About Us
CDC is committed to helping people everywhere become safer and
healthier. To this end, CDC developed the Healthier Worksite Initiative (HWI)
for its own employees with the vision of making CDC a work site where
“healthy choices are easy choices,” and sharing the “lessons learned” with
other federal agencies.
HWI first came about in October 2002 when CDC Director Julie Gerberding
asked the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion (NCCDPHP) to develop a workforce health promotion (WHP)
initiative focused on the four pillars of the President's HealthierUS
Executive Order — physical activity, nutritious eating, preventive health
screenings, and making healthy choices.
In the three years since inception, HWI has worked on a number of
demonstration projects, policies, and environmental changes that affect
the entire CDC workforce. HWI's activities are guided by an advisory
committee made up of representatives from many CDC centers, institutes,
offices, and locations.
For those employees in Atlanta, HWI has worked on improving the stairs and
the cafeteria at headquarters and developing a walking trail at a
CDC-owned facility. For those outside of Atlanta, HWI conducted
walkability audits at almost every CDC campus, implemented a discount
fitness center membership program for employees, and modified a policy
that now makes suggestions for healthier foods at CDC-sponsored meetings
and events.
Lessons learned from these activities, examples of new and revised
policies that enhance WHP, and step-by-step instructions for implementing
similar programs in other work sites form the basis of this Web site. In
line with the HWI mission to serve as a model and resource for other
federal work sites, this Web site was developed as a comprehensive one-stop
shop for planners of WHP programs.
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
