American Heart Association Honors Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah as the State's First Start! Fit-Friend...(recognizedalongside my employer. I start...),Health

"A catalyst for positive change in American business, the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Recognition Program honors employers who champion the health of their employees. The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah for their efforts in implementing changes in physical activity, nutrition and culture and for setting the example for other corporations to follow," said Howard Headlee, co-chair of the 2007 Start! Utah Heart Walk and longtime AHA volunteer.

The AHA's gold level award recognized Regence for fulfilling the gold level award criteria with a number of innovative fitness, nutrition and wellness programs. Among the winning entries included in the fitness category were the Regence Rewards program and Club Blue facilities. For the nutrition category, Regence entered its "Your Health Your Way" program, which provides a 35 percent discount on healthy food options in all of the company's Cafe Blue cafeterias. Regence maintains Club Blue fitness centers at its facilities, where employees can use exercise equipment or take a fitness class. Employees earn Regence Rewards points for participating in wellness programs, which can ultimately be redeemed for gift cards to a variety of vendors. Regence's commitment to a wellness culture is also exemplified by the company's health coaches, who are available to help employees who want to adopt healthy behaviors such as weight loss or smoking cessation.

About Regence

Created in 1995, Regence is the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Mountain State Region, operating Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (in select counties in Washington). Through these p
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