Goal 3: Well-being Strategic Plan

Develop an upstream well-being approach focused on education and prevention to decrease high risk behaviors and improve supports to allow people to achieve their full health potential.

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  • 3.1 Health Promotion Department

    Re-organize programs within Recreation and Wellness to have a stand-alone Health Promotion Department that includes wellness programs and services (Promote Assistant Director Wellness to Director Health Promotion), wellness graduation requirement (Manager Health Education and Wellness), employee wellness, Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (Coordinator for Sexual Misconduct Education and Prevention), and proposed employee clinic. Health Promotion Department will report to the AVP Health and Well-being.

    Complete – Health Promotion department established and created on July 1, 2018. Health Promotion Department includes wellness programs and services, wellness graduation requirement, employee wellness, and Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. Assistant Director Wellness has been promoted to Director Health Promotion.

  • 3.2 Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

    Create a Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. Hire a Sexual Misconduct Education & Prevention Coordinator responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating education and awareness programs to prevent sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking.  The Center under the leadership of the Coordinator will lead campus efforts to define, execute, and assess a campus-wide sexual misconduct prevention plan which successfully targets the reduction of sexual violence and the promotion of healthy behaviors and relationships. The Coordinator will develop and sustain collaborative partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in an effort to streamline all education and awareness programs.

    Complete - Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response was established in spring 2017 with a full-time Coordinator for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response starting in May 2017. Secured partnership with Safe Harbor, a local advocacy center for victims of sexual and domestic violence, to provide on campus the services of a survivor advocate, a confidential independent resource who can assist students in accessing on-campus and local resources. Collaboration for Greater Richmond Regional Hotline to be the main 24/7 number. The Greater Richmond Regional Hotline number is listed on website as the main number for sexual misconduct and support. The President’s Advisory Committee for Sexual Violence Prevention and Response (PAC) report completed in summer 2018 will be used as a strategic plan for the Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response.

  • 3.3 CAPS Psychologist

    Add additional full-time CAPS staff member to provide full-time services to reduce waiting list. CAPS saw an unprecedented 28% increase in the number of UR students seeking services during 2015-16. Reduced stigma and increasing willingness to seek mental health services seem the primary drivers of this increase. Increasing overall stress along with less-well-developed resiliency & interpersonal skills are additional factors. Waiting lists are particularly discouraging to young adults who have gotten up the courage to ask for help (and are often still ambivalent).

    Complete – CAPS Psychologist position hired 2017.

  • 3.4 CAPS Sports Psychologist

    Add a Clinical Sports Psychologist position that is shared between Counseling and Psychological Services and Athletics. This new position will allow both Athletics and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) additional resources to meet the critical demand for mental health care for University of Richmond Students and Student-Athletes. There has been a documented increase in mental health concerns among college students. This trend has not just been mirrored, but magnified for student-athlete (SAs) due to the additional stressors of participating in intercollegiate athletics.

    Complete - December 2018 submitted a planning and priorities request for a Sports Psychologist shared position with CAPS and Athletics. This new position will allow both Athletics and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) additional resources to meet the critical demand for mental health care for University of Richmond Students and Student-Athletes. Position approved spring 2019 as a 2 year term with plans to recruit and hire with starting date July 1, 2019.  Outcome of Health Services Review approved this 10 month position and an additional Counselor.

  • 3.5 Behavior Health Specialist*

    Hire full-time licensed clinical psychologist with specific training in behavioral medicine to serve as the Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) at the Student Health Center. Many medical conditions have significant psychological components.

    Pending – Over the past several years SHC leadership has changed direction on this initiative.  With new leadership we are now recommending CAPS re-allocate an existing Counselors role to schedule a Counselor/Psychiatrist in the SHC clinic for walk-in care and /or psychiatrist services for direct SHC referral/ consult.  during agreed upon days and hours beginning fall 2022.   

  • 3.6 Registered Dietician

    Increase efforts to promote healthy eating and good nutrition, including having a demonstration kitchen in the proposed well-being facility, more nutrition outreach programs, and more student engagement with a Dietician or Nutritionist.

    Complete – Dining Services has offered to fund this position provided Health and Well-being cover programming budget.  Position will report to dining Services with a dotted line to Director of Health Promotion and an office in the new Well-being Center and responsibilities to include nutrition education and outreach programs and oversight of the demonstration kitchen.  Position hired and started in fall 2020.

