The College of Central Arkansas (UCA) kicked off its annual BeWell initiative by asserting the winners of the 2022 UCA Wellness Champion Awards, the college introduced in a press launch Tuesday.
Staff Anjanette Kerr, Ashley Cooksey and Laura Gillis received the Categorized Workers, Unclassified Workers and School Member awards, respectively.
The three acquired the awards from UCA’s worker wellness program supervisor, Moriah Bruner, and well being and wellness promotion committee chair, Alicia Landry, affiliate professor within the Division of Vitamin and Household Sciences, in entrance of UCA college and workers at BeWell’s annual launch held just about on Tuesday, November 8.
That is the second 12 months that the college has given this recognition to staff centered on the well-being of college and workers.
The UCA Wellness Champion Award acknowledges staff who’ve demonstrated their dedication to creating and selling a tradition of wellness at UCA. The college acknowledges worker well-being in eight dimensions: bodily, environmental, monetary, skilled, social, emotional, religious and mental. Awards are given in every of the next classes: Categorized Workers, Unclassified Workers and Professor.
“Crucial asset we have now at UCA is our individuals. Our campus is lucky to have many hard-working college and workers, typically going above and past their regular duties, to domesticate a wholesome office local weather,” mentioned Bruner. “Wholesome and completely satisfied staff are the engine of pupil success at UCA and these Worker Wellness Champions play a significant function within the worker and pupil expertise.”
Via the BeWell worker wellness and well being promotion program, greater than 1,500 college and workers get pleasure from free entry to a complete suite of well being promotion applications and assets to help all dimensions of well-being at work and in private life. Utilizing an evidence-based, interdisciplinary strategy, BeWell seeks to companion with staff to scale back well being threat elements and absenteeism, improve wholesome behaviors and productiveness, and reduce well being care prices for the workforce. self-funded college well being plan.
Kerr is an administrative specialist for the Pupil Assist and Useful resource Middle and formally for the Workplace of Accessibility Companies and Sources. She acquired the Categorized Workers Award for devoting a part of the agenda of every workers assembly to sharing updates on the worker wellness program and answering questions on this system, inviting her colleagues to take part in wellness challenges and actions collectively to offer social help and accountability, in addition to to commonly share details about campus wellness assets which are freely obtainable to staff. She additionally commonly facilitates city corridor discussions on psychological well being and stress administration, opening up dialogue on this important subject and serving to to normalize conversations centered on worker psychological well-being.
Cooksey is the director of the Expertise Studying Middle on the School of Schooling. She acquired the Unclassified Workers Award for serving as a “cheerleader for higher well being” on the School of Schooling. She commonly sends electronic mail reminders to her colleagues about BeWell to extend engagement. Specifically, his experience in educational know-how has led to the creation of quite a few worker useful resource teams on the Google Areas digital platform which have helped construct a way of group and belonging on campus. Cooksey based and hosts the Google area “Yoga and Mindfulness” for UCA staff.
Gillis is an assistant professor within the College of Nursing on the School of Well being and Behavioral Sciences. She acquired the college award for her constant efforts to assist her colleagues enhance their total well-being. She creates and implements wellness actions and challenges for her unit every semester. These embody subjects resembling elevated motion, more healthy consuming habits, and hydration. She additionally serves as a task mannequin for constructive life-style habits, together with every day bodily exercise and prioritizing emotional well-being. Final 12 months, Gillis noticed that staff in his unit had nowhere to take a seat outdoors to get pleasure from a break. She took it upon herself to achieve out to the bodily manufacturing facility and had a picnic desk arrange outdoors the constructing, which is an ideal instance of how a seemingly small thought can result in a major cultural change.
The three recipients additionally served as Worker Wellness Program Ambassadors for his or her respective items throughout the 2021-2022 BeWell program 12 months.
