: Mari Mansfield, Media Relations, of Quintiles TransnationalCorp., +1-919-998-2639, or cell, +1-336-686-2313 or,mari.mansfield@quintiles.com
