
News, ideas, and insights,
on employee health and wellness.
up.ris.ing: the act of rising up

CEOs Place C-Level Emphasis on Healthy Lifestyles, Battle to Burn Most Calories During
2-week Challenge
Leading by example is one of the most effective ways senior leaders can show their workforce that they’re committed to helping them lead healthy lifestyles. To demonstrate this, Virgin HealthMiles kicked off the “Beat the Chief” challenge yesterday with one of our leading clients, Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins.
The “Beat the Chief” Challenge pits Virgin HealthMiles CEO, Chris Boyce, against Cummins’ CEO, Tom Linebarger. The rules are simple: the executive who burns the most calories during a two-week period wins. The Challenge runs from January 23 through February 5. Boyce and Linebarger are using the HealthMiles program’s tools to track their daily calorie burn and progress throughout the challenge. At the end of the two-week period, the CEO who burned the fewest calories will make a $1,000 donation to a charity of the winning CEO’s choice.
“Our business is about making peoples’ lives better by unleashing the Power of Cummins, and there is no better way to make lives better than through improved health,” said Linebarger. “So I want to model a lifestyle that is committed to good health and help showcase the many resources that we offer to our employees and their families to help them stay healthy – in this case, the Virgin HealthMiles program.”
Virgin HealthMiles CEO Boyce couldn’t agree more. “I believe it’s critical for senior leaders to embody the behaviors they want their employees to emulate – especially good health. Virgin HealthMiles has proven challenges like ‘Beat the Chief’ provide motivation for employees to increase their daily physical activity, the cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle, and stay engaged on their path to good health. I’m looking forward to some friendly competition with Tom in this important challenge…and I’m looking forward to winning!”
And it’s not just Boyce and Linebarger who will go head to head in the “Beat the Chief” challenge. Employees from both Virgin HealthMiles and Cummins (U.S. and U.K) have the chance to join in on the challenge and see whether they can burn more calories and beat their respective CEOs. The employee from each company who burns the most calories by the end of the challenge will also receive a $1,000 donation to their charity of choice.
Currently, Boyce in the lead. But it’s anybody’s game. Results will be updated daily at www.beatthechief.com, and the winning CEO and the companies’ top contenders in the “Beat the Chief” challenge will be announced on February 13, 2012.
Learn more about the challenge at www.beatthechief.com and follow #beatthechiefs on Twitter throughout the challenge.
Outstanding Success Attracting Leading U.S. Employers Results in Doubling of Average Client Implementation
[PRESS RELEASE] Leading U.S. employers are increasingly turning to effective, technology-based employee wellness programs to improve workforce health and boost business performance. The growing reliance on this strategy is reflected in Virgin HealthMiles’ impressive 2011 business momentum, which the company shared today. Over the past 12 months, Virgin HealthMiles has enjoyed the best year in its history as new organizations select the company’s market-leading solutions. In 2011, Virgin HealthMiles continued to offer employee health solutions that drive higher employee awareness and engagement, and better measurement and insight into the impact of employers’ wellness investments. Today, the company shared key milestones highlighting this success.
“The strength of our business, in contrast to what was another challenging year for many companies, proves Virgin HealthMiles is meeting a critical need for America’s top employers,” said Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin HealthMiles. “More large organizations are putting their trust in us, knowing our innovative technology-based platform helps them maximize the effectiveness of their employee health and wellness initiatives and drive real, impactful results for their employees and their businesses. Unlike many of our industry peers that struggle yearly with high customer churn rates, Virgin HealthMiles’ significant 2011 growth and robust cash position from operations further underscores the value employers and their employees are getting from our solutions.”
Key 2011 Business Milestones:
Revenue
Customers
Solutions and Services
Virgin HealthMiles’ Summer and Fall ’11 product releases continued to add important new solutions and service capabilities to its platform:
Boyce concluded, “Virgin HealthMiles offers innovative solutions Corporate America needs to improve workforce health. We’re extremely bullish about our business prospects as we continue to release new products and features, and expand our internal operations throughout this coming year.”
All the news you need from this past week.
US healthcare spending rises 3.9% in 2010
Los Angeles Times
A sign questioning patients about their medical insurance is posted in the emergency room of Jamaica Hospital in New York. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press) By Laurie McGinley, Los Angeles Times US healthcare spending grew at the second-lowest rate on …
2012 HR Technology Forecast
Workforce Management
2011 was the year employees and human resources departments went mobile, recruiters embraced social networks, managers coped with increasingly virtual workforces and a hot market for HR tech mergers and acquisitions culminated in SAP’s plan to swallow SuccessFactors. In 2012, expect technology innovations to continue sending shock waves through the HR department.
Working for wellness
Charleston Post Courier
Virgin HealthMiles provides pedometers to 1000 employees to track the number of … Employees can receive up to $500 a year for earning 36000 HealthMiles. …
Save big by losing pounds
SmartMoney
…Experts say even a slight drop in weight can shave $50 or more from insurance premiums, while joining a gym may trigger rebates of up to $500 from an employer or insurer. Over time, the savings from getting — and staying — healthier multiply….
5% of patients account for half of health care spending
USA TODAY
By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY WASHINGTON – Just 1% of Americans accounted for 22% of health care costs in 2009, according to a federal report released Wednesday. By Mark Wilson, Getty Images In Nov., Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius …
