Cook Medical APAC management team receives plaques and certificates from WELL representatives (from left to right): Richard Chang, Senior Director IWBI Asia, Dr. Christine Bruckner, FAIA, Director M Moser Associates, Barry Thomas, Director Asia Pacific & Vice President Cook Medical, Jean-Marc Creissel, Vice President Operations, Greater China and Southeast Asia, Cook Medical, Theodore Wong, Corporate Marketing APAC and Hong Kong Office Manager, Cook Medical and Raefer Wallis, Founder of GIGA & RESET Standard.
Hong Kong— Cook Medical announced today that it has been awarded WELL Certification at the Silver level by the International WELL Building InstituteTM (IWBI) for its office in Hong Kong. The prestigious distinction was awarded through IWBI’s WELL Building StandardTM (WELL), a premier building ranking system to focus on the health and wellness impact by building performances.
WELL promotes designs and construction that place people’s health and well-being at the centre of decision making. The WELL v1 Certification awarded Cook Medical for its efforts around the seven Concepts – Air, Water, Fitness, Nourishment, Light, Comfort and Mind.
‘As a caring employer, the health and well-being of our staff across the globe aligns with our core company values’, said Jean-Marc Creissel, Cook Medical’s Vice President, Operations, Greater China and Southeast Asia. ‘This new space allows the Hong Kong team to continually improve, encouraging transparent work and cross-border collaboration as well as social activities. I am delighted that our hard work has now been recognised by this WELL certification’.
In 2018, the Cook Medical Hong Kong office relocated and has been designed to address business needs as a training and meeting hub for the Asia-Pacific region. One aspect of the design was to create an open setting to bring employees closer together and highlight the company’s transparent management style. Importantly, while embracing Hong Kong for its vibrant and dynamic metropolis traits, Cook Medical wanted to provide a comfortable work environment that would focus on the wellbeing of employees.
‘IWBI is pleased to award Cook Medical with its hard-earned WELL Certification at Silver level’, said Xue Ya, President of IWBI Asia. ‘By achieving this WELL Certification, Cook Medical has become a leader, proving to the world through the project’s verified performance that it priorities employee health and well-being’.
Cook Medical earns the WELL Certification which centres on seven key concepts of the building performance: Air, Water, Fitness, Nourishment, Light, Comfort, and Mind.
Cook Medical underwent rigorous testing and a final evaluation process carried out by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), a third-party certification body for IWBI, to ensure all relevant performances met the conditions required by WELL for Certification at Silver level.
About Cook Medical
Since 1963, Cook Medical has worked closely with physicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we are combining medical devices, biologic materials, and cellular therapies to help the world’s healthcare systems deliver better outcomes more efficiently. We have always remained family owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees, and our communities. Find out more at our Asia-Pacific regional website, and for the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About IWBI and WELL
The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive. WELL is focused exclusively on the ways that buildings and communities, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. IWBI convenes and mobilises the wellness real estate community through management of the WELL AP™ credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellness everywhere. For more information about IWBI and WELL, please visit here.
Cook Medical WELL Certification Fact Sheet
Cook Medical Hong Kong office is celebrating the award of ‘WELL Certification’ at the Silver level by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) for its efforts on improving employee health and wellness by building performances.
Overview
Cook Medical’s new Hong Kong office space is part of the company’s vision to help employees prevent and manage work stress in order to promote their health and wellbeing that may enhance business productivity.
The WELL v1 Certification awarded Cook Medical Hong Kong for its efforts around the seven concepts below that promote designs and construction that place people’s health and well-being at the centre of decision making.
Air
Poor indoor air quality is frequently associated with fatigue, headaches, and respiratory irritation. Cook Medical modernised the air-handling units after inspecting the ventilation system to filter pollutants as well as control CO2, temperature, humidity, and any gases from toxins and chemicals in order to meet the Air feature requirements of WELL. Real-time indoor and outdoor air quality data is monitored constantly.
Water
Instead of bottled water, Cook Medical now provides filtered water at direct drinking quality level using a reverse osmosis system with regular testing to ensure purity.
Fitness
Cook Medical provides an environment for staff to initiate group fitness activities from yoga, Krav Maga defence to dragon boat rafting.
Nourishment
Junk food has been eliminated from company events in favour of providing employees healthy and nutrient-rich food options.
Light
Providing employees natural light was an important consideration for the new office space. Maintaining the same layout of the former occupant while making the most of natural light was part of the office design to be zero construction waste.
Comfort
Visual design and ergonomics of seating were at the forefront of Cook Medical’s new office space. The open office design has brought people and teams closer together, managers included, and it also underlines the liberal and transparent management style of the company. Filled with green plants, the office creates a calming ambience for work in addition to a focus room for meditation when colleagues need a little time out.
Mind
Cook Medical has adopted policies to help employees achieve mental wellness. A mindfulness programme has been launched to nurture staff’s mind and heart, enabling participants to practice on being present, focused, and improve internal peace. The company also promotes positive relationships, both in and out of the workplace, by providing professional counselling services to staff and their families through the well-recognised Employee Assistance Program.