April 28, 2015

The National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities (BHAC) has challenged colleges and universities across the United States to take action and make a difference in the health and wellness of their campuses.

During the National Consortium, held April 23-24 at the University of California, Irvine, leaders from more than 90 universities and institutions heard from internationally renowned experts on evidence-based developments in health and wellness. Topics included the science of happiness, physical activity, evidence-based approaches to improving population health in academic settings, public policy regarding food and eating choices and ending illness.

“We are confident [that] the high-caliber speakers at the Summit, combined with the high-energy wellness and fitness activities, left everyone energized and ready to take action at their own institutions,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, president of the National Consortium, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, dean and professor of the College of Nursing and professor of pediatrics and psychiatry in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University.

“We know how vital it is to enhance health and wellness in the workplace — it leads to reduced healthcare costs, insurance premiums, and most importantly, healthier and more engaged employees. However, very few academic institutions have implemented a comprehensive, integrated approach to health and wellness that addresses the entire academic population. We in academia have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of our students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities.”

In addition to Melnyk, speakers at the Summit included one of the world’s leading cancer doctors and New York Times bestselling author David B. Agus; nationally renowned researcher on childhood exercise, obesity and diabetes and professor and chair of pediatrics at UC Irvine Dan M. Cooper; president and CEO of Resource for Advancing Children's Health (REACH) Peter Jensen; author, happiness researcher and professor of psychology at UC Riverside Sonja Lyubomirsky; and consumer advocate, nutritionist and award-winning author and academic Marion Nestle.

Earlier this year, universities across the country were invited to participate in the inaugural BHAC National Wellness Challenge to promote health and wellness and to gather fun, creative and effective wellness programs to highlight and share. Winners were announced at the Summit:

  • First place: The College of New Jersey’s Breathe In, Breathe Out promotion of meditation-related activities
  • Second place (tie): Dartmouth College’s Uplift It initiative and UC Irvine’s Fuel Up February
  • Third place: University of Florida Couch to 5K program

Videos produced as part of the challenge will be posted at healthyacademics.org.

Before the Summit, the new BHAC held its first board meeting. The board confirmed its mission: “To equip academic institutions with evidence-based strategies and resources to improve population health and well-being of faculty, staff, students, alumni and the communities they serve.”

Melnyk also encouraged colleges and universities to become institutional members in BHAC to play a key role in improving the lives of more than 33 million faculty, staff and students across the country. Visit healthyacademics.org for information on becoming a member.

“Academia is fertile ground to enhance health and wellness,” Melnyk said. “Please join us in this vital effort to help our communities become healthier and more engaged.”

April 20, 2015

Higher-education leaders and nationally recognized authorities in health and wellness will gather to highlight and share best practices in promoting and sustaining wellness at the 2015 Building Healthy Academic Communities (BHAC) National Summit April 23-24 at the University of California, Irvine.

More than 80 colleges and universities from across the United States will be represented at the Summit, the second from BHAC. The first was held in 2013 at The Ohio State University.

“We know how vital it is to enhance health and wellness in the workplace—it leads to reduced healthcare costs, insurance premiums, and most importantly, healthier and more engaged employees,” said BHAC President Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. “However, very few academic institutions have implemented a comprehensive, integrated approach to health and wellness that addresses the entire academic population.”

Melnyk envisioned and led the founding of the National Consortium, a group of public and private academic institutions dedicated to crafting a comprehensive framework that enriches the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff. The consortium was founded after the 2013 BHAC National Summit.

“We in academia have a unique opportunity to improve population health and make a positive impact on the lives of our students, faculty and staff and surrounding communities,” Melnyk said. “The summit provides a national forum to share best practices and innovative ideas to bring the dream of creating a healthier nation to fruition.”

Featured speakers include:

David B. Agus, University of Southern California, is one of the world’s leading cancer doctors and pioneering biomedical researchers. Agus also serves as a CBS News contributor. His first book, The End of Illness, was published in 2012 and is a New York Times No. 1 and international bestseller, as well as the subject of a PBS special. His second book, New York Times bestselling A Short Guide to a Long Life was published in January 2014.

