PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virgin Pulse, the leading global provider of corporate wellness and wellbeing SaaS solutions, today announced that it has launched coronavirus (COVID-19)-specific content, resources and habits for Virgin Pulse members, along with a public-facing COVID-19 Hub to help people around the world build literacy and maintain healthy habits and personal wellbeing during the current global health crisis. This self-service hub, available in more than 100 languages, will serve as a “COVID-19 Homebase” where individuals can access a broad range of relevant information and tools, in one place, to support their wellbeing. As part of this fast forward initiative, Virgin Pulse has teamed up with leading fitness, mental resilience, financial wellbeing and nutrition partners, Aaptiv, Enrich, meQuilibrium, Monj, Whil and Zipongo, to provide free access to health and wellbeing programs and resources to help Virgin Pulse members, families, friends and communities navigate this pandemic in a positive, healthy way.
“The mental, physical and financial toll COVID-19 is taking on employers, employees, families and the world at large cannot be understated,” said Dave Osborne, CEO of Virgin Pulse. “Virgin Pulse, together with our partners, recognize that we must bring our collective resources to bear to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, and at the most critical time of their adjustment to this new world. With millions of people around the world using our platform on a daily basis, we have a significant opportunity, and responsibility, really, to ensure we are making it as easy and seamless as possible to access the information, programs and resources they need to manage through this crisis. We have the platform, tools, partnerships, analytics, global reach and most importantly, the daily engagement across our users, to drive behavior-change at scale when it matters most.”
Virgin Pulse In-App Guide (for Virgin Pulse users)
Given the urgency for employers and health plans to educate, communicate with and engage their employees and members during this time, Virgin Pulse has launched in-app tools and a resource guide specifically focused on helping members maintain their wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. Featuring a calendar of weekly challenges, practical, clinically-reviewed content and daily cards with information about coronavirus symptoms and facts, coupled with safety and prevention tips including healthy habit recommendations and social distancing guidance, these resources are aimed at actively engaging members to do their part to “flatten the curve” and prevent the spread of this disease.
To help members address related concerns of social isolation, depression and anxiety, and physical activity limitations as they adapt to new routines during COVID-19, Virgin Pulse has introduced new challenges and content dedicated to working from home, staying connected with family, friends and coworkers; and self-care and physical activity to foster wellbeing and connection. In conjunction with these tools and activities, clients can activate exclusive partner content from Aaptiv, Enrich, meQuilibrium, Monj, Whil and Zipongo, free of charge, through May 31, 2020.
- Mental Health, Stress and Resiliency Education and Tools
• MeQuilibrium – Access to COVID-19 Resilience Site, updated daily
• Whil – Access to Whil’s full content library - Financial Education and Tools
• Enrich – Access to targeted content relevant for COVID-19 - Nutrition and Healthy Eating:
• Monj – Access to Full Monj digital culinary experience, including live streaming workshops
• Zipongo – Access to full Zipongo Foodsmart platform to support Health (Grocery, Meal Kit and Prepared Meal Delivery for sheltering-in-place; Immune Boosting and Glucose Control recipes), Sanity (Meal recommendations based on food in the kitchen, family meal planning), Caregiving (Family Accounts to support kids and distant parents) and Financial Stability (food delivery discounts, budget-friendly food buying guidance) - Exercise and Physical Fitness:
• Aaptiv – Access to 30 of Aaptiv’s best meditation, sleep, and at-home workout classes available to listen as podcasts. New classes added weekly.
Promoting these offerings through the Virgin Pulse platform allows millions of members to engage immediately, and daily, with targeted programs to help them manage their wellbeing in critical areas at this challenging time. In addition to these partner solutions, eligible clients who utilize Virgin Pulse’s coaching services will have free access to the COVID-19 Next-Steps Consult through May 31, 2020.
Public COVID-19 Homebase Hub (Available to All)
In tandem with the COVID-19 in-app experience and member guide, Virgin Pulse has launched a global, public-facing coronavirus homebase hub to support family, friends and all individuals in building healthy routines and personal wellbeing as they adjust to a new normal.
This multilingual resource includes actionable information, tools and guidance for improving total wellbeing - mental, physical, social, financial and professional - during COVID-19. Individuals can access a coronavirus wellbeing guide (with information and links to relevant resources, tools and information), as well as featured partner resources and programs, including meQuilibrium, Enrich and Aaptiv, and curated content to build and sustain healthy routines across five critical wellbeing pillars: Reducing Stress, Staying Active, Being Productive, Eating Healthy and Sleeping Well. Each area includes related webinars, blog posts, and links to external resources and online resources for family support and self-care.
