CPS dubbed ‘healthiest employer’ for third year

Concordia Plan Services (CPS) has been chosen by Healthiest Employers LLC as a “St. Louis Healthiest Employer” for 2014.

The St. Louis Business Journal, which sponsors the Healthiest Employers program, announced the awards in its Oct. 31 edition.

From left, Concordia Plan Services (CPS) employees Maureen Schneider, Steve Gruenwald and Louis Johnson admire a framed copy of the St. Louis Business Journal article announcing CPS as a “St. Louis Healthiest Employer” for 2014 — the third consecutive year that CPS has been chosen for the distinction.

This is the third consecutive year that CPS has been chosen for the distinction.

Healthiest Employers LLC — based in Indianapolis — is a privately-held technology and data-research company that focuses on corporate wellness.

Earlier in 2014, CPS also was named one of the 100 “healthiest workplaces” in America. For a Reporter Online story about that honor, click here.

According to a Dec. 15 news release from CPS, the Healthiest Employer Awards “recognize companies and nonprofit entities that commit to making wellness a priority and proactively shape the health of their employees.”

“At Concordia Plan Services,” the release continues, “the foundations of the wellness campaign are the ‘Be Well … Serve Well’ health and wellness programs and corresponding ‘Be Well Rewards’ incentive program, which are designed to motivate all Concordia Health Plan members, including CPS employees, to establish and maintain healthy habits. This year, CPS increased … efforts to help establish a culture of wellness and encourage healthy behaviors in and outside of the office.”

The news release also quotes CPS President and CEO Jim Sanft, concerning health stewardship.

“God is the Creator, we are His creation,” Sanft says. “As we learn in Luther’s Small Catechism, God has given us everything we have, including our bodies. Moreover, He preserves them and He richly and daily provides all we need to support our life and body. Nothing on our part merits such love. But our response is to thank, praise, serve and obey Him. I believe stewardship of self is not only consistent with our required response, but it is — in fact — fundamental.”

Sanft then quotes Martin Luther: “ ‘This life, therefore, is not godliness, but the process of becoming godly; not health, but getting well; not being, but becoming; not rest, but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way.”

The news release also points out a number of ways in which CPS employees and other Synod employees are encouraged to be healthy — both spiritually and physically.

Headquartered at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis, CPS administers health, disability, life and retirement programs for the workers of the Synod. For more information, visit concordiaplans.org or call 888-927-7526.

Posted Dec. 19, 2014