BOULDER - At Roche Colorado Corp. in Boulder, the biopharmaceutical firm looks out for the health of its customers through its medicines. But it also places a high importance on the everyday health of its employees.

"One of the advantages of being a global health-care company is that health is inherently part of our culture," said Don Fitzgerald, president of Roche Colorado.

For more than a decade - first as Roche's director of human resources and now as its president - Fitzgerald has been improving the company's health and wellness program beyond just insurance.

Due to his efforts, Fitzgerald has won the Boulder County Business Report's 2008 Health-Care Heroes Business Award.

The health insurance at Roche Colorado is comprehensive - complete medical, dental, prescription drug and vision coverage is available to all employees and family members at a low rate. In addition, the company offers free annual physicals, mammograms and other standard health examinations.

"Then we asked ourselves, 'What else could we do to augment those benefits?'" Fitzgerald said.

The company reimburses health club initiation fees and a portion of monthly membership fees. It promotes bicycle commuting through covered bike parking units and shower facilities. The company has shared bikes on its Boulder campus for employee use.

Even outside the office, Roche Colorado supports its employees' athletic endeavors. The company reimburses employee costs to participate in running and biking races, or sports teams.

More recently, Roche Colorado has increased its efforts to support healthy diets, offering healthy snacks at company events and providing free fruit and vegetables to employees.

It started an employee wellness campaign, which includes weight-loss and smoking-cessation programs, centered on the company's bi-annual wellness fairs.

Fitzgerald said the key for Roche Colorado is to offer a wide variety of options for employees to improve their everyday health.

"Everyone has the opportunity to design their own wellness program," he said.

Shawn Bleam, Roche Colorado's manager of information technology, said the company's wellness program is a big incentive.

"Health and wellness is why I moved to Boulder," Bleam said. "My family only owns one car - my wife uses it for the kids - so it was important to me to be able to bike to work most days. The other days, I take the bus."

Bleam also takes advantage of the company's health club membership reimbursements, going two to three times a week to the East Boulder Recreation Center in the middle of his workday.

"I think a program like this is critical to a healthy working environment," Bleam said. "It's very consistent with the life I want to live."

Fitzgerald said most companies can easily institute wellness programs at little cost.

"A lot of it is in distributing information, which is usually free, or just encouraging a more healthy lifestyle with some incentives," Fitzgerald said. "In the long run, it makes for a more positive working environment and fewer sick days."

Contact writer David Clucas at 303-440-4950 or e-mail dclucas@bcbr.com.