William B. Baun, EPD, FAWHP, has been named Chairman of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard Task Force and will help lead efforts to recognize companies’ commitment to the health of their employees and family members and reward their efforts to meet an exceptionally high standard of cancer prevention, screening and care guidelines.

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 CEO Cancer Gold Standard Task Force is comprised of representatives from companies that have achieved a high standard of cancer prevention and workplace wellness excellence.

Baun manages the “Be Well” Employee Wellness Program at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and also chairs of Mayor of Houston’s Wellness Council. M.D. Anderson, under the leadership of President Dr. John Mendelsohn, was the first NCI-designated Cancer Center to become Gold Standard accredited.

Baun succeeds Gary M. Reedy of Johnson & Johnson, who helped lead the formation of the Gold Standard in conjunction with the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and other corporate health and wellness professionals.

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 2006. “The Gold Standard’s success is based on our belief that companies can and should embrace their unique ability to conquer cancer, starting in our own workplaces,” said Weldon. “Bill Baun played an integral role in helping his own organization achieve Gold Standard accreditation and has been a tireless, career-long, advocate for workplace health and wellness programs.”

The most recent President’s Cancer Panel report, “Maximizing our Nation’s Investment in Cancer: Three Crucial Actions for America’s Health”, identified the CEO Cancer Gold Standard as an initiative that emphasizes cancer screening, tobacco control, cancer education, lifestyle modification, and access to cancer treatment when needed.

To date, 30 organizations have achieved Gold Standard accreditation including: The American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, AstraZeneca, C-Change, CIGNA, 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, The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Novartis, The Oncology Nursing Society, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, PhRMA, PPD, Quintiles Transnational, SAS Institute, The University of North Dakota, US Oncology, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Virtua Health and The Wistar Institute.

To read the President’s Cancer Panel 2007- 2008 Report, please go to: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp.htm.

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