Pride, Inc. Receives CEO Cancer Gold Standard(TM) Accreditation

Pride, Inc. has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard(TM) accreditation, recognizing the organization's commitment to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of its employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle and in the workplace.

William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson chairs the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, the nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs who created the CEO Cancer Gold Standard(TM), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, many of its designated cancer centers, and leading health non-profit organizations and professionals.

"Our Gold Standard certification recognizes that Pride Inc.'s commitment to serving their community starts with providing for the health and wellness needs of the employees who help them fulfill that commitment," said Weldon.

Pride, Inc. is a North Dakota-based non-profit provider of vocational and developmental services for the elderly and disabled. The organization has taken a proactive approach to its employees' health, providing incentives to make healthier lifestyle choices including losing weight and quitting smoking.

The CEO Cancer Gold Standard(TM) calls for companies to evaluate their health benefits and corporate 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; encouraging physical activity; promoting healthy diet, and nutrition; detecting cancer at its earliest stages; and providing access to quality care, including participation in clinical trials.

The most recent President's Cancer Panel report, "Maximizing our Nation's Investment in Cancer: Three Crucial Actions for America's Health", identified the CEO Cancer Gold Standard as an initiative that emphasizes cancer screening, tobacco control, cancer education, lifestyle modification, and access to cancer treatment when needed.

Other organizations joining Pride, Inc. in championing this workplace-based effort to eliminate cancer as a public health threat include: the American Cancer Society, the American Legacy Foundation, the American Society of Clincial Oncology, Aptuit, AstraZeneca, C-Change, Cigna, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Duke Medicine, Edelman, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Fox Chase Cancer Center, GHI (an EmblemHealth company), GlaxoSmithKline, Hogan & Hartson, Independence Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Jenner & Block, Johnson & Johnson, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Meridian Health, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Minot State University, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, The National Cancer Institute, Novartis, The Oncology Nursing Society, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, PhRMA, PPD, Quintiles Transnational, sanofi-aventis, SAS Institute, The University of North Dakota, US Oncology, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Virtua Health and The Wistar Institute.

About the CEO Roundtable on Cancer

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to "do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families." The CEOs responded with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard encouraging its widespread adoption in workplaces across the country. For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard(TM) and the accreditation process, please visit www.CancerGoldStandard.org.

SOURCE: CEO Roundtable on Cancer

CEO Roundtable on Cancer 
John Dornan, Executive Director 
919-531-0966 
John.Dornan@CEORoundtableOnCancer.org 
To read the President's Cancer Panel 2007- 2008 Report, please go to: 
http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp.htm.

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