Healthy Campus Initiative
PHA completion
At the American Public Health Association (APHA)’s Annual Meeting & Exposition Nov. 16, 2014, Binghamton University teamed up with the Partnership for a Healthier America to meet 23 guidelines as part of the Healthier Campus Initiative aimed at making our nation’s campuses healthier by adopting guidelines around food and nutrition, physical activity and programming.
Over the next three years, Binghamton University made changes such as providing healthier food and beverage options in dining venues, creating opportunities for physical activity and offering wellness programming on campus. With more than 17,000 students and approximately 2,500 members of the faculty and staff, Binghamton University’s changes have made a major impact on healthier living now and for generations to come. Binghamton University was one of the first 20 campus nationwide to commit to the PHA project, and has successfully met its 23 guidelines.
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation’s most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased, third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making.
Health Fair
The 12th annual Health Fair wias held from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21 at the Recreation Center, East Gym. This event was offered in partnership with Binghamton University Dining Services, the Department of Campus Recreational Services and the Healthy Campus Initiative.
The Health Fair was free and open to the public, and provided a comprehensive look at how individuals can incorporate personal health and wellness into their daily lives. More than 70 vendors were on hand to showcase products, offer helpful information and provide food and beverage samples and fun giveaways.
Attendees were able to participate in free heaIth screenings, chair massages in the created “Zen Den,” fitness demos, the BARK therapy dog program, facility tours and drawings as they learned how to incorporate health and wellness into their daily lives.
Wellness plays a significant role in the success, satisfaction and retention of Binghamton University students, faculty and staff. It is our priority to create and promote a culture where healthy choices are the easy choices. The Health Fair is a great community event that offers a comprehensive look at
wellness and what it means to live a balanced lifestyle, both on campus and off.
Join us in the Binghamton Healthy Campus initiative. Choose well, be well!
Gold Level Recognition: Exercise is Medicine
Exercise Medicine on Campus (EIM-OC) is a program calling upon universities and colleges to engage in the promotion of physical activity as a vital sign of health. ElM-OC encourages faculty, staff and students to work together toward improving the health and well-being of the campus community by:
• Making movement a part of the daily campus culture
• Assessing physical activity at every student health visit
• Providing students the tools necessary to strengthen healthy physical activity habits that can
last a lifetime
• Connecting University healthcare providers with University health fitness specialists to provide
a referral system for exercise prescription.
Binghamton University has joined a small number of other institutions nationally by earning gold level recognition by the EIM-OC. Campus RecreationaI Services is working with University Counseling Services to promote physical activity as a form of treatment and disease management. To date, the
program has provided services to over 20 students with physical activity assistance and services.
Faculty and Staff Survey
This past fall, Binghamton University participated in a pilot launch of the ACHA - National Faculty and Staff Health Assessment. Having current, relevant data about faculty and staff health can help colleges and universities enhance health promotion and prevention services across campus. By assessing faculty, staff and graduate student employees’ health behaviors, institutions can provide better services and support for their employees. The first benchmarked survey of its kind, the ACHA-NFSHA addresses multiple topics and provides institutions with the ability to compare their results using reference group reports.
The survey data will allow us to:
• Identify the most common health and behavior risks affecting employees’ performance and productivity.
• Design evidence-based health promotion programs with targeted educational and environmental initiatives.
• Allocate monetary and staffing resources based upon defined needs.
• Have readily available data for policy discussions and presentations with faculty, staff, administration and board members.
• Impact the campus culture by opening a dialogue about health with employees.
• Develop proposals to secure grant funding to expand or develop programs.
• Evaluate our programming efforts by conducting repeat administrations of the survey. 621 current faculty/staff participated in this first iteration.