University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

UND recognized as an American Heart Association Start! Fit-Friendly Company

UND has been recognized as a platinum-level Start! Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association’s Start! initiative for helping employees eat better and move more. This is the fourth year that UND has received top honors for this national award.

“Employee wellness is an important priority at UND. We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association’s Start! movement as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company,” said President Robert O. Kelley. “We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible. This will benefit our employees’ health and produce even more positive results for our company overall.”

Platinum-level employers:

  • Offer employees physical activity programs
  • Provide nutrition information
  • Promote a wellness culture in the workplace
  • Implement at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture
  • Demonstrate measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness

American employers face increasing healthcare expenses and health-related losses in productivity that cost an estimated $225.8 billion a year. Many American adults spend most of their waking hours at sedentary jobs. Their lack of regular physical activity raises their risk for a host of medical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone. Start! helps change corporate cultures by motivating employees to start walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity.

The Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping companies make their employees’ health and wellness a priority. “The Program provides employers the opportunity to develop and implement best practices in worksite wellness,” said Kim Ruliffson, coordinator of the worksite wellness program, Work Well. “UND’s leaders have been modeling healthy behavior by hosting Walk with the Kelleys and Ski with the Kelleys. Other campus leaders have followed suit, such as Jogging with Josh (Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences), Dining Services hosting a wellness retreat, staff member Kay Williams providing stretching program for co-workers at the Human Nutrition Research Center, Lesli Riskey leading a walking program at the Airport, and Tanya Butler, staff member starting Weight Watchers at Work on campus. It takes multiple teammates and departmental ambassadors to provide opportunities and accountability so that we make time at work to take care of ourselves to be present to the tasks at hand.”

For more information about the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program and how it is helping to improve the health of Americans by focusing on an activity that is convenient, free and easy, call 1-800-437-9710 or visit startwalkingnow.org or contact Joan Enderle at: joan.enderle@heart.org.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or join us, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or any of our offices around the country, or visit heart.org.

— Erin Dickson, coordinator of communications, Health and Wellness, 777-0232, erin.dickson@email.und.edu.