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The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, the State Chamber, and the Oklahoma Turning Point Council announced today they are accepting nominations for the 2008 Oklahoma Certified Healthy Business Awards Program. Employers are encouraged to apply every year. Applications are due by Oct. 15, 2008.

The Oklahoma Certified Healthy Business Program is a joint venture of the four groups to encourage Oklahoma businesses to provide health promotion and wellness activities and incentives for their employees. To be certified, businesses must meet specific criteria, including providing employee health screenings, workplace health education, opportunities for physical exercise activities, management support for healthy workplace environments, support for breastfeeding mothers, and sharing wellness activities within their respective communities.

The program was initiated in 2003 and more than 350 certificates have been issued statewide. The three categories are: Certificates of Excellence, Certificates of Merit and Certificate Awards. Those categories are then broken into groups by size as follows: small workplaces of 1-25 employees; medium workplaces of 26-100 employees; large workplaces of 101- 999 employees; and corporate workplaces of 1,000 or more employees.

Employer types are grouped as education, or for-profit or non-profit. All award winners must demonstrate that they are working to improve Oklahoma's health status by providing health and wellness opportunities for their employees.

All winners will be announced at the Turning Point Conference to be held at the University of Central Oklahoma Nigh Center on Dec. 10, 2008. A separate awards ceremony and luncheon for employers receiving awards will be held Jan. 13, 2009, at the Pavilion at the Governor's Mansion.

To submit an application, please complete and return the application form no later than Oct. 15, 2008. You may either complete the form online at http://www.okturningpoint.org or print it, complete the hard copy and mail it to: Oklahoma State Department of Health, Attention: Turning Point Director Larry Olmstead, 1000 NE 10th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73117 or send a FAX: (405) 271-1225.