{"id":68918,"date":"2005-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-to-coordinate-statewide-wellness-initiative\/"},"modified":"2005-07-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-07-07T00:00:00","slug":"uri-to-coordinate-statewide-wellness-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2005\/07\/uri-to-coordinate-statewide-wellness-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 to coordinate statewide wellness initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. — July 7, 2005 — The 溏心vlog免费B站 will take a leadership role in an effort to make the State of Rhode Island the first official \u2018well state\u2019 in the nation through a worksite wellness program.<\/p>\n


\nGovernor Donald L. Carcieri made the announcement at the \u201cGet Fit, Rhode Island\u201d kickoff event at the Statehouse on Wednesday, June 29. The Governor\u2019s wife, Sue, led the steering committee that developed the program.<\/p>\n


\nThe state\u2019s effort will initially focus on the more than 14,000 state employees to encourage them to become involved in improving their health and wellness as individuals, to have a collective improvement of health in people statewide.<\/p>\n


\nThe program will be overseen by the Department of Health and managed by the University. This new initiative will focus on behavior change related specifically to stress, physical activity and nutrition. These are all areas in which the University has a great deal of experience in programs and applied research. <\/p>\n


\n \u201cWe are putting the expertise and the many resources of the 溏心vlog免费B站 into play to help us all live healthier lives. 溏心vlog免费B站 researchers and faculty will advise on the best strategies to promote wellness, analyze and track outcomes, and contribute significantly to build a healthier state,\u201d said 溏心vlog免费B站 President Robert L. Carothers.<\/p>\n


\nCarcieri appointed 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s current wellness specialist, Anne Marie Connolly of Wakefield, as director of the new State Employee Wellness Program based on her experience as an exercise physiologist and her background in behavior change. Connelly will be based at 溏心vlog免费B站 and will coordinate efforts of the program\u2019s new \u201cWellness Champions,\u201d employees who have volunteered to encourage involvement of staff at each of their departments.<\/p>\n


\nThe first step to shape the wellness program calls for state employees to participate by filling out a confidential health survey online through United Healthcare, the state\u2019s health insurance agency. Employees are asked to complete the online survey July 15 through August 15. The survey will provide individuals with initial information to guide them toward wellness and will help the new program develop the most appropriate programs for the employees. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe survey will encourage everyone to take the first step in the \u2018Get Fit\u2019 effort. Knowing where we all stand health-wise is a critical benchmark for the program so we can build the best interventions for individuals and groups, monitor progress and evaluate the overall outcomes,\u201d said 溏心vlog免费B站 Vice President Robert A. Weygand who has worked with the governor\u2019s office and health department to structure the initiative.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cNot only will this new partnership benefit the health and wellness of the University\u2019s 2,300 employees, it also provides an opportunity for all Rhode Islanders to learn about the resources available through their state\u2019s university,\u201d said Weygand, who resides in Saunderstown.<\/p>\n


\nAt 溏心vlog免费B站, Weygand said Connolly will work with faculty and staff in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, Arts and Sciences, Human Development and Family Studies, Business, and even Engineering who are involved in efforts related to healthy living and wellness in their teaching, research, and public service activities.<\/p>\n


\nStudents in many of these disciplines will now have the opportunity to participate in hands-on research and applied projects to help Rhode Island achieve the \u201cWell State\u201d status. With this involvement, students will gain skills that will be critical as they enter the growing health-related workforce.<\/p>\n


\nThis fall, Connolly will work with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s \u201cWellness Champion\u201d and others to implement new University-wide wellness activities. 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Human Resources Director Laura Kenerson of Wakefield is the University\u2019s Champion.<\/p>\n


\nConnolly has worked at the University for more than 10 years with faculty members on various health and wellness research initiatives focused on behavior change. She received her bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration in 1982 with a focus on marketing and her master\u2019s degree in exercise science in 2002. As an undergraduate, she initiated and ran the first aerobics classes at the University in 1981. Before joining the University, she owned and operated the Wakefield Fitness Center in Wakefield. <\/p>\n


\nThe \u2018well state\u2019 moniker that the governor seeks to attain for Rhode Island is based on specific standards outlined by the Wellness Councils of America, a national organization dedicated to promoting healthier life styles for all Americans, especially through health promotion initiatives at the worksite. This distinction would require that 20 percent of the working population be employed at sites that have been certified as \u201cwell workplaces.\u201d More than 200 Rhode Island employers are actively working toward their certification, and 28 have received it.<\/p>\n


\nPhoto caption

\nPartners in health: University officials and others at the \u201cGet Fit, RI\u201d kickoff at the statehouse June 29th. Shown in front are 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Vice President, Administration Robert A. Weygand, Human Resources Director Laura Kenerson, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, new State Employee Wellness Program Director Anne Marie Connolly, Governor Carcieri\u2019s wife, Sue, and 溏心vlog免费B站 President Robert L. Carothers. R.I. Department of Health Director David R. Gifford. 溏心vlog免费B站 News Bureau Photo by Michael Salerno Photography.\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — July 7, 2005 — The 溏心vlog免费B站 will take a leadership role in an effort to make the State of Rhode Island the first official \u2018well state\u2019 in the nation through a worksite wellness program. Governor Donald L. Carcieri made the announcement at the \u201cGet Fit, Rhode Island\u201d kickoff […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}