WellWorks cares for every body
Offering a wide array of wellness services to Ohio University employees and the surrounding areas, WellWorks is located in the Grover Center on OHIO’s Athens Campus. With well-being services focused on wellness through movement, fuel, and rest and recovery with services like a fitness center and massage therapy, WellWorks also offers individualized wellness coaching for individuals who just don’t know where or how to start.
Services are available to the community (ages 13 and up) with a paid membership of only $200 per year, and OHIO employees can sign up for easy direct debit. Employees also can take advantage of the 100 Day Challenge.
“If employees check in to our facility 100 times in within the fiscal year, the Human Resources office will cover the cost of their membership,” Jennifer Bennett, executive director of wellbeing at WellWorks, said.
Over the past year, the WellWorks center was closed due to the COVID pandemic but continued offering 150 virtual programs such as Zumba or yoga to keep people healthy and active at home. That content will remain accessible to members, at no additional cost, until December.
The 12-week employee risk reduction program is offered three times each year and includes nutrition and fitness counseling, as well as daily mindfulness and restorative yoga.
“It’s pretty intensive,” Bennett said. “There’s lot of hands-on (activities) and lots of discussion through Microsoft Teams, and that’s important for group support. That’s a comprehensive program and HR does cover the full cost of that program for benefits-eligible employees and their spouse or partner.”
WellWorks is also a part of Healthy OHIO, with 1,200 participating employees. The program includes a biometric screening, bloodwork, and the online, mobile wellness Virgin Pulse platform which offers cash back up to $50 per quarter for points earned through the program if you are enrolled.
“There is so much out there for people to access. We’re in a great time, if people are stuck at home, to be able to go online and find some sort of movement routine, but it’s hard to know which ones to trust,” Annie Laurie Cadmus, engagement and marketing coordinator at WellWorks, said. “We need to help people find the resources that are right for them and keep them safe. That’s what we do in person and we didn’t want that to change virtually.”
Bennett said the pandemic has elevated everybody’s mental stress.
“Our three areas of focus – movement, fuel, and rest and recovery – all have evidence-based research that they support mental health, especially in mild to moderate cases of anxiety or depression,” Bennett said. “It doesn’t have to be running; it can be something as simple as dancing with your kids in the kitchen or dancing by yourself. It could be taking a hike. It doesn’t have to be a 20-minute treadmill run or a 60-minute spin class. Our goal right now is just surviving a pandemic.”
Cadmus said people right now want you to be more kind to them because they have had a difficult year.
“That is always how we have operated and interacted with people, and that’s what makes us unique,” she said.
For more information about WellWorks, visit online at https://www.ohio.edu/wellworks.