The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research

Building the Right Kind of NCI for the Future

NCI’s Commitment to Its Staff

In 2008, the National Cancer Institute qualified for the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™. Bestowed by the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, the nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs, this award recognizes the commitment of companies and non-profit organizations to fighting cancer one employee at a time. Gold Standard recognition means that NCI has, first, established and enforced tobacco-free worksite policies. In fact, the entire National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Md., is now tobacco-free. In addition, the Gold Standard designation means NCI also provides no-cost coverage for evidence-based tobacco treatments for employees and their family members. Other requirements include sustaining a culture that promotes diet and nutrition; promoting physical activity; and providing prevention, screening, and early detection — along with access to quality treatment and clinical trials.

In announcing the designation, William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson and chair of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, said, “It is both appropriate and inspirational that the preventive health and wellness guidelines and unparalleled cancer care for which the National Cancer Institute and its director, Dr. John Niederhuber, stand for are provided for NCI’s own employees and their family members who are on the frontlines of our nation’s battle against cancer each and every day.”