WellNYS Everyday Overview

“Making better choices to be well and stay well”

In 2014, a new, exciting, and easy-to-implement wellness initiativewill be available for all NYS employees called WellNYS Everyday.

  • The mission of WellNYS Everyday is to educate, engage, and empower New York State employees and their families, by encouraging participation in healthy behaviors.
  • The visionof WellNYS Everyday is to increase the number of state employees who choose to eat healthier and become more physically active.

WellNYS Everydayis designed to complement and assistlocal EAP committees with wellness programming. It is ready-to-implement, and designed to minimize the time the EAP committees need to organize individual wellness programs. Most of the work has already been done; the WellNYS Ambassador simply needs to promote it and reward the employees who participate. WellNYS Everyday has been designed so that all agencies, facilities, and SUNYs can participate in the program. The website is nearing completion and will go live on December 1. The link to WellNYS Everydayis

WellNYS Everydayconsists of the following:

  • WellNYSEverydayTip for the Day - everyday a new tip will be displayed on the home page
  • NYS Workplace Walking Maps - a listing of walking maps for NYS Workplaces
  • Eating for Your Health - weekly recipes, monthly themes, food tips, and information
  • Physical Activitiesaround NYS - listing of walking, running, cycling, or hiking events, etc.
  • WellNYS Everyday Ambassadors – Find a WellNYS EverydayAmbassador at your agency/facility/SUNY
  • I Did It! - success stories from participants; employees can nominate themselves or others to be recognized for making better wellness choices, or by participating in an event like a walkathon, bike ride, road race, or weight loss challenge
  • WellNYS in the Workplace – ideas how to engage in healthy behaviors while in NYS workplaces.
  • Olympic Experience 2014isa program that encourages state employees and their families to participate in one healthy behavior each day during the summer and winter Olympics. EAP sponsored the WellNYS Everyday Olympic Experience in the summer of 2012, and over 3,000 NYS employees and their families participated. The next Olympic Experience will be held during the 16 days of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Employees and their families are encouraged to register to participate on the WellNYS Everyday website. Complete 10 days and receive a bronze certificate, 12 days and receive a silver certificate, or complete all 16 days and receive a gold certificate
  • Monthly Behavior Challenges. Employees and family members will be encouraged to register and track a different healthy behavior each month on the WellNYS Everyday website. If they participate for a minimum of 21 days, they will receive a completion award. The Monthly Behavior Challenge will start in March 2014, immediately following the Olympic Experience of 2014.

How canWellNYS Everyday be implemented in the workplace?

Agencies/facilities/SUNYs are encouraged to officially sign up for WellNYS Everyday by signing the commitment letter,and identifying a WellNYS Everyday Ambassador by November 15, 2013.

  • The Ambassador will promote the program, and distribute awards to employees.
  • The Ambassador is available to provide support and motivation to employees and can personalize the program to meet the needs of their workplace and employees.
  • If the local EAP coordinator is able to take on additional responsibility, the coordinator may serve as the Ambassador; otherwise, the agency/facility/SUNY is encouraged to select another employee to serve as the Ambassador.
  • Ambassadors will receive a WellNYS Everyday Ambassador Tool Kit Tote bag. Each bag will include: WellNYS Everyday Ambassador pad folio to organize paperwork, participation wristbands for Olympic Experience and Monthly Challenges, gold medal Olympic commemorative pins, Monthly Challenge buttons, and promotional posters and bookmarks
  • The time commitment is expected to be no more than 2 – 3 hours per week,at the beginning and atthe end of the month.
  • Ambassadors will have administrative access to the website to identify participants and determine which participants will receive completion awards from their agency/facility/SUNY.
  • It is helpful if the Ambassador can arrange for a “meet and greet,” or a place where employees can pick up participation wristbands and completion awards after each program.
  • A monthly conference call will provide the Ambassadors with current information.

If an agency/facility/SUNY does not choose an Ambassador for WellNYS Everyday, the employees who work there will still be able to participate in the WellNYS Everyday programs; however, there will be no mechanism for distributing the wrist bands and completion awardsto them.

If there are any questions, please contact Linda Carignan at , (518) 474-1841, or Beth Brumaghim at , (518) 473-4018.

WellNYS Everyday

Commitment Letter

Our Agency/Facility/SUNY is interested in participating in WellNYS Everyday. With this commitment we have chosen a WellNYS Ambassador.

Agency/Facility/SUNY information

Name:

Work Location:

City, State, Zip:

Director of Human Resources or Superintendent Name:

Number of employees this program will be promoted to:

WellNYS Ambassador information

Name:

Title:

Work Address:

City, State, Zip:

Email Address:

Phone number:

Is the Ambassador a: (please circle)

  1. EAP coordinatorB. EAP ChairpersonC. EAP committee memberD. Other

Please send this form to Linda Carignan, EAP Wellness Coordinator by November 15, 2013.

  • Email:
  • Fax: (518) 486-9796
  • Mail: Linda Carignan, NYS Employee Assistance Program, 55 Elk Street, Suite 301A, Albany, NY 12210