Dan M. Cooper, professor and chair of pediatrics at University of California, Irvine, serves as founding director of the UC Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational Science and the UCI Pediatric Exercise Research Center.

Peter Jensen is president and CEO of the Resource for Advancing Children's Health (REACH) Institute. In December, he was appointed acting director for the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. Lyubomirsky’s The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want was published in 2008. Her most recent book is The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, But Doesn’t, What Shouldn’t Make You Happy, But Does.

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk is currently the associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, and professor and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. She is also a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Ohio State’s College of Medicine. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice, intervention research and child and adolescent mental health.

Marion Nestle of New York University is a consumer advocate, nutritionist, award-winning author and academic who specializes in the politics of food and dietary choice. She is the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, now in its third edition.

More information is available at healthyacademics.org.

December 15, 2014

The National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities (BHAC) has elected its first board of directors, a historic move in the effort to revolutionize the culture of health and wellness at colleges and universities, Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University and new Consortium president, announced today.

“I cannot express how excited I am to be working with this amazing group of wellness experts,” said Melnyk. “It is a privilege to be part of a groundbreaking team that is transforming health and wellness of academic communities nationwide.”

Melnyk envisioned and led the founding of the National Consortium, a group of public and private academic institutions dedicated to crafting a comprehensive framework that enriches the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff. The consortium was founded after the inaugural BHAC National Summit in April 2013, which was held at Ohio State.

The second BHAC National Summit will be April 23-24 at the University of California, Irvine. The Summit will convene leaders and nationally recognized authorities in health and wellness to highlight and share best practices in promoting and sustaining wellness, with tracks focused on best practices and evidence-based programming, creating cultures of wellness, marketing and communication for engagement and mental and emotional well-being.

“We in academia have a unique opportunity to affect the lives of our students, faculty and staff. Our collaborative voices, ideas and expertise can help set the national agenda for health and wellness along with generating and disseminating evidence to support best practices and influence policy,” Melnyk said.

Full biographies of the Consortium officers can be found here.

President: Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, is associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. She also is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry in the College of Medicine. She is an internationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice, health and wellness, mental health and intervention research and is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences on these topics. Her scholarship record includes over $19 million of sponsored funding from federal agencies as principal investigator and over 250 publications, including four books. She served a four-year term on the 16-member United States Preventive Services Task Force and currently serves as a member of the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Behavioral Health Standing Committee and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Advisory Council for nursing research. In addition, she is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine. She has successfully led collaborative national initiatives and has served as president of a national organization.

President-Elect: Megan Amaya, PhD, CHES, AFAA, is the director of health promotion and wellness at The Ohio State University. She is president of the Society of Public Health Educators Ohio Chapter and steering team member for the central region Healthy Ohio Business Council. She is a certified health-education specialist, a certified personal trainer and a certified group fitness instructor. Amaya has been instrumental in the launching of the National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities. She coordinated the 2013 National BHAC Summit and the Ohio BHAC Summit in 2014. Amaya is also a member of the planning committee for the 2015 National Summit.

Secretary: Carole Kenner, PhD, RN, FAAN, is dean of the College of New Jersey School of Nursing, Health and Exercise Science, which encompasses nutrition, wellness, fitness, strength and conditioning. She is executive director and secretary of the Council of International Neonatal Nurses, Inc. and past president of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN). Kenner served as secretary on the board of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and is now co-chair of The College of New Jersey Healthy Campus Program Council.  She was instrumental in starting a wellness center at the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing. Kenner has over 30 years of experience in higher education.  

