"This will be our second year of Active for Life," said John White, RN, who is in charge of community health relations at Cameron. "I don’t think a hospital has ever challenged another hospital so it’s really unique."

The Active for Life Challenge between Cameron and Clinton Memorial Hospital in Ohio starts September 11. Cameron president and CEO Dennis Knapp and Clinton COO Andy Riddell will trade DVD challenges, which will be played during the respective kickoff events.

Active for Life is a 10-week program that encourages employees to be more active on a regular basis by setting individual goals and forming teams for motivation and support. Regular physical activity has been shown to improve job performance and morale; lower absenteeism and turnover; reduce disability days; and lower medical costs. But more importantly, Active for Life nurtures teamwork and lifts morale while helping employees improve their health.

Since everyone is different, participants set their own goals based on how active they are, and how active they want to be. Personal goals can be moderate, such as walking or taking the stairs, or more intense like running or tennis. Each participant also belongs to a team so teammates can encourage and motivate each other. Participants are rewarded as they make progress towards their personal or team goals.

To educate and motivate staff, Cameron will send out weekly Active for Life newsletters, share recipes, and hold lunchtime learning sessions. Incentives will include ACS cookbooks and Active for Life gear. The challenge will conclude on November 20, just before Thanksgiving.

"We thought that if we can get people exercising before the holidays, then they would be able to continue throughout the holidays and avoid that weight gain from all the sweets," explained John.

At the end of the challenge, the winning hospital will be presented with a plastic representation of five pounds of muscle. The losing hospital with receive the plastic equivalent of five pounds of fat, which is larger to represent the actual difference in size between muscle and fat. The two hospitals hope to meet halfway to present the prizes to each other.

"There’s been a lot of friendly banter between the hospitals and I think it’s only going to continue," said John. "It’s been a pleasure to work with Debby and the American Cancer Society and I think the challenge will be a lot of fun."

For information about starting an Active for Life program at your workplace, or other ACS health and wellness programs, please visit www.ACSWorkplaceSolutions.com or call 1-800-ACS-2345.

Pictured: ACS representative Debby Pontecorvo and Cameron president and CEO Dennis Knapp display the hospital's "Five Star" award plaques