UH&CS offers new wellness program for students
The new wellness program builds upon the previous combindation of University Health Services with University Counselling Services.
Case Western Reserve University Health and Counseling Services (UH&CS) announced a new approach to student wellness beginning in the Fall 2017 semester. The student program is modelled after a similar one that has previously been offered to CWRU faculty and staff, and includes several new wellness events for students to take advantage of.
The new wellness program is one of several steps the Division of Student Affairs has taken recently regarding University Health and University Counselling, which were combined to form UH&CS as of last year, in an effort to connect students’ physical and mental health.
Dr. Jennifer Wright McCarthy, executive director of University Health and Counselling Services, said that she hopes the program “supports students in mind, body and spirit as they pursue their academic and personal goals.”
The wellness program also has its own, new website, case.edu/wellness.
“Many wellness offerings have already been available to students at Case Western Reserve University,” McCarthy said, “The goal of the new student wellness effort is to organize existing programs under one umbrella and add new programs to help students fulfill their wellness goals. An overarching goal is to collaborate with campus partners to promote a culture of wellness at [CWRU].”
In light of CWRU’s Tobacco-Free Policy, effective July 1, UH&CS offers a tobacco cessation program for students, which McCarthy said is a part of the new wellness initiative.
“Given the preponderance of medical evidence about smoking and secondhand smoke, eliminating tobacco use is a key component of campus wellness,” McCarthy explained.
The biggest challenge to the new initiative was discovering what dimensions of campus wellness should be prioritized to positively impact the most students.
Among the program’s new offerings are upcoming events that focus on stress management, mindfulness and healthy sleep. McCarthy also said that the student wellness initiative involves collaboration between the faculty and staff wellness program as well as university athletics.