Working Well Initiative Recognizes 1st Gold Star Hospital In South Carolina
Aug
25
Written by:
8/25/2011 3:29 PM
Pictured from L to R: Kelly Plaia, Benefit/Compensation Specialist; Jamie Adair, Marketing/Community Relations Director; Rich D’Alberto, President and CEO; Jen Wright, SCHA Working Well Manager; Lindsay Roper, Employee Wellness Committee Chair
Working Well, a collaboration between the South Carolina Hospital Association and NC Prevention Partners, has recognized the Laurens County Health Care System as the first hospital in South Carolina to meet its Gold Star standard. The Gold Star recognizes hospitals for providing the highest standard of excellence for the tobacco cessation programs offered to their employees.
In order to receive this recognition, Laurens County Health Care System (LCHCS) addressed several components of an effective quit tobacco system, including:
• LCHCS employees who are interested in quitting can participate in the Freshstart Cessation Program free of charge.
• LCHCS employees are eligible to receive up to $400 worth of nicotine replacement therapy and FDA-approved prescription medications to aid their quit attempts.
• Upon enrolling in a cessation program, LCHCS employees are also eligible for a discounted health insurance premium, and once they have quit, employees are eligible for further reduced premiums.
“Through innovative strategies in policy language, enforcement practices, and system approaches to cessation assistance, Laurens County Health Care System is blazing a trail for hospitals in South Carolina and beyond,” commented Jen Wright, Working Well Manager with the South Carolina Hospital Association. “This is just one shining example of why they have also been designated a Working Well Center of Excellence.”