Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP: Recognized as an American Heart Association fit-friendly worksite

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) has been recognized as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite by the American Heart Association for a second consecutive year. Baker Tilly was recognized for helping employees eat better and move more.

“Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities at Baker Tilly. We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite,” said Charlie Judy, Baker Tilly’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible. This will benefit our employees’ health and produce even more positive results for our firm overall.”

Platinum-level employers:
> Offer employees physical activity options in the workplace.
> Increase healthy eating options at the worksite.
> Promote a wellness culture in the workplace.
> Demonstrate measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness.

The Fit-Friendly Worksites program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping companies make their employees’ health and wellness a priority.

American employers are losing an estimated $225.8 billion a year because of healthcare expenses and health-related losses in productivity, and those numbers are rising. Many American adults spend most of their waking hours at sedentary jobs. Their lack of regular physical activity raises their risk for a host of medical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone. The American Heart Association is working to change corporate cultures by motivating employees to start walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity.

Recognition is a critical component of the Fit-Friendly Worksites program. Employers that join this program qualify for official recognition by the American Heart Association. They are listed on the program’s national website. Qualifying worksites also have the right to use the program’s annual recognition seal for internal communications and with external, recruitment-related communications.

“The Fit-Friendly Worksites Program offers a unique, easy-to-implement opportunity for corporations to increase employees’ physical activity, which will help improve their health – and their employers’ bottom line,” said Judy. “Even people who haven’t exercised regularly until middle age can reap significant benefits by starting a walking program. A study published in 1986 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that some adults may gain two hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular, vigorous exercise they performed.”

For more information about the Fit-Friendly Worksites program and how it is helping to improve the health of Americans by focusing on an activity that is convenient, free and easy, visit startwalkingnow.org .

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or join us, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or any of our offices around the country, or visit heart.org .

About Baker Tilly

With more than 1,600 employees, Baker Tilly provides a wide range of accounting, tax, and advisory services. Ranked as one of the top 20 largest firms in the country*, Baker Tilly serves clients from offices in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Washington DC, and throughout Wisconsin.

Baker Tilly is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and business advisory firms in 131 countries, with 26,000 professionals. The combined worldwide revenue of independent member firms is $3.3 billion.

*According to the 2013 Accounting Today “Top 100 Firms.”