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(04/11/12 7:44pm)
The faculty and staff at Mercer University have the opportunity to take part in a Healthy U program. The Healthy U program is an incentive, point based program in which the employees are rewarded with points that are kept up through the course of the year.
The employees are able to pick between two different incentive tracks. One track allows for the employee to have two days off from work. The other track can earn an employee a possible $500 credit on their Mercer health care plan.
In order for the employee to be qualified to get the two days off they must receive a total of at least 960 points over the year. The amount of points needed to receive the credit on the employee’s health care plan is 600-1,000.
Employees are able to receive these Healthy U points by going to the University Center and working out. An employee gets five points for working out on their own in the gym and seven for going to a group fitness class.
Melissa Mashburn, who has been participating in the Healthy U program since it began in the summer of 2011, said, “I have found the Healthy U program to be a great way to keep myself going to the gym. Having classes that are spread out during the day also really helps employees with different schedules be able to attend the classes that works best for them.”
The University Center has group fitness classes Monday through Friday. The classes that are currently offered are: Complete Cardio, Body Combat, Zumba, Body Sculpt, Aqua Aerobics, Strength and Conditioning, Kickboxing and Yoga.
Jennifer Tillery, who works in the Tarver Library, said, “I am someone who works out regularly and the Healthy U program has helped me on those days when I don’t feel like walking up those steps to the gym. Knowing that I can earn points towards having a day off really helps me get to the gym on those days.”
The classes are designed to help promote a healthy lifestyle for employees. The focus is on physical and mental health. The program promotes shedding pounds but also deals in areas of stress relief.
Businesses use incentive based programs for their employees in hopes of cutting down the costs of health insurance. Programs like these allow for companies to increase productivity because their employees are healthier and miss fewer days of work.
Employee Wellness director Rachel Long said, “Almost all companies who have more than 1,000 employees have wellness or some form of a wellness program.”
“Companies are seeing health insurance rates go up by six to seven percent every year and these are unsustainable rates. Which is why so many companies have been creating wellness programs to attempt to offset those costs,” said Long.
Health incentive programs are becoming a popular trend among many companies, but getting the employees to take part can prove to be a challenge for any company. On average companies often only get 25% of employees to participate.
Even when there are high incentives, getting people to take part in the program is difficult to do. Some universities offer their employees and their families up to $600 just for participating in the programs and don’t have to even meet requirements, but even these programs have a hard time bringing in participants.
As a result of this trend there have been companies who have tried having health standards that employees must meet. This has resulted in some lawsuits due to lifestyle laws. These lifestyle laws can protect people’s rights by claiming that what a person does outside of work is their own business. If they want to smoke cigarettes that is their choice.
Not all states have the same lifestyle laws. Georgia, for example, does not have a law that would prohibit a health standard from being created for a company. Mercer, however, has no plans to implement such a requirement. Mercer believes in encouraging good health habits but not forcing them onto their employees.
On April 27 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. the school will be having its annual Benefits Fair. This allows for a time in which the employees can look at their current health and insurance plan and make adjustments according to what they want. Vendors who are associated with Mercer will also be at the fair.
Employee Wellness will be offering health screenings, blood pressure, glucose, body mass index and body fat testing. Speakers will also be doing 15-20 minutes speeches on different health topics. A stress clinic and CPR training through Middle Georgia Ambulance will be provided as well.
The conference is meant to be an interactive and informative experience for the employees. Lunch will be provided and employees can stop by at anytime during the fair. The fair is reserved mainly for employees because it is for the open enrollment of employees.
Students will have the opportunity to volunteer at the fair for Employee Wellness.
Any student who is interested in volunteering for the fair can contact Rachel Long at Employee Wellness to find out out how they can serve.
(03/14/12 8:49pm)
Gyms should be well-maintained, and I think that statement applies to college gyms as well. All gyms have certain unwritten rules that people expect them to uphold, such as a clean, friendly environment, and functioning equipment.
If you go into the gym at Mercer you will see problems you wouldn’t find at most gyms — at least not for months at a time. There are multiple machines that are broken, missing equipment for weights, etc.
This proves to be a problem when attempting to perform certain workouts.
When I go into the gym I do not have the highest standards in the world, I simply expect a gym to have the basics. By basics I mean functioning equipment and having the proper equipment for machines.
The message that is sent by having a poor setup in the gym demonstrates that health and fitness is something that seems to not be important to the university. If a school is going to stress the importance of an education, why not also put the same emphasis on taking care of yourself?
The expectations that a university should have for itself in regards to a wellness center should be one of high standards. However, when I walk into the gym here on campus, the only feeling that I experience is one of deep sadness.
