Today, two companies, health insurance provider GHI and contract research organization PPD, were accredited with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard. The Gold Standard certifies their commitment to the health of their employees and their families by recognizing the efforts of these two organizations to meet an exceptionally high standard of cancer prevention, screening and care guidelines. In doing so, they join with eighteen other organizations that have answered former President George H.W. Bush’s call for business leaders to be “bold and venturesome in their efforts in preventing cancer in the workplace and in their leadership in the overall fight against cancer.

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 collaboration with The American Cancer Society, NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers and leading corporate health professionals. “Adopting the Gold Standard is a tribute to the value these CEOs place on their employees”, said Weldon. ” I hope that the efforts of these and other Gold Standard companies will encourage other corporate leaders to recognize the valuable role they can play in helping us win the battle against cancer.”

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.

New York-based GHI becomes the first health insurance provider in the nation to be Gold Standard accredited. GHI and its wholly owned subsidiary, GHI HMO, provide health coverage and administrative services to more than 2.6 million individuals, including active employees, their dependents, and retirees. Wilmington, NC-based PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs to help its clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. PPD is the fifth North Carolina employer to be CEO Cancer Gold Standard accredited.

The most recent President’s Cancer Panel report, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Policy, Program, and Personal Recommendations for Reducing Cancer Risk,” identified the CEO Cancer Gold Standardâ„¢ as an initiative that is helping reverse negative, unhealthy lifestyle trends and creating hope in the fight against cancer for America’s workers and their families.

Joining GHI and PPD in this workplace-based effort to eliminate cancer as a public health threat are: American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, AstraZeneca, C-Change, Duke Medicine, Edelman, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Jenner & Block, Johnson & Johnson, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Novartis, OSI Pharmaceuticals, PhRMA, Quintiles Transnational, SAS Institute, The University of North Dakota and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

To read the President’s Cancer Panel report, please go to: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp07rpt/pcp07rpt.pdf