March 1, 2007
UWellness: A link to better health
It’s been a long, cold winter. How are you feeling? Uh-huh, thought so. The UW Benefits Office might have just the thing for you.
It’s called UWellness, and is designed to guide employees toward a healthier lifestyle and help them get the most preventive punch out of their medical benefits. You can learn more at http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/benefits/wellness/index.html.
UWellness is in keeping with Gov. Christine Gregoire’s recent comments about prioritizing health care in Washington to make it “the healthiest state in the nation,” a goal supported by the Washington Health Foundation in an ongoing campaign. In all, about 170 government agencies and state colleges and universities statewide have banded together with the collective aim of better health. Learn more about or participate in the Washington Health Foundation’s campaign at http://www.whf.org/StateEmployees.aspx.
These healthy intentions also are backed by UW President Mark Emmert, who noted in a statement to the campus community, “the healthier each of us is, the better we are able to learn and work, and the more we can contribute to our community.”
Katy Dwyer, director of the UW Benefits and WorkLife Office, said, “We’re trying to remind people that, as our employees, you don’t have to segregate out the parts of your life, You can be healthy at work. You can decide to take the stairs, or go for a walk at work — it makes being healthy integrated into your whole life.”
Joining the UW in a new partnership for better health is the American Cancer Society, whose contributions are seen throughout the UWellness Web pages. The pages list myriad ways employees can track their own health with an eye toward improving it, in categories such as counseling and support, activities and fitness, nutrition, health education, preventive care, smoking cessation and more.
A category called “tools for change” offers ways to assess your health, including a body mass index calculator, exercise and calorie counters, a target heart rate calculator and a quiz on nutrition and activity. Dwyer said there is a UW element to that feature, too — the tools were developed in the UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
The Wellness Web pages also provide easy links for participants to learn what preventive health measures come free with their chosen medical coverage. “One of the things we want to do is connect the dots,” Dwyer said. “The University is paying for your health plan, and there are services there you should tap into.”
Despite all that is presented on the Wellness pages, it’s all just the beginning of a larger, ongoing effort, Dwyer said. “And it’s important that we need to help people do it wherever they are. We know there are folks who work at Harborview Medical Center and have the night shift, or downtown,” she said, adding that it’s the aim of UWellness to help them wherever they are.
“The goal is to be supportive and not to criticize anyone — whenever you feel it’s time, we want to have a range of ways to get started and help you do it.”
