MHealthy's Overview and Mission

Building a Culture of Health

MHealthy was established as an initiative by U-M President Mary Sue Coleman in 2005 to encourage a culture of health at the University of Michigan. The university recognized that the most progressive and successful organizations in the country value employee health as a key ingredient to individual and organizational success. In November 2006, MHealthy became an ongoing program of the university with an administrative home in University Human Resources. 

The following MHealthy mission, vision, strategic goals and principles now guide the university’s actions and reflect the value university leadership places on encouraging healthy living and a thriving workforce community:

Mission

MHealthy serves the U-M community in leading fulfilling lives by meeting their needs through a diverse set of well-being programs and services. MHealthy fosters a sense of belonging, positive and inclusive work cultures, and healthy environments that contribute to U-M being a great public university.

Vision

MHealthy envisions a U-M community where every person has an equitable opportunity to thrive in all dimensions of well-being.

Strategic Goals

  • Advance the national conversation on workplace well-being through cutting edge research and evaluation that inform innovative programming.

  • Support every person we serve in all dimensions of well-being through behavior change support, education, advocacy, and connection.

  • Strengthen a positive and inclusive culture of well-being that helps make U-M a great place to work.

  • Build relationships with internal and external partners to support MHealthy’s mission.

Principles

  • We believe that every person we serve deserves the opportunity to engage with health and well-being in their own way and we provide a variety of accessible options to facilitate that engagement.

  • We value evidence based and data driven decision-making while also respecting confidentiality.

  • We are agile in offering innovative programming to support the well-being of every person we serve.

  • We are responsive to the changing needs of our customers and environment.

  • We are good stewards of the university’s resources - financial, people, and partnerships.

MHealthy Advisory Committee

The MHealthy Advisory Committee draws on the rich resources of the University to help address the national challenge in health care by developing innovative long-range solutions to improving health at the University and beyond. The committee works to advance public discussion and encourage social commitment to change by conceiving of health as a community process within the special context of the University workplace. Composed of representatives from each campus and the Health System, the committee invites community contributions to these deliberations with particular focus on how the University can integrate the promotion of healthy living with the provision of health care coverage and service delivery. Learn more about the MHealthy Advisory Committee.

MHealthy's Future Success

The university's continuing commitment to health and well-being and the community's embrace of programs that help maintain good health has been enduring. An initiative like this involves change at the individual, organizational and community levels.  It is complex and requires the support of all university segments and members of our community. The systems, culture and behavior changes that MHealthy hopes to accomplish will take years to achieve optimal results. We continue to develop programs that matter most to faculty and staff and make the greatest difference in improving employee well-being and satisfaction. Over time, we aspire to contribute to our organization's culture of health by positively associating our efforts with improvements in:

  • Health and quality of life
  • Work culture and employee satisfaction
  • Employee retention and recruitment
  • Illness related absenteeism

Contact Information

Contact us for more information about MHealthy.