CharterCare Health Partners, a hospital system that includes Roger Williams Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Health Services and Elmhurst Extended Care, offers a smorgasbord of wellness events and activities for its 2,200 employees. Initiatives include yoga, Pilates, Zumba, walking programs, healthy cooking options, lunch-and-learn sessions, smoking-cessation and sleep-improvement programs, as well as sun safety, body composition and wellness clinics. more

Eight-seven percent of FM Global’s employees said that health and wellness has become part of the company’s culture, according to the most recent employee health survey. “Our business is all about minimizing risk and preventing losses,” said Carole Williamson, manager of FM Global’s health-and-wellness programs, explaining why initiatives resonate with employees. more

Paul E. Kandarian more

On the walking track outside its corporate headquarters on Royal Little Drive in Providence, employees of AAA Southern New England can frequently be seen engaging in the company’s latest wellness challenge – a walking event – in which more than 725 of the firm’s 1,500 employees are participating. Pedometers, so they can measure their progress, are provided through UnitedHealthcare of New England, the self-insured company’s partner in its wellness program. The goal is have employees take 10,000 steps a day. more

Care New England’s commitment to wellness begins at the top. more

In its second-quarter report, Providence-based United Natural Foods Inc. included testimonials from two company associates. The topic of discussion? The company’s 3-year-old “Body and Mind Wellness” program. more

For the past three years, Lifespan, the state’s largest health care-services provider, has stressed one thing to its employees: know your numbers. It has nothing to do with sales, output or operating costs, but refers to an attitude that the company states is part of its DNA: health. more

The images from the 1970s and ’80s of Japan’s car workers standing en masse exercising at the start of their workday are vivid reminders symbolizing the pinnacle of a nation’s economic might and attitude toward employee health and productivity. more

As a company devoted to play, Hasbro Inc. recognizes the importance of its brand, often doubling down on its well-known board games that are re-branded as movies, DVDs and electronic games. So it is not surprisingly that when Hasbro introduced its Healthy Steps walking routes as part of its wellness program last year, the paths were branded, both inside and outside, with Candyland markers along the way. more

Welcome to Providence Business News’ inaugural Healthiest Employers program special section. In these pages you will find out a little about some of the state’s most enlightened companies, ones that take the needs of the employees very seriously, and as a result, deliver better products and services to their customers. more