Miller Canfield's Wellness Program Wins Awards in Michigan and Windsor
The law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. is proud to announce that its wellness program has received top honors on both sides of the border. The firm recently received the 2004 Healthy Workplace Platinum Award in the medium business category from the Michigan Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports, and the 2004 Workplace Health Promotion Gold Award given by the Heart Health Action Windsor-Essex and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit in Ontario. This is the first time in both awards’ histories that a law firm has won such honors.
Both awards are given annually to organizations that excel in providing health and fitness opportunities for employees. The Michigan Governor’s Council has presented platinum awards to three Michigan organizations each year for nine years and says it is rare for a first-time applicant to win. In Windsor, six organizations were honored with Gold level awards in 2004 at the third annual award presentation.
Miller Canfield has been promoting healthy lifestyles for over two decades, but in recent years, with escalating health care costs and increased costs associated with loss of employee productivity due to illness, energizing the wellness program was essential. The firm partnered with Ken Holtyn & Associates, a health promotion consulting firm, to develop a wellness plan and to help promote a healthy workplace, and wellness committees were established in all major offices in Michigan including Ann Arbor, Detroit, Troy, Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids, as well as in Windsor and Washington, D.C.
“There’s no magic pill to relieve the pain of soaring healthcare costs; however, research confirms that people who exercise regularly incur significantly less doctor visits and hospital stays, lowering healthcare claims for major and minor illnesses,” said William J. Parsons, director of administrative and human resources at Miller Canfield. “Achieving these awards is exciting and beneficial to the firm, but the ultimate reward is what our employees and their families gain by reaching and continuing good health.”
As part of its health program called MCFit, Miller Canfield offers participating employees a credit on the cost of health care; free, convenient health screenings at its offices during work hours; a $100 yearly reimbursement for health club memberships and the cost of new exercise equipment; weight loss and stop smoking programs; free in-network or reduced cost out-of-network annual physicals; and exercise points for exclusive Miller Canfield clothing and gifts. Today, over 80 percent of the firm’s employees participate.
The 340-attorney law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. was established in Detroit in 1852 and has offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, and Troy, Michigan. Other offices are located in New York City, Pensacola, Florida, Washington, D.C., Windsor, Ontario, and in Gdynia, Katowice, and Warsaw, Poland.