CVS Caremark joins American Heart Association to Promote Health in the Workplace

WOONSOCKET, R.I., July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), along with CEOs from more than a dozen of America's largest corporations and organizations, announced the creation of the American Heart Association (AHA) CEO Roundtable, a groundbreaking initiative to create a workplace culture that is focused on health. As part of the announcement, the AHA also released results from a new online survey showing that while Americans overestimate their health—putting them at greater risk for heart disease and other serious illness—companies and their executive leadership can help.

"At CVS Caremark, we want to ensure that our employees are as healthy as can be," said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Caremark. "We are excited to share ideas with the leaders participating in the Roundtable and to learn some best practices from them as well."

The AHA CEO Roundtable is leading by example to engage more than 2 million collective employees to create a healthier America—starting in the workplace. CVS Caremark will reach more than 200,000 colleagues alone nationwide.

The AHA CEO Roundtable initiative was informed by a new survey commissioned by the AHA which found that employees are more likely to participate in and benefit from workplace health programs when encouraged by their CEO and senior management. The CEO Roundtable aims to improve health in part by meaningfully engaging employees to make simple behavior changes—such as being more active and monitoring blood pressure—to reduce their risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

CVS Caremark's "Plan for Health" offers incentives, including a lower paycheck contribution for colleagues who each year undergo a free health screening and complete an online health assessment. The program has helped many colleagues learn, some for the first time, that they have a chronic health condition that needs to be addressed or they have the risk of developing a chronic health condition. Additionally, CVS Caremark also provides free wellness services, such as screenings, flu shots, and smoking cessation counseling, at the company's more than 800 MinuteClinic locations. These services are available to all colleagues, regardless of whether they enroll in company-sponsored health coverage.

"As the nation's largest pharmacy health care provider, CVS Caremark is committed to helping people on their path to better health.  This includes employees at our stores, MinuteClinics, distribution centers and corporate offices nationwide," added Merlo.

"Each year, at least 200,000 deaths caused by heart disease could be prevented through simple changes in health habits, and we need to tackle this issue head-on," said Nancy Brown, CEO of the AHA. "The CEO Roundtable is collaborating to reach more than 2 million employees to help make America heart-healthy."

The American Heart Association's CEO Roundtable comprises three co-chairs, including Henry Kravis, KKR & Co. L.P.; Terry Lundgren, Macy's, Inc.; and Nancy Brown, American Heart Association; and 19 members, including Mitch Barns, Nielsen; Bruce Broussard, Humana; David Calhoun, Blackstone; D. Scott Davis, United Parcel Service; Paul Diaz, Kindred Healthcare; Ken Frazier, Merck; Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson; Milton Johnson, HCA; John Lederer, US Foods; Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical; Mike Mahoney, Boston Scientific; Larry Merlo, CVS Caremark Corporation; Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Company; George Paz, Express Scripts; Dr. Ralph Shrader, Booz Allen Hamilton; Randall Stephenson, AT&T; Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser Permanente; Gregory Wasson, Walgreens; and David West, Big Heart Pet Brands.

Survey results can be found here. Additional information on heart disease and stroke can be found heart.org.

About CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark is dedicated to helping people on their path to better health as the largest integrated pharmacy company in the United States. Through the company's more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores; its leading pharmacy benefit manager serving more than 64 million plan members; and its retail health clinic system, the largest in the nation with more than 800 MinuteClinic locations, it is a market leader in mail order, retail and specialty pharmacy, retail clinics, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans.  As a pharmacy innovation company with an unmatched breadth of capabilities, CVS Caremark continually strives to improve health and lower costs by developing new approaches such as its unique Pharmacy Advisor program that helps people with chronic diseases such as diabetes obtain and stay on their medications.  Find more information about how CVS Caremark is reinventing pharmacy for better health at info.cvscaremark.com.

Contact:
Carolyn Castel
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-5717
Carolyn.Castel@cvscaremark.com

Amy Lanctot
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-2931
Amy.Lanctot@cvscaremark.com

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SOURCE CVS Caremark