Swarthmore College
PAE-T2-5: Employee Wellness Program

Swarthmore College has numerous wellness initiatives to benefit its faculty and staff. Carebridge is the College’s Employee Assistance Program which provides confidential consultation and referral services to help benefit eligible employees and their families. The Carebridge Program includes: * Work-Life * Child Care * Eldercare * Personal Financial Concerns * Relocation Guidance * Time Management * Parenting/Schooling Issues * Continuing Education Plan * Employee Assistance * Marital Relationships * Alcohol and Drug Problems * Family/Parenting Relationships * Grief and loss * Financial Pressures * Difficult Emotional Issues The Wellness Group for Staff and Faculty has been in existence since the Spring of 2001. The primary focus of the Group is to raise awareness and exposure of the Swarthmore College community to various wellness topics of interests. The Wellness Group is accomplishing this goal through the presentation of wellness seminars and mini-series; the sponsorship of on-going employee paid programs, like Qi Gong, Yoga, and Pilates; Zumba and Wellness Walking trails. Swarthmore currently sponsors Weight Watchers at Work for healthy weight management as well as Naturally Slim, a weight loss and metabolic reduction program. Employees have access to the College’s fitness facility and swimming pool for personal exercise. The Wellness Group has a wellness partnership with the College and Independence Blue Cross to help employees take advantage of the Healthy Lifestyles programs Independence Blue Cross has to offer. Up to $150 reimbursement on fitness center fees. Up to $200 reimbursement for successfully completing a smoking cessation program. Up to $200 back for the cost of a weight management program. $25 back for each bike helmet you purchase for yourself or a family member. Up to $25 back for successfully completing an authorized CPR or first aid course. Six nutrition counseling visits per year at no additional cost. The Wellness Group sponsors an Incentive Program to encourage faculty and staff to engage in wellness activities. Participants log their hours of wellness activities during three wellness seasons – fall, spring and summer. If the participant logs 30 or more hours, they receive a wellness gift. For those logging more than 60 hours, they go into a drawing of like qualifiers and the winner receives a gift certificate for $100 to spend on wellness related goods or services. The winner shares his or her “wellness journey” in the HR newsletter. Each year Swarthmore College conducts a Wellness Fair with opportunities for blood pressure monitoring, biometric screenings, flu shots and wellness education. Swarthmore College has a commitment to employee wellness and plans to enrich and expand its programming in 2013. Summer Schedule: The College offers departments the opportunity to work a flexible summer schedule for 10 weeks from June through the second week of August. The most widely used schedule is as follows: 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. - Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to noon – Friday Some departments work different variations of this schedule.