Healthiest Employers of Rhode Island 2023
5,000+ Employees 1. CVS Health Corp.
CEO (or equivalent): Karen S. Lynch, CEO and president
Number of employees: 313,000
A FEW YEARS AGO, Melissa Richardson would have never imagined herself traversing a jungle with 12 of her co-workers.
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In this case, the tropical forest adventure is a handheld simulation in a mobile exercise app, one of many virtual wellness services offered by CVS Health Corp.’s new employee benefits package. While Richardson and her colleagues make their way through an artificial intelligence-generated jungle in the digital realm, they’re walking or running for many miles in the real world.
Apps such as this one have been invaluable for Richardson, a retail trainer for CVS. Two years ago, after gaining “a significant amount of weight that was negatively affecting my life. I realized I had gotten off my path,” Richardson said. She decided to make a change.
Richardson’s parents both struggle with health issues, so doctors urged her to take action sooner rather than later. Initially, she was hesitant.
“When we’re young, we don’t believe everything we’re told,” she said. But eventually, “I just took it upon myself and said, ‘I can do this,’ ” she said. “I decided, ‘I’m going to buckle down, so I can be here for my parents – and myself.’ ”
With the help of CVS-provided wellness apps such as Newtopia and Attain, Richardson began eating differently, exercising more and prioritizing her health. She now attributes her success to not just CVS’ employee benefits but also to her caring community of co-workers.
Richardson couldn’t stop smiling as she described the “jungle walk” exercise app. In the beginning, “my team really encouraged me,” Richardson said. Before long, “I was pretty impressed with myself that I could walk the 3 miles.”
The team has grown from six to 12, she said. Especially in those early days, their support meant everything to Richardson. “Every day I received a morning message saying, ‘You can do it,’ ” she said.
‘CVS Health is top of the stack, and we bring the same focus to our teammates as we do our customers.’
CARMILLA TAN, head of benefits
Richardson’s story isn’t unique, according to CVS Head of Benefits Carmilla Tan. The Woonsocket-based pharmacy and health services conglomerate is striving to make its workplace the healthiest it can be, from offering free counseling and holding virtual exercise sessions to offering speedy primary care appointments.
“CVS Health is top of the stack,” Tan said, “and we bring the same focus to our teammates as we do our customers.”
This broad spectrum of personalized benefits is meant to address CVS’ “diverse population” of employees, Tan said, adding, “It’s not one size fits all.”
Fellow employees at CVS are also loving it. The company touts improved health outcomes for more than 7,000 employees in 2022, with sizable reductions in absenteeism, likely surgeries, and anxiety and depression.
Tan emphasized the community focus of CVS’ approach. During the “Stamp Out Stigma” campaign, the company showcased mental health success stories from employees with the goal of making their peers aware of available benefits, as well as showing them they aren’t alone.
Easy access to a primary care provider has also been a boon for employees. In the thick of the pandemic, “many were unable to get preventative screenings done,” Tan said. Getting physicals and screenings back to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels remains a key goal for the company.
Having a primary care physician and actually seeing them are two different things, she explained. “Some people can get into their primary care physician very quickly. For others, it takes months to get in,” Tan said. With virtual primary care options, CVS makes sure its employees fall into the former camp.
“The best strategy,” Tan said, “is to have a primary care relationship.”
For Richardson, CVS’ holistic approach couldn’t have been better.
“Whenever I see someone who hasn’t seen me in a long time, they say, ‘You’re no longer your old you, you’re a better you,’ ” she said. “It’s affected how comfortable I am engaging with people.”
