Buckeye Wellness awarded $13,612 to 33 Buckeye Wellness Innovator teams whose projects and activities aimed to increase physical activity, enhance healthy eating and improve the emotional health of Ohio State faculty and staff in their units and departments. Recipients were recognized at the annual State of Health and Wellness Address in Buckeye Nation on March 28, 2019.
Applicant: Susie O’Brien
“Making Advancement the Healthy Unit at Ohio State” - Lunch and Learns in the office promote healthy lifestyle ideas that employees can incorporate into their lives and with their families. Included in these lunches and learns will be cooking demonstrations to enhance the nutrition education while at work.
Applicant: Terri Jenkins
“It Pays to Feel Better” - In sedentary jobs it is important to promote healthy eating and physical activity within the workplace. This can be done in a variety of fun ways! These can be healthy cooking demonstrations, music breaks to get everyone up and moving, signage to increase the use of stairs and exercise equipment available to employees.
Applicant: Justin Vance, Laura Rusnak
“CHRR Spring Step Challenge” - Step challenges appeal to a large variety of fitness levels, making them great for the workplace. Staff members can participate in the step challenge due to the office having designated walking times and promotes healthy eating by giving away Home Chef gift card to the winner.
Applicant: Kristen Heitman, Dina McGowan
“Put your Stress to the Test: Healthy Coping Mechanisms for Stressful Times” - To reduce stress in the workplace, hand massages, essential oils, coloring pages, healthy snacks and soothing music were offered to teach coworkers about healthy coping mechanisms. Each idea can be used in stressful situations, even away from work!
Applicant: Patricia Hughes-Fitzgerald
“Walk It Like I Talk It - Conference calls can increase the amount of time spent sitting while at work. By utilizing over-the-head wireless headsets, staff members will be able to move about while carrying on with a conference call. These headsets can assist with decreasing sedentary behaviors by allowing movement during the workday.
Applicant: Tamara Frasure
“Treadmill Desk vs. Sit-Stand Desk vs. Sitting with Breaks” - In order to decrease prolonged sitting during the workday, a treadmill desk will be tested out. Sit-stand desks are already in place so a treadmill desk will offer another option for those who want to stand up, as well as move, while working.
Applicant: Laurel Colombini, Christine Junk
“The Root of Health: A Journey of Seasonal Eating” - Seasonal eating and the nutritional benefits of it are great topics to cover at work to further worksite wellness education. Meals with seasonally specific food, educational announcements at meetings, presentations, handouts and gardening projects all contribute to this promotion.
Applicant: Allison Macerollo
“Family Medicine East 2019 Wellness Initiative” - The wellbeing of staff members can impact their patients. In order to achieve this, monthly challenges will take place focusing on different dimensions of wellness. In the patient lobby, celebrations of employee success and participation will be shared to motivate patients. In addition to these challenges, a desk peddler will be provided to staff.
Applicant: Mollie Maggied
“Team Building and Healthy Snacks” - Hosting an office outing at an escape room will help with team bonding, trust and mental wellness. To encourage healthy eating, staff members will be creating different healthy snacks to be available in the office. Accessible healthy snacks in the workplace can encourage these choices in the future.
Applicant: Erin Wagoner
“Smoothie Session” - Smoothies and wellness swag bags will be provided to encourage wellness improvements in enjoyable, fun ways. Staff members will learn how to make a healthy smoothie as well as increase motivation to participate in healthy behaviors at work.
Applicant: Mary Mosquera
“Nutrition on a Mission” - To increase nutrition knowledge, monthly presentations will be given on a nutrition topic of interest. Also provided will be samples and demos to encourage employees to eat more produce and increase their confidence in cooking at home.
Applicant: Will Nelson
“Midweek Mindful Meltdown” - Once a week, the team will take an hour of their day to unplug from work. This will help staff members de-stress. While on this wellness break, various games and activities will be provided to enhance team bonding and mental wellbeing.
Applicant: Chrissy Sprouse
“Healthy Food Initiative” - Rather than celebrate with sugary foods, this office aims to provide healthy snacks. These include fruit, vegetables and high protein foods to fuel staff members for their day. By offering healthy snack alternatives, employees may be less likely to go for caffeine.
