Penn State Health

Penn State Health Employee Wellness (BeWell)

PRO Wellness works on the Penn State Health BeWell initiative to compliment wellness efforts specifically for Penn State Health employees.

BeWell initiatives are focused on Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health St. Joseph and Penn State Health Medical Group. The aim of this initiative is to assist with changing the culture of Penn State Health to make the healthy choice the easy choice. PRO Wellness works collaboratively with Penn State Health Human Resources to:

• Create quarterly employee newsletters
• Host wellness lunch and learns
• Host employee health challenges
• Distributes wellness grants to enhance employee wellness
• Facilitate the BeWell Champion program

For more information contact: bewell@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Penn State Health Community Relations Grant:

STRESS: Student and Teacher Response to Environmental School Stress

Stress is a mental health battle that the nation faces every day. One-third of children reported health problems associated with high stress levels in a recent report from the American Psychological Association. Not only does high stress negatively affect mental health, but also directly impacts weight gain among youth. Specifically, youth report school-based stressors which may predict mental and physical issues in the future. Recent literature supports mindfulness-based stress reduction programming in schools to curb stress, improve mental health and improve the learning environment.

As a result of these findings, Penn State PRO Wellness distributed a Student and Teacher Response to Environmental School Stress (STRESS) survey in 2017 thanks to funding through the Penn State Health Community Relations Grant. The survey assisted with investigating stress in schools and examining the use of mindfulness intervention as a coping mechanism. A total of eighty-seven elementary and secondary level classroom teachers in Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, Lebanon and York counties completed the survey.

PRO Wellness was able to determine the level of stress, common stressors and current coping mechanisms of students. Evidence-based materials were provided to teachers to help improve stress levels within the school environment, and PRO Wellness also examined their interest in future mindfulness based-stress reduction intervention in local school districts.

Penn State Health Community Relations Grant: Assessing Health & Wellness Priorities: Local Childcare Facilities

In an effort to address community needs identified in the 2016 Penn State Community Health Needs Assessment, Penn State PRO wellness surveyed 30 early childhood education centers within the Penn State Health catchment area in 2017 to identify

• the number of centers with active wellness policies
• knowledge of existing wellness assessment tools
• barriers to implementation of healthful practices

The objective was to determine the needs of childcare facilities and to develop a greater understanding of the nutrition and physical activity practices in local centers. Ultimately, PRO Wellness sought to determine if childcare facilities were utilizing validated assessment tools to improve and promote wellness in their centers. Additionally, the goal was to understand barriers to maintaining a healthy environment in centers, and highlight awareness of assessment tools to further refine practices.

Click here to learn more about Assessing Health & Wellness Priorities: Local Childcare Facilities.

Penn State Health Community Relations Grant: Lebanon School District Screenings

During the 2012-2013 school year, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State PRO Wellness collaborated with Lebanon School District to facilitate student health screenings, a need identified in part by a Community Health Needs Assessment. In two days, 3,105 students (67% of all students in the district) were screened. Letters explaining screening results were mailed to parents of all students screened. Debriefing meetings and follow-up surveys for the participating nurses provided feedback for future screenings.

Click here to learn more about Lebanon School District Screenings.

The learnings from this program were published within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) article, Improving Community Health While Satisfying a Critical Community Need: A Case Study for Nonprofit Hospitals.