Oklahoma State University wishes to recognize healthy departments

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Oklahoma State University Department of Wellness and First Cowgirl Ann Hargis wish to recognize work units that are implementing healthy activities with the Certified Healthy Department program.

The program promotes the importance of wellness in the workplace by scoring the activities of a department within various health-related categories.

“We want to celebrate and recognize departments that are creating a healthier workplace for their employees and contributing to OSU’s mission of becoming America’s healthiest campus,” said Mary Talley, Employee Wellness Program Manager within the Department of Wellness.

This is the third year the Department of Wellness has offered this program. The program certified nine departments in 2011 and 27 last year. There are a variety of activities each department implements to become certified, including health screenings, physical activities, nutritional activities, stress management tactics and many others.

“With the individual departments developing their own initiatives, this leads the way to a healthier culture all across OSU’s campus,” Talley said.

After being recognized as a certified healthy department, each department is presented with a certificate from Hargis as well as receiving the Certified Healthy Department logo to use on department communications. The qualifying departments will be announced March 11. Applications are available at wellness.okstate.edu and are due by March 4.

The Office of Registrar is one example of a department that is applying for the certification. This department conducts bi-monthly challenges that allow participants to set small attainable goals and develop lifetime habits. Each challenge focuses on a specific area of health and wellness.

“We have seen a lot of mindsets change in regards to living a healthier lifestyle,” said Amber Todd, lead data technician with the Office of Registrar. “It has been really cool to see individuals getting together outside of work to go exercise.”

Hargis has made it a priority to encourage the OSU family to take steps in leading a lifestyle filled with wellness and providing different venues for individuals to attain healthier habits.

“We are working hard to create a variety of wellness opportunities for faculty, staff and students as part of the mission of being America’s healthiest campus,” Hargis said. “We would like to recognize those departments that are joining us in this quest.”

The OSU Department of Wellness is committed to creating a healthy campus culture for students, faculty and staff. The department seeks to promote healthy lifestyles and lifelong learning through the highest quality programs in the areas of wellness and recreation. For more information about the Certified Healthy Department program, please contact Mary Talley at 405-744-6907 or mary.talley@okstate.edu.