UVM Employee Wellness Manager and Osher Affiliate Cara Hancy, NBC-HWC, and Janet Franz, Creative Content and Public Relations Staff for the Robert D. Larner, MD, College of Medicine and Chair of the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health, accepted the award on behalf of the University during the Vermont Health and Safety Council Expo on October 27 at the Killington Grand Hotel.
UVM received the award for the fourth year in a row, for initiatives supporting the physical and emotional wellbeing of its staff and faculty and fostering a culture of wellness throughout its campus. Other Council Worksite Wellness honorees include schools, manufacturers, retailers, healthcare organizations, and more across the State, each recognized for the support they offer their employees in a variety of ways.
Through Hancy's ongoing efforts, UVM employees are invited to participate in reduced-cost group exercise classes and on-site chiropractic care, free individualized health coaching and wellness education courses, and social events that encourage employees to connect with their coworkers.
Recent offerings have also included enhanced mental health support, identified as a key need in data observed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the World Health Organization's world mental health report: Transforming Mental Health for All, highlighted the workplace as a key example of a setting where transformative action on mental health is needed.
Hancy works with colleagues across the University to uplift employees' health and wellbeing and ensure that managers and leadership have the tools and resources they need to support them. As an Osher Affiliate, she creates programs rooted in the principles of Whole Health, which encompasses the complete lived experience — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental — to support employees in thriving. "It's a true joy to do this work," Hancy says. "Caring for our community is what it is all about."
Learn more about UVM Employee Wellness programs, including mental health support