Additional resources:
Coronavirus Awareness Toolkit for Employers
Coronavirus Awareness Toolkit for Health Plans
Work-From-Home Playbook
COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Toolkit
About Virgin Pulse
Founded in 2004, Virgin Pulse is the world’s largest, most comprehensive digital health and wellbeing SaaS company focused on driving real outcomes for employees, employers, health plans and their members. As the industry’s only digital health and wellbeing company to fuse high-tech with high-touch, Virgin Pulse engages users every day in building and sustaining healthy habits and lifestyles and managing chronic disease. Today, Virgin Pulse supports more than six million members around the world across the entire wellbeing, health and healthcare lifecycle — from prevention to intervention to reversal. To learn more, visit Virgin Pulse and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
EXECUTIVE QUOTES FROM VIRGIN PULSE PARTNERS:
Aaptiv (Fitness, Physical activity)
"During this challenging time, Aaptiv wanted to help those who may be experiencing anxiety, stress, or even boredom. We've curated 30 of our best classes and made them available completely free on Apple podcasts. No credit cards or free trials. We have some excellent meditation, sleep, and at home cardio. Best wishes to all during this time from the Aaptiv family," said Ethan Agarwal, founder & CEO.
iGrad (Enrich Financial Wellbeing)
“Many Americans were under significant financial stress even before the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. We are in uncharted territory. The Enrich coronavirus hub is a resource with the latest financial information and customized personal finance guidance and tools to help U.S. workers through this crisis.”- Rob LaBreche, CEO of iGrad
meQuilibrium (Stress Reduction, Mental Resiliency)
“Leaders and employees are feeling anxious and stressed in the face of the pandemic. It is fundamental for organizations to take steps to address the resilience of their employees,” says Jan Bruce, CEO, meQuilibrium. “During times of uncertainty in the face of threat, our brains go negative. The science is incontrovertible: resilience helps people respond more effectively by managing their minds and emotions in high stress, adverse situations. This partnership allows meQuilibrium and Virgin Pulse to reach millions of individuals with turnkey, proven resources to improve resilience.”
Whil (Mindfulness, Meditation, Stress Reduction)
“It is our great pleasure to work with Virgin Pulse to support their clients’ employees and family members during this global health crisis. Sharing Whil’s full solution for stress, anxiety, mental wellbeing and insomnia is our responsibility and great privilege.” - Joe Burton, Founder and CEO of Whil.
Monj (Emotional Wellbeing; Healthy Eating; Cooking Skills)
“The Monj approach focuses on finding the things that bring joy and more positive emotions to a person’s food life. Whether it’s playing with your kids, learning skills to cook new, healthy family favorites or picking up simple strategies to de-stress around food, Monj puts you on the path to create the food life you desire.” - CEO, Adam DeVito.
Zipongo (Meal and Grocery Planning)
"One of the top predictors of hospitalization and mortality for people with community acquired pneumonia, is blood glucose level. Now, more than ever, families are asking for help ordering healthy food, delivered to their door, and for advice on healthy eating and cooking habits at home, to avoid the snack attack while working at home, enjoy home meals, and keep their families safe, and we’re excited to partner with Virgin Pulse to make it easier for families to be Foodsmart during the coronavirus pandemic." -- Jason Langheier, MD, MPH; CEO & Founder, Zipongo
ABOUT VIRGIN PULSE PARTNERS
Aaptiv
Aaptiv is the world's leader in audio-based classes. Aaptiv members have access to thousands of trainer-led classes across over a dozen categories, including sleep, meditation, cardio, and strength training. New classes are added each week, and Aaptiv classes can be taken anywhere, including the comfort of your own home. Media Contact: Katie Camille kcamille@aaptiv.com
iGrad (Enrich)
iGrad is a San Diego-based financial technology company that offers financial wellness solutions to more than 600 colleges and universities, more than 20,000 employers and more than 300 financial institutions. For more information about the iGrad platform for colleges and universities, visit https://www.igradfinancialwellness.com. For more information about the Enrich platform for employers and financial institutions, visit http://www.enrich.org.
Contact: Jennifer Kelly, 888-844-1525 or busdev@enrich.org
meQuilibrium
meQuilibrium is the #1 digital solution for building resilience at scale for individuals, teams/leaders, and organizations as a whole, including many Fortune 500 enterprises. Based on over 25 years of science and research, resilience is proven to be a measurable, learnable set of foundational skills which positively impact health and performance. meQuilibrium’s personalized digital journey comprised of skills and activities builds a habituated, protective shield and positively influences thinking and behaviors.
meQuilibrium’s “Spotlight on Uncertainty,” now available to all Virgin Pulse users, contains daily feed of actionable articles and activities curated to address uncertainty and anxiety, along with calming meditations, and a mood tracking feature. Contact: Pam Boiros pam.boiros@mequilibrium.com
Monj
We created the Monj digital experience to help people live well, their way. We believe that happy leads to healthy. So, we’re here to equip people and families with new cooking skills that inspire and give you confidence in the kitchen. Come discover a joyful, stress-free food life with Monj filled with abundance, big flavor and social connection - all while improving your health! Contact: Michelle Jader michelle@monj.com
Whil
Whil is the leading enterprise solution to help employees reduce stress, increase resilience and improve their sleep and performance. Employees enjoy daily sessions and 250+ mini-courses to learn and immediately apply life skills to improve the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Contact: support@whil.com
Zipongo
Zipongo provides healthy food ordering and nutrition services to over 500 employers and health plans, to improve member Nutriscores, and has shown to improve weight outcomes more sustainably than traditional programs by helping members improve their food environment. Zipongo’s Foodsmart platform provides both a FoodSmart dietary assessment, Nutriquiz, and personalized meal planning, integrated with FoodsMart, allowing members to order food from grocery delivery partners like Instacart and Amazon Fresh, and meal partners like Sun Basket and Plantable. Employers can also subsidize healthy food and enable Telenutrition through claims, where Zipongo dietitians help families set up healthy food ordering.
Contact: Jared Scharen jared.scharen@zipongo.com
Media Contact:
Wendy Werve, Chief Marketing Officer
703-622-3605 press@virginpulse.com
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