West Virginia University is working to support a healthier, happier community by coordinating University-wide wellness initiatives including work with Blue Zones Project in an effort to become the world's first Blue Zones Certified University.
Blue Zones Project representatives will return to campus next week to provide key leaders with a detailed, executive summary of their assessment findings from visits to WVU during fall 2018. The WVU Office of Health Promotion and Wellness will take these findings and partner with the City of Morgantown to determine priority areas and assess funding mechanisms for the next phases of the Blue Zones Certification process.
If the assessment report finds WVU and Morgantown to be ready to move forward, a detailed presentation outlining recommendations and next steps will be offered to the WVU community this spring.
The Office of Health Promotion and Wellness is connecting campus partners in an effort to ensure wellness offerings are visible and strategically aligned.
“By leveraging existing resources on campus, we can build our capacity to provide wellness programs and services. Our goal is to inform faculty, staff, and students of the practical tools and accessible opportunities WVU offers to help prevent and combat health-related issues,” Tara Hulsey, vice president for health promotion and wellness and Dean of Nursing, said.
Blue Zones Project is a community-based initiative designed to help citizens live longer, happier lives by transforming areas where they live, work, and play.
The Office of Health Promotion and Wellness is currently working with its partners to create an inventory of related programs and communications in order to identify programming gaps and strategically plan ways to ensure health and wellness resources are effectively shared. The network of partners includes Student Health, Student Government Association, WVU Extension, WVU Medicine Wellness Center, and several Student Life departments and affiliates, such as Campus Recreation, WellWVU, the Carruth Center and WVU Collegiate Recovery Program.