PFW Wellness
What Is WellnessWellness is a state of being. In short, it is the capacity of living life to its fullest. It's having the personal energy needed to look and feel well, fulfilling responsibilities, effectively handling emergencies and actively pursuing social, economic, cultural, and recreational interests. Wellness involves adopting a sense of balance in one's life. The six dimensions of personal wellness are:
Physical
Do you get enough exercise? Eat a balanced diet? Do you practice safe driving and medical self-care? Do you avoid the use of tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol consumption? Taking good care of your body will repay you with years of good service.
Social
How satisfying are your relationships with your spouse, your family, your friends, and associates? Are you active in community affairs? Do you contribute to protecting the environment by conserving and recycling? Social wellness is based on your ability to interact harmoniously with people and the Earth.
Emotional
Are you able to recognize and accept your feelings, your strengths, and your limitations? Can you manage your emotions and cope with stressful events? Emotional wellness allows you to experience life's ups and downs with enthusiasm and grace and maintain satisfying relationships with others.
Intellectual
Do you feel creatively and mentally challenged? Are you continually seeking to expand your knowledge and skills? An intellectually well person uses available resources to expand knowledge, improve skills and to increase the potential for sharing with others.
Spiritual
Do you have an appreciation for the meaning of life and the expanse of nature? Are you at peace with your place in the universe? Do you have a set of beliefs and values that give purpose to your life? Spiritual wellness involves developing a strong sense of personal values and ethics.
Occupational
Do you find your work satisfying? Do you have a balance between your work and leisure time? Do you enjoy new responsibilities and look forward to achieving better results? Your attitudes about your work can greatly affect your job performance and interactions with co-workers.
Credit: National Wellness Institute, Stevens Point, Wisconsin
A lack of wellness is so often the root of many common problems, such as a lack of energy, looking and feeling out of shape, difficulty coping with daily pressures, diminished work performance, and frequent emotional upsets. Over time, a lack of wellness leads to a decrease in the efficiency of critical body functions, therefore increasing the risk of major diseases and illnesses.
PFW Athletics Center
The sports center provides a safe site for people to achieve and maintain a healthy physical fitness status and receive wellness information. The facility features a multi-purpose gymnasium, 1/8 of a mile 6 lane indoor track, 1/9 mile 2 lane indoor track, basketball courts, volleyball courts, two racquetball/handball courts, fitness studio, strength training areas, and cardiovascular training areas, free initial fitness/nutrition consultations, personal training, and fitness classes. It is staffed by certified health/fitness instructors, personal trainers, fitness instructors, registered dietitians, and students. Memberships are available for PFW students, faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, and their family members. Contact the customer service desk at 260-481-6655 or go to www.pfw.edu/fitnessfor more information.
PFW Center For Healthy Living: Campus Clinic and Wellness Programs
The campus clinic is a nurse managed clinic staffed by nationally certified family nurse practitioners, nurses, a dietitian, and a certified medical assistant. They are available to assess/diagnose, treat, complete lab work, provide immunizations, monitor, speak to classes, and promote healthy living. There hours are Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. For more information visit them at PFW Walb Student Union, Room 234, call 260-481-5748 or go to www.pfw.edu/clinic.
PFW Employee Health and Fitness Program
This program provides PFW employees, retirees, and their spouses/same sex domestic partners personal health and physical fitness attention and incentives to promote achievement and maintenance of a healthy body and improved total wellness. Various presentations, seminars, and workshops are available throughout the year (i.e. nutrition education, beginning an exercise program, strength training, stress management, alcohol abuse awareness/ prevention, tobacco use prevention/cessation, weight management, women's self-care, men's self-care, low back care, heart health, cancer prevention, effective communications, etc.) These are provided to departments, classes, groups, and organizations. To schedule a program, contact the Wellness/Fitness Coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/health.
Benefits:
- Semester and summer health and fitness programs
- Discounted fitness membership at the PFW Athletics Center
- Free fitness assessment and personal workout guidelines
- Free or discounted health screenings
- Free flu shots
- Free wellness/fitness information
- Free Tobacco cessation assistance
- Monthly wellness calendar and newsletter
- Motivational e-mail messages
- Incentive gifts for accomplishments
- Physical fitness and food diaries
PFW Student Health and Fitness Program
This program provides PFW students personal health and physical fitness attention and incentives to promote achievement and maintenance of a healthy body and improved total wellness. Various presentations are available to classes and groups throughout the year like Wellness 101, Under Pressure, Get Fit, Nutrition and You, Perfect Your Party Skills, and Positive Bystander. To register contact the Wellness/Fitness Coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/health.