Applicant: Amy Logar, Megan Daniel, Christina Herrera, Jill Langhals, Lyndsie Otto, Kayla Shawver
“TailGateway” - To get everyone ready for football season, a healthy tailgate will be hosted to provide information and health snack ideas, specifically alternatives to typical tailgate foods. Samples of each snack and recipes will be available at the tailgate for participants to take home to share with their families and friends.
“Calligraphy and Watercolor Lunch Workshop” - With stress being high in the workplace, this watercolor workshop exposes people to a new craft that acts as a relaxation technique. After this hands-on workshop, attendees will be able to continue learning this new skill and be able to use it regularly to de-stress.
Applicant: Sara Rismiller
“Aromatherapy and Perceived Positivity of the Work Environment” - A positive work environment can be impacted by perceived stress and productivity. Aromatherapy was used to combat these barriers in order to improve the work environment. To do this, a water diffuser was placed in a closed room and microwaveable warm packs with essential oils were provided to the staff.
Applicant: Rasauna Wilborn
“Life in MOTION” - One strategy to promote physical activity in the workplace is having mini pedal exercisers and hand weights available. By having these in the break room, employees will be able to squeeze in a few minutes of activity with the hopes of increasing energy, easing movement and releasing endorphins.
“Healthy Eats is a Treat” - During the holiday season it can be more difficult to eat healthy. Providing a fruit and vegetable bar at work allows staff members to select a healthy snack as well as boost self-confidence in choosing healthy options during the holidays.
Applicant: Aash Bhandari
“Bad-Axe Axe Throwing” - Axe throwing is a unique idea for a team bonding event that incorporates physical activity. Staff members attending axe throwing can increase team growth and connectedness while engaging in a fun form of physical activity.
“Healthy Snacking” - To help coworkers stay away from fast food and vending machines, healthy snacks were available to promote healthy eating habits. Nuts, trial mix, and snacks were provided to have a variety of healthy, protein filled options in the office. Employees have the ability to create their own from the healthy options provided.
Applicant: Joyce Whiston, Rachel Jewell
New Year, Better You: Winter Wellness Wednesdays” - To promote healthy eating and social wellness, create a healthy recipe competition throughout the office! Fellow staff members will vote on their favorite recipe and PDF versions of all the recipes will be sent to the whole office for everyone to enjoy.
Applicant: Preston Stoller, Meghan Hubbell
“Healthy Snack Initiative” - Eating healthy at work can be a challenge, but having healthy snacks available throughout the month/year can make it easier. The frequency and availability of these snack options will reinforce employees’ awareness and commitment to healthy eating.
Applicant: Ann Hess and Lucy Moore
“Healthy Options Lunch and Learn” - People are more likely to eat healthy if they can see all the options and how good it can taste. This lunch and learn provides this information by having a health coach discuss healthy food options and by providing handouts, healthy swaps, and samples. After the program, participants can take what they learned home to their families.
Applicant: Paul Hogan
“Wellness Day at the Columbus Zoo” - Reduced stress levels, physical activity and team bonding are all important factors for a healthy and happy workplace. A day trip to the zoo will help achieve this. Coworkers will be able to spend time together, be outside, walking around the zoo and away from daily work duties.
Applicant: Amy Ware
“Strategic Planning and Business Development Monthly Lunch and Learn” - Lunch and learns are one strategy to share healthy living information while providing an example of a healthy meal. These will all focus on a different topic each month to give staff members a wide variety of wellbeing information. Lunches include salad, fruit infused water and snacks!
Applicant: Suzann Sayre, Jeff Beach
“Cooking Demos in SAS!” - In order to show staff members that healthy foods can be easy to cook and taste delicious, cooking demos will be given. Employees will be exposed to new food and healthy recipes that they can then take home to their families.
Applicant: Anna Pavan, Raphael Malbrue, Jessica Rector, Jobeth Helmig Mason
“ULAR Wellness in the Workplace” - Various physical and mental wellbeing activities are a helpful way to reduce workplace stress. To incentivize participation of group fitness classes, infused water will be offered to participants and more equipment will be provided. These wellness breaks increase social wellness and physical activity, which can decrease stress.
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Twitter: @wellbuckeyes
Email: buckeyewellness@osu.edu
Phone: 614-292-7220