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edHEALTH recently talked to Jenna Chase, the school’s associate director of health and wellness programming, about wellness and how she promotes our walking challenge. She happily shared what works at Saint Joseph’s to encourage engagement in health and wellness initiatives all year long. What Jenna shares about Saint Joseph’s approach to wellness (and the walking challenge) can apply to institutions of all sizes and with varying levels of wellness programs.
What does your role as associate director of health and wellness programming involve? I wear many hats in my position, which makes my job a lot of fun. I create, coordinate, and implement programs for faculty and staff on campus. I also work closely with Human Resources on these initiatives to ensure they align with our schoolwide commitment to wellness. I’m an adjunct professor of exercise science, stress management, and fitness wellness and coaching and happen to be an alumna of the school.
Your enthusiasm for our walking challenge is fantastic. What did you like most about it? The online tracking app was intriguing for us, a real game changer. We’ve hosted numerous challenges like this before, but our department has always had to calculate the steps submitted by participants [using the honor system]. The syncing with individual devices inspired everyone. Seeing their real-time status proved very motivating for all of us.
Your communications seem to be remarkably effective. How did you promote the challenge last year? For most of our wellness initiatives, we mainly use our bulletin board and our school’s employee website. For the walking challenge, we used the flyer you provided. Since we have an on-site health and wellness center, we also promoted it there.
Word of mouth, and not just from me, creates excitement for our competitive challenges. Conversation among faculty and staff is one of our most effective forms of communication.
Another way we promote healthy habits is through online weekly tips at different times of the year. I personally like to mix it up to keep our topics fresh and a bit of a surprise, whether it’s Monday Motivation, Wednesday Wisdom, or Fit Tip Friday. There are so many ways to offer useful tidbits of information.
What else do you offer in terms of wellness? Perhaps other institutions can learn from your experiences. Our goal is to offer something related to health and wellness regularly. They don’t have to be huge programs, either. Small promotions work well. For example, we meet the faculty and staff where they are by regularly pulling our “wellness wagon” all over campus. Last summer, we distributed sunscreen, which was donated to us, to promote UVF protection. We’ve also handed out healthy snacks. Through our interaction with colleagues, we’re simultaneously promoting upcoming events, like the walking challenge. The goal is to spread the word and generate buzz.
At our Health and Wellness Center, we often host a hydration station with fruit-infused water available throughout the day. The staff also hosts various classes and promotes the many resources available through Harvard Pilgrim’s Living Well program, which is included with our plan offerings. Their team is also fantastic in supporting us with onsite events.
We’re also fortunate that Saint Joseph’s has an extensive nursing program, enabling us to host healthy habits days so faculty and staff can better understand their cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar levels. Our colleagues really do support the nursing students, who are supervised of course, in this way.
Are there any favorite activities you offer? Whether yours personally or a popular one on campus? That’s easy, chair massages! We can only offer so many spots in one day, and when we post their availability, they go fast. People appreciate and look forward to these events. It’s one of the activities we offer from Harvard Pilgrim.
Finally, can you think of anything else you’d like to share with other edHEALTH schools and our readers?
I’d add that while it’s important to kick off a program strong, keeping up the momentum with ongoing communications is as valuable. A short and straightforward message might motivate someone who’s had a bad week to get back on track or start moving a little more. We can accomplish so much while making it fun for participants in the health and wellness space.
Good luck to Saint Joseph’s and all our edHEALTH schools when the walking challenge kicks off on June 3rd!
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