SAS adds ‘Spin for Life’ to National Employee Health & Fitness Day

SAS executives, employees to help American Cancer Society spread word on cancer prevention, early diagnosis

CARY, NC  (May 19, 2010)  –  At SAS world headquarters, National Employee Health & Fitness Day is always a big deal. Co-workers compete in a 5K race, peruse a plethora of healthy-living offerings and get health screenings and fitness assessments. Today, the No. 1 company on FORTUNE magazine’s annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list shifted some of the focus outside its gates. Executives and employees, whose wellness is a corporate priority, joined the American Cancer Society’s mission to educate others to prevent cancer and seek early diagnosis.

Led by SAS co-founder John Sall, employees this morning will pedal spin trainers at the company’s fitness center for exercise and to generate donations at a rate of $1 per minute. “SAS’ reputation as an innovator in encouraging healthy living and work-life balance is well-established,” Sall said. “What isn’t all that well known are the business benefits of helping employees be healthy. SAS is proof that investing in employees’ health and fitness is good for business.” 

SAS – privately held, debt-free and profitable all of its 34 years – has long been recognized as an innovator in encouraging employee work-life balance. On-site amenities include free health care, subsidized child care, a free 66,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center, and programs that promote employee wellness. As a result, SAS employees are unusually loyal. Annual turnover is about 4 percent in an industry in which 22 percent is the norm. This low turnover translates into long-term relationships with customers, knowledge retention and low recruitment and training costs. 

The on-site Health Care Center alone saved SAS $7 million last year in health insurance costs and employee time savings. “We have the patient outcomes, patient satisfaction scores and financial figures to support our belief that good health is good business,” said Director of Corporate Health Services Gale Adcock. “Seventy-three percent of SAS employees choose our on-site Health Care Center as their ‘medical home’ – we believe this speaks volumes about the quality of the care we provide and its value to employees. We are committed to disease prevention – and the prevention and early detection of cancer is one of our top priorities.”    

For the Morlock family of Cary, the Health Care Center was pivotal in saving the life of one of its members. Three years ago, Charlie Morlock, now 8, was diagnosed with leukemia less than an hour after receiving blood tests at the center. Today, he begins his final round of treatment at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill and is well on the way to recovery. 

His father, also named Charlie, always liked the convenience of on-site health care. He gained a full appreciation of quality and comprehensive nature of SAS’ health benefits when his son was diagnosed and during his subsequent treatment. “After he was diagnosed, I realized that the quality of care was also extraordinary,” said Morlock, who oversees implementations of SAS^® software in the health care insurance industry. “My son was diagnosed in one office visit, which is atypical for pediatric leukemia patients. The health care SAS provides for its employees is outstanding.”

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