Treasurer Chair: Karen Moses, PhD, RD, CHES, is the director of ASU Wellness at Arizona State University. She has provided leadership in ASU health promotion initiatives, programs and services, using both individual and environmental approaches to promote health and wellness among college students for 25 years. Recognized as a leader in college health promotion, Moses is a frequent speaker at college health and student affairs professional conferences and has been consultant to other institutions of higher education to guide their healthy campus initiatives and health promotion programs. She has served in many elected and appointed positions of national associations, including the American College Health Association, Pacific Coast College Health Association, National Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). She co-chaired the committee that developed the Healthy Campus 2010 Objectives for the American College Health Association, helped develop the standards of practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education and helped to found the NASPA Health Promotion Knowledge Community. She was previously president of the Arizona Dietetic Association.

Marketing Chair: Angie Brown is the communications manager for the University of Florida’s Office of Human Resources. She has worked in higher education public relations for more than 20 years, having previously served in communication roles at Penn State University and Oregon Health & Science University.  At the University of Florida, Brown manages several UF websites and oversees other UF online and print publicity materials. She is editor of "The InfoGator," UF’s faculty and staff e-newsletter, which reaches more than 14,000 employees. She also facilitates internal change management efforts for the university, providing strategic communication planning and execution for units including the Office of Research, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and UF Information Technology. In addition to her work on the UF-UF Health Wellness Committee, Brown has twice served as publicity officer for the UF Association for Academic Women and serves on the Public Relations Subcommittee of the UF President’s Council on Diversity.

Research & EBP Chair: Marcelle Holmes, PhD, is assistant vice chancellor of wellness, health & counseling services at UC Irvine, where she oversees the Counseling Center, Student Health Center, Disability Services Center, Campus Recreation, Health Education, Career Center, Campus Assault Resources & Education (CARE) and Office of the Campus Social Worker. She came to UC Irvine from Pomona College, where she served as associate dean of students and dean of women. Holmes is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, and has worked in a variety of settings, including private practice, at college counseling centers and as assistant professor of psychology and black studies at Pomona College. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, American Association of Blacks in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Membership Chair: Colleen Harshbarger, MS, is the director of the Office of Wellness & Health Promotion with WELL WVU: The Student’s Center of Health and an adjunct faculty member in the College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences at West Virginia University. She is a certified wellness practitioner with the National Wellness Institute, a certified wellness coach from WellPeople and holds a certificate in Alcohol Prevention Leadership from NASPA and EverFi. Harshbarger has been studying and teaching yoga for over 20 years and is registered with Yoga Alliance at the ERYT-500 level.

Advisory Board Chair: Cassandra Kitko, MBA, CHES, IC, is the manager of health initiatives in Penn State’s Office of Human Resources’ Employee Benefits Division. Prior to working at Penn State, she planned and delivered worksite wellness programs. Kitko is president of the local school district and a member of her parish council and finance committee.

BHAC founding institutions include Arizona State University, Bucknell University, Dartmouth College, East Carolina University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Iowa State University, Medical University of South Carolina, Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, Penn State University, The College of New Jersey, University of California, Irvine, University of Florida, Virgina Tech and West Virginia University.

More information: healthyacademics.org

October 21, 2013

Nursing dean, chief wellness officer is one of 70 new members of prestigious organization

The Ohio State University’s first chief wellness officer has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, also dean of the College of Nursing and associate vice president for health promotion, is part of the class of 70 new members and 10 foreign associates elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) this year.

IOM, one of the national academies, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Melnyk, also a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry in the College of Medicine, is an internationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice, intervention research and child and adolescent mental health.

For practitioners and academics who have devoted their professional lives to health and healthcare, election to the IOM is “the pinnacle of your career,” Melnyk said.

Melnyk earned a bachelor’s in nursing from West Virginia University and an MS with a specialization in nursing care of children and pediatrics from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to earning her PhD in clinical research at the University of Rochester, she also completed her postmaster’s certificate as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

Before joining Ohio State in 2011, she was dean and distinguished foundation professor in nursing at Arizona State University’s College of Nursing & Health Innovation.

Melnyk is not a stranger to the IOM. She participated in a working group connected to an IOM task force on evidence-based medicine, which recommended that 90 percent of all healthcare decisions would be evidence-based by 2020.

