The Center for Health Value Innovation (www.vbhealth.org), the nation’s premier organization dedicated to establishing value and producing evidence for sustainable health and financial improvement, has appointed Fred Williams, director of health benefits management at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, to its board of directors. Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s leading provider of diagnostic testing, information, and services and a member organization of the Center, was recently awarded the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) 2008 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Gold Award for its HealthyQuest employee wellness program.
According to Cyndy Nayer, founder and executive director of the Center, “Fred Williams and Quest Diagnostics make brilliant additions to our organization at a time when we are seeing a burgeoning demand for the Center’s analytic tools and educational programs. More and more, it’s become not just about taming the healthcare cost trend but about investing in people’s lives.”
Williams, a 30-year veteran in employee benefits management, commented on the appointment, “Quest Diagnostics and the Center share a mission to innovate, implement, and measure the success of lifestyle improvement programs designed to encourage healthier lifestyles for employees. I am honored to serve in a leadership role and look forward to working with the Center and its members to help accelerate the introduction and adoption of employee wellness best practices.”
He added, “Value-based health design helps employers like us to expand upon our efforts to educate individuals about their personal health risk factors. When we help people to understand their daily behaviors, they are better equipped to adopt new behaviors for better health. It’s about making a real difference in our employees’ lives by making their choices simpler and more intuitive.”
Quest Diagnostics’ HealthyQuest initiative provides employees and their spouses or domestic partners with the information they need to make healthcare and lifestyle choices leading to better health. The program is based largely on the company’s Blueprint for Wellness(TM) risk assessment product, which combines behavior and lifestyle choices with diagnostic test results to produce a personalized report identifying health risks and opportunities for improvement. Between 2005 and 2007, Quest Diagnostics’ HealthyQuest program helped its participants to substantially lower their health risks by adopting more healthful behaviors, such as quitting smoking and exercising more frequently. Today, more than 70 percent of participants have achieved an assessment rating that indicates a low risk of developing major health problems, compared to 60 percent when the program began.
Williams explained, “Like the Center, we have been looking at healthcare in new ways and taking what we’ve learned directly to our employees. It has made an enormous difference in helping employees make important lifestyle changes, anticipating major medical problems, like diabetes, becoming more compliant with colorectal cancer screening, and helping change harmful behaviors, such as smoking.”
Member inquiries: www.vbhealth.org or [email protected].
About The Center for Health Value Innovation
Launched in 2007, The Center for Health Value Innovation is a not-for-profit (501c3) organization representing industry stakeholders committed to sharing the evidence that value-based health designs improve health status and reduce health cost inflation. Visit www.vbhealth.org.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its national network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative new diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at: www.questdiagnostics.com.
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