Today, Virtua Health was accredited with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ certification, recognizing the organization’s commitment to the health of their employees and family members by certifying their efforts to meet an exceptionally high standard of cancer prevention, screening and care guidelines. In doing so, Virtua Health becomes the first hospital in New Jersey to be Gold Standard accredited and the twenty-third organization that has demonstrated exemplary effort to prevent cancer in the workplace.
William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson chairs the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, the nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs that created the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers and leading corporate health professionals.
“Adopting the Gold Standard is a tribute to the value that Virtua Health and their leadership team place on their employees and to their extraordinary commitment to helping us win the battle against cancer,” said Weldon.
The CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, calls for companies to evaluate their benefits and culture and take extensive, concrete actions in five key areas of health and wellness to fight cancer in the workplace. To earn Gold Standard accreditation, a company must establish programs to reduce cancer risk by discouraging tobacco use and encouraging physical activity, healthy diet and nutrition; detect cancer at its earliest stages; and provide access to quality care, including the availability of clinical trials.
The most recent President's Cancer Panel report, “Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Policy, Program, and Personal Recommendations for Reducing Cancer Risk,” identified the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ as an initiative that is helping reverse negative, unhealthy lifestyle trends and creating hope in the fight against cancer for America’s workers and their families.
Joining Virtua Health in this workplace-based effort to eliminate cancer as a public health threat are: American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, AstraZeneca, C-Change, Duke Medicine, Edelman, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, GHI, GlaxoSmithKline, Jenner & Block, Johnson & Johnson, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Novartis, OSI Pharmaceuticals, PhRMA, PPD, Quintiles Transnational, SAS Institute, The University of North Dakota and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
About Virtua Health
Virtua Health is a multi-hospital healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, NJ. Its mission is to deliver a world-class patient experience through its programs of excellence in cancer treatment, cardiology, orthopaedics, women's health, pediatrics, surgery, neuroscience and geriatrics. A non-profit organization, Virtua employs 7,716 clinical and administrative personnel, and approximately 1,800 physicians serve as medical staff members. Virtua has distinguished itself as one of the first Six Sigma organizations in healthcare, as an early adopter of clinical and digital technologies, and for its innovative partnerships with nationally renowned organizations such as GE Healthcare, Fox Chase Cancer Center and A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. For more information, visit www.virtua.org or call 1-888-VIRTUA-3 (1-888-847-8823).
About the CEO Roundtable on Cancer
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to "do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families." The CEOs responded with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard encouraging its widespread adoption in workplaces across the country. For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™and the accreditation process, please visit www.CancerGoldStandard.org.
To read the President's Cancer Panel report, please go to: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp07rpt/pcp07rpt.pdf
Contacts:
John Dornan, Executive
Director, 919-531-0966
John.Dornan@CEORoundtableOnCancer.org