Such a plan might sound obvious, but putting the research behind healthcare decision-making is an enormous undertaking. Evidence-based practice refers to making decisions about patient care that are based on the best evidence produced by well-designed clinical research in combination with a clinician’s expertise and a patient’s preferences and values.

Melnyk has seen firsthand how much clinical research is needed, especially with children and adolescents. As a former member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and chair of its child-health working group for three years, she has taken a close look at the shortage of research about best healthcare practices for children and advocated for increased federal funding devoted to child-health studies.

“When we were writing our recommendations, we had numerous ‘I’ statements, meaning we had insufficient evidence,” Melnyk said. “We can’t even say what we should be doing in certain areas of child health because we don’t have enough research being done to serve as a basis for evidence-based recommendations and guidelines.”

The IOM, too, has recently issued recommendations to ramp up research with children, she noted.

Melnyk has devoted her research career to developing and testing interventions to improve outcomes in high-risk children, adolescents and parents. Her COPE program for parents of preterm infants, which has reduced length of neonatal intensive care unit stay and hospital readmissions, is now widely used across the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, Melnyk’s COPE Healthy Lifestyles TEEN program has been shown to prevent overweight/obesity as well as improve mental health and academic outcomes in high-school teens.

Melnyk looks forward to further engagement with colleagues across the country through the IOM, which functions as a national advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues to decision-makers and the public. With their election, members make a commitment to volunteer their service on IOM committees, boards and other activities.

“I am so thrilled because this gives me an opportunity to be part of several major recommendations into the future about important decisions concerning how we proceed with health and health care,” she said. “I appreciate  the chance to be at the table to participate in and propose health and healthcare topics with solutions that I believe are critically important for our nation to address.”

Melnyk promises to be a strong Ohio State presence in her collaboration with colleagues on national issues, said Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research at Ohio State.

“Dr. Melnyk’s broad expertise and boundless energy will be a great asset as the Institute of Medicine pursues better understanding of the increasingly complicated health-care landscape in this country,” Whitacre said. “Election to this prestigious organization is a fitting recognition of her dedication to improving the nation’s health.”

In addition to her administrative and faculty responsibilities at Ohio State, Melnyk has maintained a rigorous research program. Along with her research on interventions to enhance child and adolescent health, Melnyk continues to conduct studies on how best to improve healthcare quality and safety as well as patient outcomes through evidence-based practice. She is also leading a major national initiative to improve population health in institutions of higher learning through the recently launched Building Healthy Academic Communities National Consortium.

Melnyk has received more than $19 million in federal funding, co-authored over 200 publications and is co-editor of four books. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the National Academies of Practice, and serves as editor of the journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing. She is also a member of the National Quality Forum’s behavioral health steering committee and the Centers for Disease Control’s Laboratory Best Medicine Practices.

Including Melnyk, 31 Ohio State faculty currently serve as members of one of the four National Academies: the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council. One professor is currently a member of both the IOM and the NAS. Melnyk is among eight IOM members at Ohio State.

 

Contact: Bernadette Melnyk, 614-292-4844, Melnyk.15@osu.edu

Written by Emily Caldwell, 614-292-8310, Caldwell.151@osu.edu

March 20, 2013

The Ohio State University College of Nursing and Making a Difference, Inc. have teamed up to win a $60,000 grant from The Ohio State University Office of Outreach and Engagement to address health disparities by implementing a comprehensive community health and wellness program in a Near East Side neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.

The health and wellness program, called “Making a Difference: Health and Wellness One Street at a Time,” will engage residents of the Mount Vernon community in health screenings and treatment for common diagnoses of hypertension, heart diseases and depression. According to Columbus Public Health statistics, African Americans in Franklin County, Ohio, were 2.6 times more likely to die from diabetes and hypertension, and stroke mortality rates were 2.7 times higher than that of white people in the same area. 

