WOONSOCKET, R.I., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) is proud to announce that it has been named as one of the nation's leading corporations for innovative programs promoting a healthy workplace and for helping its employees and their families to make better choices about their own health and well-being.

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CVS Caremark received the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the National Business Group on Health's Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. this week. CVS Caremark was recognized with a Gold Award for its CVS Caremark Wellness Program for creating cultural and environmental changes that support employees who have made a commitment to long-term behavior changes.

'We are thrilled to receive this award,' said V. Michael Ferdinandi, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, CVS Caremark. 'Because CVS Caremark is the country's leading pharmacy health care provider, it is extremely important to us to provide a healthy workplace for our own 215,000 employees and to help to improve their health and well-being.'

Now in its fifth year, the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards recognize those employers that have truly embraced a culture of wellness and are working collaboratively to improve their workers' health, productivity and quality of life. The underlying goal of the program is to serve as a catalyst to encourage all employers to take action.

'As one of 63 companies recognized this year for their employee health and wellness programs, CVS Caremark is at the vanguard of a national movement to promote a system-wide culture of health emphasizing prevention, exercise, and eating right,' said Helen Darling, President of the National Business Group on Health. 'More than ever, a healthy workforce is critical to helping America's large employers compete in the global marketplace. CVS Caremark is to be applauded for making health and wellness an integral part of their workplace.'

The purpose of the CVS Caremark Wellness Program is to improve the health behaviors of CVS Caremark colleagues and their dependents. The program encourages CVS Caremark colleagues to be healthy and to take ownership of their health through health improvement programs such as 'Healthy & Smokefree' (smoking cessation), 'Healthy Weight' (nutrition), 'Healthy & Fit' (physical activity), 'Healthy Mind' (stress management), and 'Healthy Outcomes' (preventive screenings, health assessments, flu shots, and maternity management, etc.).