With busy schedules and rising health care costs, health screenings are not always top of mind. But for Lowe's employees at more than 1,300 Lowe’s locations across the United States, free screenings will be available right at work through Lowe's Life Track health and wellness program. On March 1, two mobile-health units began traveling across the country to provide more than 70,000 Lowe's employees with free basic health screenings and guidance about how to improve and maintain their health.

"Lowe's is the first national retailer to provide free health screenings exclusively to our employees using mobile units," said Bob Ihrie, Lowe's senior vice president of employee rewards and services. "When employees choose to take a health risk assessment (HRA) and participate in the health screening, they become actively engaged in their health and are able to get personal advice for their health needs. Over time, we will have a healthier, more productive workforce."

The custom-built, mobile health screening units provide an efficient way to reach the most Lowe's employees as possible. Over the next two and a half years, the two units will travel more than 100,000 miles across the United States. Employees will be able to track the units online as they travel across the country and book their appointments ahead of time.

The dedicated screening units will be staffed with trained medical professionals, who will upload the employees' results to their personal, confidential online HRAs.

Health screenings include blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, waist size, hip size, weight, height, body fat percentage and Body Mass Index (BMI). The complete screenings only take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete and can be done during work hours.

Lowe's strives to be an employer of choice for its 238,000 employees and has earned a reputation for providing high-quality, low-cost benefits to its employees and their families. The National Business Group on Health, a national nonprofit organization, recently named Lowe's a Silver winner of the 2009 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award.

About Lowe's

With fiscal year 2009 sales of $47.2 billion, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,700 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, United Way of America, and the Home Safety Council, in addition to numerous non-profit organizations and programs that help communities across the country. Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation awards more than $3 million annually to diverse organizations across the United States. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer program aimed at preventing unintentional home injuries. Lowe's, a FORTUNE(R) 50 company with fiscal year 2003 sales of $30.8 billion, has more than 1,050 stores in 46 states.

More from Lowe's Companies, Inc.