“We have been long engaged with the health of the communities we serve, and this award gives us additional resources to integrate community engagement into our curriculum and strategic plan, using a model that includes faculty, staff and students and, very importantly, community partners,” said Usha Menon, PhD, RN, FAAN, vice dean, professor and principal investigator of the College of Nursing grant. “Our dream is for 'Making A Difference: One Street at a Time,' to serve as an exemplar for sustainable and transformational community engagement.”

Nursing students will gain a wide range of clinical experience in health disparities as they screen and educate residents about health and wellness prevention and self-management approaches. The college will conduct “Ask a Buckeye Nurse” forums at health and wellness expos and area barbershops; students will also assess general community needs through neighborhood windshield and walking surveys. Faculty and graduate students will be able to apply findings into effective evidence-based healthcare practices and public policy.

Make a Difference, Inc. focuses on increasing awareness of health and wellness, providing support through life-enhancement strategies to Mount Vernon community residents, creating awareness of neighborhood safety issues and decreasing juvenile delinquency.

“'Make a Difference' is honored to partner with the college to improve the neighborhood we know, love and worship in,” said Al Edmondson, founder and director. “Not only will we be able to address the high levels of diabetes and infant mortality in the community, we can show through this partnership that Ohio State cares about the community and will help with its rebirth.”

“It is a privilege for the college to work with Al Edmondson and the Mount Vernon community," Menon said. "True community work begins with a collaborative enterprise between the university and the community.  This initiative exemplifies the principles of community-centered participatory research and service.”

The program is guided by a social-ecological model and community-campus partnership principles. The ecological approach leverages public policy, community organization support and research to produce a collaborative approach that centers on community residents.

“We are going to continue to increase awareness with health expos involving the faith-based communities to create a healthier community,” Edmonso said.

Educational and translational research opportunities will involve several Ohio State health sciences colleges.

Among the community partners is the Eldon and Elsie Ward Family YMCA located in Columbus’ Near East Side. The YMCA provides health and wellness activities and programs for area children, youth and families and will provide assistance with fitness activities and space for events. Several neighborhood churches, such as Broad Street Presbyterian Church, St. Philip Lutheran Church and Saint Dominic Roman Catholic Church, will be involved in assisting with the expos and health screenings of residents.

College of Nursing faculty and researchers involved in the grant include Jennifer Kue, PhD, assistant professor; Linda Daley, PhD, associate professor; Barbara Warren, PhD, RN, CNS-BC, PMH, FAAN, professor; Karen Clancy, MS, RN, clinical instructor; Laura Szalacha, EdD, associate director and research associate professor, Madhurima Sarkar, PhD, Paula D’Auteuil, MS, APRN-BC, professor emeritus.

The Engagement Impact Grants Program provided by Ohio State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement supports innovative and creative outreach and engagement initiatives that connect academic excellence with societal needs as part of Ohio State’s land grant heritage; it enhances and creates partnerships between members of the university community and community supporters and enhances development of a unit’s outreach and engagement mission. The Engagement Impact Grant Program has a proven record of success, with metrics demonstrating an approximate 14:1 return.

 

About The Ohio State University College of Nursing

The Ohio State University College of Nursing is the world’s preeminent college known for transforming health and transforming lives through innovative academic programs and research that improves outcomes and evidence-based clinical practice. We exist to revolutionize healthcare and promote the highest levels of wellness in diverse individuals and communities throughout the nation and globe. The College of Nursing is part of the largest health sciences campus in the nation that is comprised of seven colleges, including dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, optometry, public health and veterinary medicine. Please visit us at nursing.osu.edu.

January 03, 2013

Initiatives will include curriculum development, community programming, research, teaching, and mentoring future health leaders

The Ohio State University College of Nursing and Canyon Ranch Institute (CRI), a public charity, have partnered to pursue their shared commitment to transforming the global health and wellness landscape.

Initiatives of the partnership include curriculum development, community-based programming and collaborative research. In addition, the College of Nursing has added three Canyon Ranch Institute experts to its faculty: Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, CRI president and 17th Surgeon General of the United States, who serves as the dean’s distinguished professor of health promotion and entrepreneurship; Jennifer Cabe, MA, CRI executive director and board member; and Andrew Pleasant, PhD, CRI health literacy and research director.