  • 3.7 Disabilities Office Integrated/Dedicated

    A dedicated office of disabilities may significantly reduce the workload for health care providers in CAPS and SHC. An outcome and recommendation from the yearlong disabilities study included “The University should consider a separate Disability Services Office within academic services to coordinate academic and housing accommodations for students.

    Complete – Spring 2019 Planning and Priorities approved a new position for Director of Disabilities that will oversee a new Disabilities Services Office.  Position was put on hold to allow time for the University to conduct an external review of all health care services.  Outcome of the external review included recommendation that the new Director of Disability Services report to Associate Vice President for Health and Well-being.  Emily Helft was hired in May as the new Director of Disability Services and Julia Kelly, Assistant to the VP for Student Develop, will be providing administrative support with all offices located in the THC. 

  • 3.8 Case Management

    Over a three year period 40 (68%) of students that withdrew and returned to UR did not graduate. Three year goal for case management will be to work with these fragile students as they transition back to college to reduce the number of students not graduating by 25% and save at least 10 of these students over a three year period. See addendum D for additional details.

    Complete – A Coordination of Care pilot program was launched in fall 2019 with numerous representatives from various departments in Student Development.  Because of the low number of referrals the pilot will not be continued and alternative strategies considered. 

  • 3.9 Wellness Coaches

    Wellness coaching is a holistic approach to examining how personal wellness interacts with one’s values, goals and motivations to develop meaningful coaching sessions. The Manager of Health Education and Wellness has collaborated with CAPS, SHC, and Academic Skills Center for a pilot program whereby a student may be referred for wellness coaching.

    Complete – Various staff in Student Development have been trained and certified as wellness coaches and are currently available for students and employees. Assistant Director Recreation and Wellness has successfully launched employee wellness coaching. Manager of Health Education and Wellness has collaborated with CAPS, SHC, and Academic Skills Center for a pilot program for students to be referred for wellness coaching, but apparently there have been no referrals this semester. Manager of Health Education and Wellness will work with other departments to develop strategies to increase number of student referrals. We need to continue to improve our efforts to communicate this services and refer students and employees to these coaches.

  • 3.10 Smoke Free Campus

    There are now at least 1,757 100% smoke free campus sites. Of these, 1,468 are also 100% tobacco-free, 1,331 also prohibit e-cigarette use, 652 also prohibit hookah use, and 109 also prohibit smoking/vaping marijuana. Recommend University of Richmond adopt a smoke free campus policy similar to Emory.

    Progress – A comprehensive implementation plan and timeline has been developed that includes convening a working group of key stakeholders, meeting with campus groups to inform and educate them and seek input, and to further develop and implement the potential rollout for the tobacco free campus initiative.  All action items have been completed, however progress has been delayed due to COVID-19 taking priority.

  • 3.11 Step Care Program

    Stepped care is an increasingly popular treatment model for common mental health disorders, given the large discrepancy between the demand and supply of healthcare service available. Stepped Care is a system of delivering and monitoring treatments, so that the most effective yet least resource intensive, treatment is delivered to patients first; only ‘stepping up’ to intensive/specialist services as clinically required.

    Complete – Preliminary research has been completed and a written executive summary of findings.  Draft of a UR Stepped Care model has been developed and a list of preliminary resources and programs for each of the steps.  CAPS piloted a Step Care program internally during fall 2019.  Plans finalized and a colorful brochure designed and being distributed and external Community of Stepped Care model formally launched in August 2021.

  • 3.12 Pet Therapy* (New 2018)

    Study best practices and make a recommendation for how to best incorporate pet therapy into the well-being initiative and perhaps to Well-being Center.

    Complete – In fall 2019 the President’s Cabinet gave approval for HWB to proceed with plans for a Facility Dog in the new Well-Being Center.  Kathy Harvel, a SHC Registered Nurse, and her dog Emmett were identified as the perfect handler and dog for this initiative.  Emmett has completed service dog training and working on his Facility dog training and certifications and started working eight hours a day, five days a week in the Well-Being Center since the opening.  Emmett has been very popular on campus and exceeded all expectations.