Wellness Champion Manual

Champions are the voice of our well-being initiatives: HR Well-being offers excellent data-driven programming, but it can be difficult to communicate these opportunities out to 17,000 employees at multiple campuses. Emails can get lost in the shuffle and electronic communication lacks that personal connection. That’s where you come in. We provide Champions with the tools and resources you need to be informed and to communicate available programs to your colleagues. View the Wellness Champion Manual for information regarding the Wellness Champion Role, how to be a successful Champion, and to meet the HR Well-being Team.

Quarterly Workshops for Champions

Once each quarter, the Wellness Champions get together in a workshop. These sessions are an opportunity to connect with each other and to learn about resources & tools available to help us personalize a culture of health and well-being in our specific workgroups.

Current Champions: View the annual schedule and register for each workshop in the drop-down menu below.

Potential Champions: If you’re interested in joining the Wellness Champion network, submit your partnership agreement and join us at the next workshop.

2023 Workshop Schedule
  • Q1: Friday, February 10 |
  • Q2: Wednesday, May 10 |
  • Q3: Friday, August 11 |
  • Q4: Wednesday, November 8 |

Champion Fund Project

WashU Wellness Champions are eligible to apply for start-up funds for projects that promote innovative, personalized solutions to their unique work group. HR’s Well-being team offers financial support to Wellness Champions who are in good standing and interested in start-up funds to address the wellness needs of their workgroup. Apply for Round 3 here.

Read about past Champion Fund Projects to gain inspiration for your project!

Monthly Newsletters

To receive our newsletters, become a WashU Wellness Champion:

View recent newsletters:

Toolkits

WashU Well-being provides specialized toolkits on a variety of topics to help Champions personalize wellness for their departments. These toolkits are available in the WashU Wellness Champions team within MS Teams.

Bulletin Boards

WashU Well-being provides bulletin boards to Champions so they can easily promote programs and events. Request a bulletin board today.

Host a Screening

In addition to our regularly scheduled campus-wide events, WashU Well-being is partnering with Champions to host dedicated screening events throughout all campuses. This partnership allows us to personalize the onsite screening experience for each department, making it more convenient for employees to participate and know their numbers.

Request to Host a Health Screening Event

Wellness Challenge Team Captain

Champions can lead by acting as Team Captains during wellness challenges, creating teams and encouraging colleagues to participate and stay motivated. Utilize this toolkit to be a successful team captain for your department.

Talking Points

This document can help explain what it means to be a Champion, and can be helpful to supervisors curious about the benefits of having a department Champion.

Presentations

Below is a library of past guest speakers, webinars, and wellness challenges demonstrations.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH: 8IGHT Ways to Wellness

Dr. Bradley Evanoff, MD, MPH & Sam Biver MPH: Working For You Study & Participatory Teams

Art Maines, LCSW: How to build Interpersonal Skills for Challenging Situations

WashU Resources

A conversation with specialists from the Pain Management Center within the Center for Advanced Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis: An Introduction to Pain Management webinar

Webinars

WashU Wellness Champions are partnering with ComPsych Guidance Resources to present a monthly webinar series for all WashU employees. View recorded sessions and register for upcoming webinars. 

Activity Challenge Demos

WashU Well-being partners with Health Enhancement Systems (HES) to provide quality activity challenges to employees. Take a closer look at how to register and participate in these programs:

How the WashU Well-being Team Supports Champions

  • Provides appropriate communication about employee wellness programs and opportunities;
  • Creates a safe and civil environment for Champions to provide constructive feedback about wellness initiatives;
  • Collaborates with health & wellness experts to offer training and resources for Champions to motivate and engage colleagues to make healthy choices; and
  • Reaches out to department supervisors to inform them of wellness initiatives and encourage their support for their employees.

Questions? Contact:

Caralee Lynch, MA

Wellness Coordinator