Carmona, who is a nurse, trauma surgeon and professor of public health, is internationally recognized for the impact of his 2006 landmark Surgeon General’s Report about the dangers of secondhand smoke and his advocacy for lowering healthcare costs through prevention. “This partnership is about breaking away from the traditions that have shaped health and healthcare for decades,” said Carmona. “Dr. Bern Melnyk and I are fervent in our shared knowledge that the nursing profession is ideally positioned to develop, lead and implement new approaches in the classroom and real-world settings that will enable tomorrow’s nurses and health professionals to positively impact their patients, colleagues and communities, creating at last a true healthcare system that replaces today’s sick care system.”

“The partnership between Ohio State and Canyon Ranch Institute represents a critical step toward reimagining the way patient care is taught and practiced in this country," E. Gordon Lee, JD, EdD, president of The Ohio State University, said. "At Ohio State, we are educating the next generation of nurses to be educators as well as healers – to promote overall wellness in our communities so that more individuals lead happier, healthier lives both inside and outside of the hospital.”

“The opportunity to partner with and leverage the immense expertise at Canyon Ranch Institute to impact positively the health and education not only of our students but also the central Ohio community and state is enormous,” said Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, chief wellness officer, associate vice president for health promotion, and dean of The Ohio State University College of Nursing. “By implementing CRI’s health literacy and Life Enhancement Program as one of our many innovative strategies to enhance health and wellness, our partnership will serve as a national collaborative model of how organizations can work together to spur increased innovation in health professionals’ education, wellness and prevention.”

One of the first examples of the new partnership will be a research/demonstration project of the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program® (CRI LEP). Based at some Columbus, Ohio, community health centers, the CRI LEP will engage patients from low-income neighborhoods in a 12-session program to help them learn how to develop a sense of purpose and make healthy choices about physical activity, nutrition and stress management. The program will be presented by an integrated team of Columbus community members, health professionals and college faculty and staff who present the learning sessions and meet with participants one-on-one to ensure that each patient receives advice and counsel based on individual needs, abilities and preferences.

CRI has healthcare organization partners in four additional locations where the CRI LEP has been in place for more than four years. A comprehensive evaluation plan encompasses all participants and has generated a growing body of outcomes that are statistically significant and show positive changes in participants’ physical and mental health and their health literacy.

Cabe and Pleasant are also collaborating with College of Nursing leaders to further develop its curriculum. “Our goal is to prepare students for positions in many sectors of society where their expertise in health literacy, health coaching, integrative health and prevention and innovation and entrepreneurship can be applied in employment settings, public health programs and beyond,” says David Hrabe, PhD, RN, Ohio State College of Nursing associate professor of clinical nursing and executive director of academic innovations and partnerships. “For example, many people spend the majority of their lives at work where their health and productivity is a major asset. By adding graduates from this new program to a company’s staff to integrate health and wellness, employers can strengthen their organizations for the future and demonstrate their commitment to their workforce.”

One of the first public offerings resulting from the partnership will be an interprofessional education (IPE) series to be held at Ohio State in collaboration with the college and the Ohio State Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) collaborative that is composed of 14 of Ohio State's colleges and schools, including the seven health sciences colleges, highlighting CRI expertise through a panel discussion on health and wellness. Ohio State students, faculty and staff and the general community will be invited to attend and participate in panel discussions that will feature CRI’s health and wellness expertise. Carmona’s inaugural lecture “Interprofessional Collaboration to Transform Health and Health Care Systems” will be held on Jan. 23, 2013, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ohio Union Performance Hall. A healthy lunch will be served at 11 a.m.  For more information or to RSVP, please contact healthandwellness@osu.edu.

 

About The Ohio State University College of Nursing

The Ohio State University College of Nursing is the world’s preeminent college known for accomplishing what is considered impossible through its transformational leadership and innovation in nursing and health, evidence-based practice and unsurpassed wellness. We exist to revolutionize healthcare and promote the highest levels of wellness in diverse individuals and communities throughout the nation and globe through innovative and transformational education, research and evidence-based clinical practice. Please visit us at nursing.osu.edu.

