The University of Vermont received a Excellence in Worksite Wellness Gold award for onsite efforts to promote physical fitness and a healthy work-life balance for employees of the university. Vermont Governor Philip B. Scott, state health commissioner Mark Levine presented the awards to the UVM Employee Wellness Ambassadors team at a statewide worksite wellness conference in March. CNHS employees Cara Feldman-Hunt, UVM Integrative Health program manager, and Janet Franz, Communications Specialist, serve as ambassadors.

UVM Employee Wellness offers resources and programs to support employees seeking to find a healthy balance on and off the job. Opportunities include free on-campus fitness classes, nutritional lunch and learns, stretching videos and discounts for off-campus fitness and nutrition merchants.

In addition, UVM achieved Gold status for Exercise Is Medicine On Campus, a designation given by the American Council of Sports Medicine for students’ work to change the culture of chronic disease prevention campus-wide. Students in the Exercise Science Club perform body composition testing and refer participants to UVM Campus Recreation for personal training. The students also engage with university health care providers to establish physical activity as a vital sign at every student health visit.

Students interested in joining the Exercise Science Club or becoming an EIM ambassador should contact eim@uvm.edu