The amount of machines that are currently out of order is far from acceptable. The universal cable machine that we have is missing multiple attachments, and because of that, limits the amount of exercises that you should be able to do on it.
We are already lacking a regular squat rack — which you can find in most high schools — and many of the benches in the weight room are wobbly or uneven. That is not only irritating but could also lead to injury.
I’m not the only one who seems to notice these problems.
Jeff Clark, a senior, who uses the gym nearly everyday said, “The staff are slow at fixing the equipment and do a poor job of maintaining it. Even the basketball court could be better maintained.”
Sophomore Tanner Thompson said “My biggest issue is that when something breaks they don’t fix it. I want to do certain workouts and when something I need breaks, I need it replaced.”
When dealing with the average person, the gym may seem to be adequate, but how often are “average” gym users at the gym? I routinely see the same people at the gym and that is not a coincidence.
The people who workout consistently are those who need more equipment than others. If the gym was used heavily by all students on campus there would be a huge issue in regards to the amount of cardio machines, considering that there are already a few that are broken.
The amount of displeasure by the consistent users should be enough for the school to allow for a larger amount of funding to go towards the gym.
Senior Vanessa Breslin said, “I want to be able to do squats but because there isn’t a squat rack I am out of luck. Even the mats that we currently have are old and need to be replaced.”
There was an instance last spring where part of the cable machine broke in April, and was left without being repaired until August. That is far too long of a time span to allow for something to go unattended.
Sophomore Greg Kilby said, “Most of the equipment in the gym is old and worn down and that even includes basketballs. When I go down to play basketball I want to be able to use a ball that is not from the 1940’s.”
I expect a gym to be kept clean and organized, but that is not the case with Mercer’s gym. Almost no one wipes down their equipment, the staff only occasionally does it, and the towels that are put out for people to wipe down their equipment are rarely changed out.
All of these things combine for a gym that feels dirty and unkempt.
Senior Dave Barton said, “When I go into the gym I expect to be able to use the variety of the equipment that they have, but because things are so often broken I can’t do many of the exercises that I am accustomed to doing.”
The school needs to take note of the complaints that students have about the current state of the gym.
The gym is part of the university and needs the proper funding in order for it to run effectively. When something breaks it shouldn’t be five months before we see it replaced.
As stated before, the school has shown a priority to advancing students’ education here at Mercer. The same should be said about the health and wellness.
The director for Employee Wellness, Rachel May, has done a great job of putting together a program for employees that not only creates a better awareness of the importance of personal health but also creates motivation for the employees.
A program like that for students would not only increase knowledge and the overall health of the students on campus, but also give the gym the attention it needs to be better maintained.
Comments or questions about this opinion can be sent to bradley.almand@live.mercer.edu
(02/22/12 9:44pm)
The game between the Hawks and Lakers begins a five-game road stretch (none of which are easy) for the Atlanta squad who have been slipping away from their aggressive style of play. This trend of roller coaster play from the Hawks is not something new.The Hawks have historically been a team that you can’t trust to win, or even lose for that matter. There are nights when the Hawks will show up and look like one of the best teams in the league, and on other nights they look like a mediocre high school squad. The excuse that I hear most often is that this play is caused in part by the ownership and management, and while that may have a part in it, there seems to be more factors at play. I understand that poor ownership can be a tough thing to deal with, but these are professional athletes who are being paid to put forth their best efforts. Effort is a concept that the Hawks have yet to understand, at least consistently. Part of the problem is that there is a lack of intense fan and media scrutiny on this team, unlike the teams in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, or even Chicago. When these teams do poorly there is a lot of pressure on them to get back on track and figure out a way to win. This doesn’t happen with the Hawks. Why? The city of Atlanta in general has had a historically terrible fan base. Last year, the Hawks ranked 22nd in attendance in the league. A team with a winning record and that has been to the playoffs for four-straight years and reached the second round three of those seasons, can’t even crack the top 15 in attendance. So, why put forth any effort when you don’t have masses of angry sports writers and fans holding you accountable? This seems to have become the cornerstone of Hawks basketball, a great team without a heart.They have all the potential in the world, but seem hesitant to use it. It’s like the smartest kids in school who never apply themselves and don’t reach their full potential. They do fine in the easy courses (teams like Charlotte, Washington, Toronto, etc.), but when it comes to the hard science courses (Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles), they give up at the first sign of difficulty. This leaves us with a team that could be so great, and yet instead chooses to be the most inconsistent team in basketball. The proof is in the numbers. When you have a talented team that is only reaching the second round of the playoffs each time, it shows that something is awry. The Hawks don’t need a superstar player to carry them through the playoffs. They have a very solid team with many interchangeable parts. The only thing this team needs is to take a page out of Michael Jordan’s book and, “play every game like it’s your last.”