Oui to Wellness
Crain's Health Pulse
February 14, 2012

North Shore-Long Island Jewish is launching a new contest as part of the wellness campaign that it runs for its workforce of more than 43,000 and their families. The competition, called "Walk to Paris," is a challenge for the system's employees to team up and walk more than 7.2 million steps in three months, as measured by the system's St. Valentine's Day gift of pedometers. The walking challenge begins on March 20 with teams of 10 people each. Each team whose members walk 8,000 steps per day in the three months will be entered into a raffle for the grand prize: round-trip airfare for 10 employees to Paris on Delta Airlines, plus a four-night hotel stay, with discount packages for companions available. Second-place team members each get $400 Delta airfare vouchers. Each team gets a suitcase filled with gear for the competition, including a $30 pedometer for everyone to track steps. Employees can record their steps and track the performance of other teams on a new wellness website that also features wellness resources, articles and tips.