WASHINGTON, and MADISON, N.J., June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) has awarded its 2010 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Platinum Award to Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services. The 2010 award, in recognition of the company's HealthyQuest employee wellness initiative, marks the second consecutive year Quest Diagnostics has earned the prestigious Platinum distinction, the NBGH's highest honor. The company was honored with Gold Awards in 2008 and 2007 and Silver Awards in 2006 and 2005, and is one of only six companies to earn NBGH Best Employer recognition in each year of the program since its inception.

The Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards recognize those employers taking measurable action to improve worker health, productivity and quality of life. According to Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, "As a Platinum-level Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyles, Quest Diagnostics is setting the standard for excellence in creating a positive culture that successfully fosters employee engagement with personal health information, and employee action for personal health improvement. In an era when many companies are recognizing the importance of employee wellness, Quest Diagnostics has emerged as a leader that has consistently made a positive impact on the health and well-being of its employees."

Since 2005, the Quest Diagnostics HealthyQuest employee wellness initiative has focused on fostering a workplace culture that encourages healthy behaviors, and has helped Quest Diagnostics employees to measurably lower their health risks by adopting healthier lifestyles. At the heart of the HealthyQuest program is the company's Blueprint for Wellness™ health risk assessment service, which includes a panel of up to 30 laboratory tests. The service is available at no charge to 42,000 domestic employees as well as their spouses or domestic partners. Each Blueprint for Wellness participant receives a patient-friendly report that includes laboratory test results, a health assessment and a health quotient score. An optional PSA test for the early detection of prostate cancer is offered as part of the Blueprint for Wellness service, and employees, spouses, and domestic partners age 50 and older are offered the InSure® FIT™ fecal immunochemical test for colorectal cancer screening, 6,000 of which completed the test in 2009.

Armed with information from their Blueprint for Wellness personalized reports, employees can access the company's diverse educational and support programs, supported by hundreds of employee volunteers, to make lifestyle changes. Programs include physical fitness, weight and stress management resources and tobacco cessation counseling. In 2009, a total of 36,000 employees and spouses/domestics partners took part in the annual Blueprint for Wellness risk assessment program, a 15 percent increase in the number of employees participating in the program. To help drive participation, Quest Diagnostics reduced the cost of bi-weekly medical plan contributions as an incentive, raising to greater than 80 percent the participation of those employees enrolled in health plans.

"Quest Diagnostics is honored to receive this prestigious Platinum distinction from the National Business Group on Health," said David W. Norgard, Quest Diagnostics vice president, Human Resources. "Our company, our employee volunteers, and our employees have made an extraordinary and growing commitment to building a culture in which we each seek to understand our personal health data, and with that knowledge, live healthier lives. Through HealthyQuest and Blueprint for Wellness, we have learned of countless stories of personal success. We have also seen firsthand that – whether we are maintaining good health, managing a chronic illness, or fighting disease – when we personally receive and engage with the data that directly reflect the quality of our health today, and our health prospects for tomorrow, we are better informed and highly motivated to take positive action."

About the National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and providing practical solutions to its members' most important health care problems. The Business Group helps drive today's health agenda while promoting ideas for controlling health care costs, improving patient safety and quality of care and sharing best practices in health benefits management with senior benefits, HR professionals, and medical directors from leading corporations.  Business Group members, which include 63 Fortune 100 companies, provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.

About Blueprint for Wellness

The Quest Diagnostics Blueprint for Wellness health-risk assessment service uses laboratory data to help individuals identify potential health risks and monitor wellness. The service is provided to health-conscious companies that wish to implement employee wellness initiatives to help reduce employees' greatest health risks, as measured by laboratory test results, for healthier employees and lower healthcare costs. Employers can elect as many as 30 laboratory tests to help employees, through confidential risk assessments identify, understand and monitor their risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other conditions against their long-term health goals. Quest Diagnostics also provides an online Blueprint for Wellness service through which health conscious individuals may select affordable, quality laboratory testing panels through a secure Google Health record. For more information, visit www.blueprintforwellness.com.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Incorporated