March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Koop health care award awarded to L.L. Bean

WASHINGTON — L.L. Bean of Freeport was among nine organizations honored Tuesday by Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop for promoting preventive health care for workers.

The C. Everett Koop National Health Care Award recognizes organizations that encourage a wholesome lifestyle, thus reducing workers’ needs for costly medical services. The award was presented during a two-day conference on employer health care issues sponsored by the Washington Business Group on Health.

“Wellness programs have blossomed into the most powerful phenomenon along the health care landscape,” said Koop, a perennial health awareness advocate.

He said the award recipients were chosen primarily because they keep medical costs down while improving the health habits of employees.

In her brief remarks, Mrs. Clinton called for a greater understanding of corporate America’s role in health care reform. She thanked the honorees for “providing high-quality health care at lower costs.”

L.L. Bean’s program, started in 1982, provides a cash reward to employees who participate in health risk-prevention programs in areas including smoking, diet and prenatal care.

Through this program the company also provides fitness centers for its employees and about 40 health education classes.

L.L. Bean spokeswoman Susan Tufts said, “This program is just an extension of what L.L. Bean is all about: being healthy and enjoying the outdoors.”

Tufts said L.L. Bean President Leon Gorman strongly believes in programs that increase the quality of life for his employees and cut down on medical costs.

Other recipients of the Koop award were: Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford; Champion International Corp. in Stanford, Conn.; The Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich.; Integrated Health Services in Palo Alto, Calif.; Park Nicollet Medical Foundation in Minneapolis; The Quaker Oats Co. in Chicago; Steelcase in Grand Rapids; and Union Pacific Railroad Co. of Omaha.


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