Our employee wellness program is getting recognition – a lot of it

Our employee wellness program is getting recognition – a lot of it

PHOTO: Brianna Foster is one of many employees who appreciates our wellness program. Here she puts her muscles to an indoor climbing wall.

Encouraging our employees to consider health and wellness as an everyday part of their lives has been a longtime focus at the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Called Healthy U, our comprehensive wellness program provides a multitude of benefits for our employees. Some examples include wellness events, health information, health trackers, health-based incentives and dozens of other benefits that encourage employees to be their best physically and mentally.

As a result, many employees have benefited from increasing their physical activity, making healthier eating choices, weight loss, smoking cessation, controlling blood pressure and so much more.

Long appreciated by our employees, the wellness program is also receiving recognition and awards from outside our organization.

This year, Governor Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services once again conferred us with the Governor’s Wellness Award. The award was developed to encourage all businesses in the state of Nebraska to offer wellness programs to their employees.

“The businesses recognized … are putting people first and are making the workplace a healthy environment,” Ricketts said in announcing the award recipients. “Worksite wellness provides an opportunity for Nebraskans to live healthy lives, improve quality of life and help grow a healthier Nebraska for the next generation.”

This fall we were also recognized as one of the Midlands’ 20 healthiest companies with an Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award presented by WELLCOM, a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating workplace wellness. The award honors organizations for positioning wellness programs as a strategic business opportunity and making a difference in their employees’ lives.

“It’s exciting to recognize forward-thinking organizations of all sizes on their achievements in creating a supportive environment and overall culture of health and well-being at the worksite,” said Rebecca Vinton, president and CEO of WELLCOM.

And as if this attention wasn’t enough, we also received the 2017 Organization Health Champion Award from the American Diabetes Association. The award recognizes us for meeting the healthy living criteria in the three core areas of nutrition and weight management, physical activity and organizational well-being.

Jessica Sorensen, wellness and human resources administrator at the NU Foundation, said, “The investment our organization has made in its wellness program now represents such a special benefit we offer to employees, and the Healthy U team is so honored to be a part of it. We know that making small, healthy changes in our daily lives can lead to big results, which is significant to us because our employees are our most important asset.”

Our mantra for Healthy U is: “We believe that a healthy you means a healthier NU.”

For more information about our wellness program, contact Sorensen at jessica.sorensen@nufoundation.org or 402-458-1248.

For information about career opportunities at the foundation, go to nufoundation.org/careers. You may also connect with us at our LinkedIn page.

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