 

About Canyon Ranch Institute®

Canyon Ranch Institute (CRI) is a non-profit organization that catalyzes the possibility of optimal health for all people by translating the best practices of Canyon Ranch and our partners to help educate, inspire, and empower every person to prevent disease and embrace a life of wellness. Canyon Ranch Institute and its partners believe in the power and possibility of a healthy world. More information is available at canyonranchinstitute.org.

September 24, 2012

The Ohio State University College of Nursing announced today that the college has teamed up with Wellness & Prevention, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, to offer the Nurse Athlete/Health Athlete program, the first under the college’s Health Athlete initiative to promote healthy practices in nurses and healthcare professionals.

The Health Athlete initiative is designed for professionals from all healthcare disciplines using proven techniques that refocus and re-energize a participant’s personal and professional life. The Nurse Athlete/Health Athlete Program is derived from the Corporate Athlete® program offered by the Human Performance Institute Division of Wellness & Prevention, Inc., a health and performance solutions provider focused on improving population health. The program—rooted in 30 years of proprietary research related to the training of top-performing athletes and Fortune 500 executives at the Human Performance Institute—focuses on human energy management and one’s goals to affect sustainable behavior change.

“This program is a win-win for nurses, physicians, managers, and the entire healthcare team and system, both in terms of improving the quality of health professionals’ personal and professional lives and patient outcomes,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, FAAN, chief wellness officer, associate vice president for health promotion, and dean of The Ohio State University College of Nursing. “In 2011, we started talking with Wellness & Prevention, Inc. about the Corporate Athlete® program and knew it had terrific potential for healthcare professionals.”

The Nurse Athlete/Health Athlete course, led by David Hrabe, PhD, RN, associate professor of clinical nursing and executive director of academic innovations and partnerships, and Melnyk, is specially designed for nurses, healthcare professionals, physicians, students and faculty in health profession programs, healthcare organizations and health-related governmental agencies within the United States.

Wellness & Prevention, Inc. is focused on driving improved health, productivity and performance by offering personalized, integrated and comprehensive total health solutions.

“We believe that the health of employees is inextricably linked to the health and performance of an organization, so we offer solutions that empower people to be and perform at their best,” says Sanjay Gupta, president, Wellness & Prevention, Inc. “Our work with The Ohio State University College of Nursing extends our ability to nurture and sustain a strong culture of health with the nursing and health professional communities.”

The Nurse Athlete/Health Athlete program builds on the philosophy of the Corporate Athlete® program that an individual’s body and mind are both business relevant. For employees to become engaged at work, they must align their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves for peak performance.

The Nurse Athlete/Health Athlete workshop focuses on energy management, nutritional guidelines and fitness coaching, with the goal of building personalized performance action plans for individuals to achieve peak performance at work and at home.

In addition, health professionals who go through the Nurse Athlete program have the opportunity to be leaders by working with private sector organizations, policy makers and consumers for better health. Nurse/Health Athletes can help others learn how frequent exercise, healthy meals and brief respites during the day can increase productivity and happiness.

Nurse Athlete will serve as a prototype for Health Athlete programming to other health professionals, including physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, as well as faculty, staff and students in academic settings.

For more information, please contact David Hrabe, executive director, at 614-398-6607 or healthathlete@osu.edu or visit healthathlete.org.

 

About The Ohio State University College of Nursing

The Ohio State University College of Nursing is the world’s preeminent college known for accomplishing what is considered impossible through its transformational leadership and innovation in nursing and health, evidence-based practice and unsurpassed wellness. Ranked in the top 6% of graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report, we exist to revolutionize healthcare and promote the highest levels of wellness in diverse individuals and communities throughout the nation and globe through innovative and transformational education, research and evidence-based clinical practice. Please visit us at nursing.osu.edu.