Goodmans Interior Structures and Shore Memorial Hospital have received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing commitment of these organizations to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle.

William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, chairs the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, a nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs who created the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, many of its designated cancer centers, and leading health non-profit organizations and professionals. Today, more than one and a quarter million employees and family members are benefiting from the vision and leadership of employers who have chosen to become Gold Standard accredited.

“The leadership and commitment to employee health of these Gold Standard organizations is exemplary,” said Weldon. “We hope that they will serve as models for other employers, large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit, to foster a workplace culture of health and wellness.”

The CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ calls for companies to evaluate their health benefits and corporate 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; encouraging physical activity; promoting healthy diet and nutrition; detecting cancer at its earliest stages; and providing access to quality care, including participation in clinical trials.

Employers are uniquely positioned to lead the fight against cancer and make a real difference in the health and wellbeing of their employees and their family members. The cost of cancer in the workplace is extraordinarily high considering the direct medical costs, lost productivity, disability claims and the tremendous personal toll the disease takes on individuals, families and coworkers. Earlier this year the journal Health Affairs reported that employer medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.

While the focus of the Gold Standard is cancer, the benefits of encouraging healthy lifestyle choices extend to other serious and expensive chronic conditions and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The Gold Standard sends an important message to employees: “We are investing in your health because we care about you”.

Phoenix-based Goodmans Interior Structures is a third generation, family-owned and -operated business. Today, Goodmans ranks among the top ten dealers in Herman Miller’s global network of certified dealers and is the only Herman Miller Certified Network dealer in Arizona and New Mexico. Shore Memorial Hospital, located in Somers Point, New Jersey is a not-for-profit, community hospital. The 265-bed facility includes Centers of Excellence for cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, orthopedic, emergency maternity and Pediatric health care. Shore Memorial’s long-standing affiliation with both the University of Pennsylvania Health System and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia also provides patients and physicians with seamless access to an extensive range world class tertiary and quaternary healthcare services.

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 by creating and encouraging the widespread adoption of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard which has now been adopted by more than seventy organizations, large and small, in the U.S. For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ and the web-based accreditation process and support, please visit www.CancerGoldStandard.org.

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For more information: CEO Roundtable on Cancer John Dornan, Executive Director P: 919-531-0966 John.Dornan@CEORoundtableOnCancer.org