Macalester College
PA-14: Wellness Program

The Wellness and Health at Macalester Program
The WHAM (Wellness and Health at Macalester) program aim is to develop a culture of wellness at Macalester College and promoting and supporting healthy lifestyle choices for faculty and staff. At Macalester, WHAM offers on-campus wellness coaching, lunch and learns, group classes, personal training, and a host of online programs to help participants reach their goals.

The mission of the WHAM Committee is to foster a working and learning environment which promotes healthy lifestyle choices by increasing awareness, providing educational opportunities, and supporting lifestyle changes. Healthier lifestyles among faculty, staff, and students will in turn create happier, more productive individuals who benefit themselves, Macalester, and the greater community.

Offerings available to employees:
1 - HealthParnters Living Well Program: Employees on Macalester's benefits plan complete an annual health assesmment, which assesses their risk for diabetes and heart disease. All employees earn a wellness reward car for competing in at least two eligibile well-being activities.
2 - Nice Healthcare offers chat, video and home primary care visits at no expense to enrolled health plan participants.They provide the most commonly assessed primery care labs, x-ray imaging, prescriptions, physical therapy, mental health therapy, wellness counceling, as well as pregnancy and chronic condition coaching.
3. EAP is available to all employees at no cost. It gives them access to a wide range of professional support and resources encompassing mental health, child care, financial consultations, identity theft, legal advice, pet care,
senior care and more.
4 - Dedicated Wellness Coach for staff and faculty - Kelly Fang
5 - Wellbeats: access to over 400 on demand virtual fitness, nutrition and mindfullness classes
6 - Virtuwell from Health Partners
7 - On-campus and online well-being classes and challenges

In addition to the resources listed above, the Macalester Health Promotion and Sexual Respect Team also offers programming targeted towards the campus community:
The Health Promotion and Sexual Respect team works as a part of the Hamre Health and Wellness Center to bring both individual and institutional impacts to the Macalester community. Using a public health approach, the team works to empower students, faculty, and staff as leaders and partners in creating a just, well, and equitable community. Many of these initiatives are listed below, with routine assessment and response ensuring additional efforts are also in motion:

BASICS Conversations: Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) is a nationally recognized framework to support motivational interviewing conversations with students regarding their substance use.

V.A.R. (Validate, Appreciate, Refer): This peer to peer mental health workshop gives students the tools they need to talk with a friend who may be having a bad day, or worse.

Q.P.R. (Question, Persuade, Refer): This suicide-prevention workshop trains attendees to recognize the warning signs of suicide and gives them tools to intervene.

Bystander Intervention workshops: Empowers attendees to recognize harmful cultural norms and intervene in a way that is genuine to them. Students learn to "call in" vs "call out" and utilize their own lived experiences to role model the Macalester value of Everyday Consent.

BEST Party Model: This experience builds skills to empower our social leaders to create spaces that are welcoming and inclusive to all. Students discuss how physical and social spaces can be constructed to create settings that truly enable positive and inclusive wellbeing.

Advisory Group for Sexual Respect (AGSR): This group of staff and students meet to evaluate policy and procedure and make administrative changes to ensure Macalester continues to create spaces of Everyday Consent.

Alcohol and Other Drug Advisory Group (AODA Advisory Group): This committee of staff and students meet to evaluate policy and procedure and make administrative changes to ensure Macalester continues to center harm reduction, healthier norming, and recovery support when addressing substance use in our community.

Procrastination, Sleep, and Social Norming first year courses: The majority of first year courses host three sessions from the HP/SR team, focusing on the areas of procrastination, sleep, and social norming.

Mental Health Means Assessment: In conjuction with various campus stakeholders, all campus areas are evaluated with the goal of reducing access to means of suicide and highlighting aspects of belonging, inclusion, and access to resources.

Sexual Respect Workshops: Facilitated by Sexual Respect Facilitators, these in-hall workshops are attended by all first year students, informing our new community members on our values and providing sexual health information.

Health and Wellbeing Resource Request Form: All students have anonymous access to free sexual health supplies, such as condoms and dental dams. Additionally, Drug Disposal Kits and Fentanyl Testing Strips are available at no cost.

https://www.macalester.edu/tobaccofree/policy/
(text below)

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2015

The use of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes is prohibited at all times and in all facilities and on all property (including vehicles) owned, leased, rented, contracted, maintained, or controlled by Macalester College.

For the pupose of this policy, “tobacco” is defined to include any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, clove cigarette, hookah smoked products, electronic cigarettes, and any other smoking product; and smokeless or spit tobacco, also known as kip, chew, snuff or snus, in any form.

EXEMPTION

People wishing to use tobacco as part of a religious ritual or a religious ceremony may contact the Macalester Chaplain to request an exemption for that specific activity. (Amended October 2019)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Adherence to the policy cited above is the responsibility of all faculty, staff, employees, and students. Contractors, to the extent that it does not conflict with existing labor-management collective bargaining agreements, and visitors must also comply with this policy while on Macalester College campus property, either leased or owned. Violation of this policy by faculty or staff will be addressed by the appropriate supervisor, Employment Services, and/or the Provost. Violation of this policy by students will be addressed in accordance with the student conduct process.