About Us

photo of an outdoor fruit and vegetable market 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.

photo of a tobacco-free campus promotion 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.