U-M’s commitment to being a health-promoting university remains a top priority. Following the adoption of the Okanagan Charter and the launch of the Well-being Collective, the university continues to work towards centering well-being in the ways we live, work and learn.
This year’s annual report includes examples of the tremendous work taking place within University Human Resources (UHR) to support the university and improve the lives of its faculty and staff, their families and the community. In 2023, these organic collaborations became formalized when UHR realigned several units, allowing for a more integrated approach to accomplish this important work.
The change brought together MHealthy, Mental Health Counseling and Consultation Services, and Child and Family Care under one area, Health and Well-being Services (HWB). HWB, Occupational Health and Benefits Administration are now a part of the larger framework of Employee Benefits and Well-being Services, led by Assistant Vice President of Employee Benefits and Well-being Programs Brian Vasher. We have reflected this change in our 2023 HWB report, first focusing on services for faculty and staff, then expanding to cover the wider university community.
2023 Highlights
-
In 2023, UHR and HWB leadership joined a steering committee led by U-M’s Well-being Collective to develop a Common Agenda for policy and system transformation at U-M.
-
HWB’s contributions to the national workplace well-being conversation included several papers published in peer reviewed journals, literary contributions and published articles. HWB leadership also presented research at national conferences, collaborated with researchers and student groups, presented to U-M classes and hosted U-M practicum students.
-
Mental Health Counseling and Consultation Services supported more than 16,000 interactions with faculty and staff through individual counseling, presentations, support sessions, leader consultations and other forms of outreach.
-
MHealthy continued its commitment to U-M faculty and staff experiencing health-related social needs, addressing both economic instability and food insecurity. Referrals by the Resource Coach Program increased 28% from the previous year, with its mini-grant program and the Emergency Hardship Program awarding more than 200 grants totaling $88,000. More than 4,000 pounds of food were collected during Hunger Action Month.
-
Our health and well-being activities continue to draw thousands annually. More than 10,000 registered for winter and fall’s Active U programs. More than 4,000 participated in cooking classes, Nourish Your Whole Self, the annual produce challenge and our summer farmers markets. The Be Well in the Big House faculty and staff event reached capacity within days of opening registration.
-
Participants in our alcohol management program saw a 69% reduction of weekly alcohol consumption and tobacco counseling participants had a 41% quit rate at the one-month follow-up.
-
The return of MHealthy Rewards, as well as online challenges, goal setting and an entire suite of online resources, drew more than 26,800 unique users to the MHealthy Portal this year. More than 24,600 of these were faculty and staff who completed the annual health questionnaire.
-
Occupational Health Services (OHS) remained the central point of contact for employee vaccinations, including more than 34,000 flu immunizations. OHS also managed thousands of health assessments, COVID-19 vaccinations, medical surveillance visits, fit tests and clinic visits.
-
MHealthy partnered with University Health Service to sponsor 35 COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinics for Ann Arbor campus faculty, staff and students.
-
Project Healthy Schools has now been implemented in 150 middle schools. A unit within MHealthy, this school-based program has reached more than 90,000 students since its launch in 2004 and has demonstrated significant and lasting improvements in health behavior and cardiovascular risk factors.
-
Child and Family Care continues to provide more than 400 children and their faculty, staff and student parents with the highest quality early education and care at three Ann Arbor-based centers.
-
U-M Benefits helps to protect more than 123,000 U-M faculty, staff and their families, offering a choice of plans that are market-competitive, affordable and valued for recruitment and retention.
-
MHealthy programs continue to achieve high marks in customer satisfaction, rating between 4 and 5 on a 5-point satisfaction scale. Our accomplishments could not have been achieved without our HWB teams, university leaders and partners.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to workplace well-being. It’s truly an exciting time at U-M and we look forward to what the coming year brings.