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Employee Wellness


Wanted: Wellness Champions

MUSC Employee Wellness seeks volunteers to serve as Wellness Champions.

Susan Johnson, Ph.D., program coordinator, said the goal is to create a group of employees representing all areas of the organization in support of MUSC Employee Wellness.

“A Wellness Champion is a staff member with a commitment to a healthy lifestyle that serves as an ambassador for the Employee Wellness Program,” she said. “They volunteer to assist in the implementation and coordination of wellness initiatives. They are primarily responsible for enthusiastically promoting wellness programs to their coworkers and encouraging participation.”

With increasing demands at the workplace and at home, maintaining a healthy lifestyle has become a challenge. As a result, many experience negative effects such as increased sick days, loss of productivity, stress-related symptoms and decreased motivation and enthusiasm at work, she said.

MUSC Employee Wellness is a program dedicated to providing the knowledge, skills and desire to create a positive change toward better health for the MUSC community. Although these are worthwhile goals in addressing lifestyle-related health concerns among employees, significant change will only occur when individuals are actively engaged in the process. For that reason, a new group is being formed in an attempt to motivate, educate, and increase employee participation in wellness initiatives here at MUSC as well as in the local community, she said.

Wellness Champions can generate enthusiasm and participation by: q  Serving as the contact person for their department in facilitating wellness events.
  • Being a promoter and role model of wellness in their department, the organization and the community.
  • Distributing marketing and educational information to colleagues in their department.
  • Making announcements about wellness news and events in staff meetings or via e-mail.
  • Encouraging co-workers to get involved in wellness activities.
  • Creating or assisting with wellness displays in their department/building.
  • Passing along employee requests for programming to the wellness program coordinator.
  • And, most importantly, serving as a motivator to continuously encourage fellow co-workers to lead a positive and proactive lifestyle.
Johnson encourages employees to volunteer or nominate someone who has the knowledge, experience or interest in helping to create an active and healthy workforce at MUSC. For more information or to sign up, contact Johnson at 792-1245 or johnsusa@musc. edu.



Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

The Catalyst Online is published weekly by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. The Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to The Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.