- PFW Student Wellness Peer Education Program
- Fitness membership at the PFW Athletics Center
- Health and wellness class presentations, as desired
- Free or discounted health screenings
- Free Tobacco cessation assistance
- Free or discounted lab tests
- Annual health education/awareness events like Mental Health Day in October, National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week activities in October, Great American Smokeout "Stop Smoking" Block Party in November
- National Eating Disorder Awareness week activities, last week in February, and Annual health fair in March
- Free fitness assessment and personal workout guidelines, as desired
- Free or discounted health screenings
- Free wellness/fitness information and referrals
Physical Fitness Services, Intramurals, and Fitness Classes
Certified health and fitness professionals are on staff at the PFW Athletics Center to offer the campus community and sports center members “getting started” fitness consultations, nutrition consultations, personal training, physical fitness assessments, workout guidelines, resources, and support to promote better energy, strength, and endurance for disease prevention and improved overall health. Personal trainers can be hired at a reasonable fee to assist with long term enjoyment and commitment to a fitness program. Contact the wellness/fitness coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/fitness.
Intramural sporting events and fitness classes are available throughout the school year for PFW students and employees.
A wide variety of fitness classes like Mid Day Yoga Stress Break, Dyno Mix Fitness, and Stretch and Strength are offered through Continuing Studies (481-6619), www.pfw.edu/dcs. All classes are taught by certified and experienced instructors from the Fort Wayne community. Registration is run through Continuing Studies, Kettler Hall, room 139
PFW Mind and Body Workout
This televised exercise program is produced through CATV(College Access Television) which is Comcast channel 5 and Frontier FIOS channel 30. The broadcast is Monday thru Friday at 8:00 am. This 30 minute program is geared toward the beginner to advanced fitness levels, providing a variety of workouts.
On Going Awareness/Education Strategies
Ongoing education/awareness information is provided by the PFW health and wellness staff thru the wellness web page, fitness web page, Facebook, handouts on racks, display windows, and bulletin boards located in most buildings.
Personal Mental Health Services for PFW Students
Personal mental health counselors are available free for all students. Major areas of assistance are: depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, marital/relationship difficulties and low self-esteem. Sessions are scheduled through the PFW/Parkview Student Assistance Program located at the Office of the Dean of Students, Walb Student Union, Room 113. To schedule an appointment call (260) 266-8060. For information go to www.pfw.edu/counseling. There is no charge for this service!
This complimentary service is available for PFW benefitted employees and their family members through William C Weber and Associates, Inc. They provide confidential counseling on health issues such as smoking, substance abuse, addictions, stress management, family conflict, parenting and much more. Call1-800-729-3971 for more information.
Health Screenings
Various health screenings are scheduled throughout each semester. The topics include depression, eating disorders, alcohol, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, blood health profile, body fat, physical fitness, bone density, and nutrition. Contact the wellness/fitness coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/health for details.
Flu Shot Day
Flu shots are offered annually in the fall to promote decreased risk of sickness and absence from work.
Tobacco Use Prevention/Cessation Programs and Services
The ongoing interventions are designed to help tobacco users think more about quitting, assist individual who are ready to quit,, help non smokers stay quit, promote a healthy PFW campus environment. “Freedom From Smoking” classes, 1:1 consultations, interventions at PFW Dental Clinic, interventions at PFW/Parkview Health and Wellness Clinic, ongoing awareness/education strategies, and special events like to Great American Smokeout “stop smoking” Block Party are available to the campus community
PFW partners with Tobacco Free Allen County, Parkview Community Nursing, and American Cancer Society to provide the events. For more information contact Wellness/Fitness Coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/health
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention/Cessation Programs and Services
The ongoing interventions are designed to help individuals think more about not abusing alcohol or other substances, assist individuals who are ready to stop abusing alcohol or other substances, help non abusers stay free of substance abuse, and promote a healthy PFW campus environment. Group/class presentations, interventions at PFW /Parkview Student Assistance Program, interventions at PFW/Parkview Health and Wellness Clinic, interventions at PFW Community Counseling Center, ongoing awareness/education strategies, and special events like National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, PFW Health Fair, and PFW Alcohol Awareness Day are available to the campus community
PFW Special Health Events
Special health education/awareness events are offered throughout the year like Mental Health Day, Diabetes Awareness Day, Great American Smokeout Block Party, Annual Health Fair, and Alcohol Awareness Day, and National Employee Health and Fitness Day. The annual PFW Health Fair provides the PFW campus community and general public wellness awareness, education, screening, learning activities, and resources on a variety of topics. Over 80 campuses and off campus organizations offer a health screening or educational table area. Contact the wellness/fitness coordinator at 260-481-6647 or go to www.pfw.edu/health.
PFW Mastodon Stomp
The 5 km walk, 5 km run, and 1 mile kids run provide a motivational, fun fitness event as an PFW cross-country and track program fund raiser for people of all ages and abilities. PFW collaborates with Fort Wayne Track Club to offer this event. Contact the wellness/fitness coordinator at 260-481-6647 for more details.
Health Councils and Committees
PFW Wellness Council - Chair--Eric Manor (260) 481-6647
PFW Advisory Committee on the Aging and the Aged - Chair-
PFW Biological Hazards Committee- Chair - Frank Paladino 260-481-6304
PFW Campus Safety Committee - Chair-
Conclusion
Personal wellness is a dynamic state. Everyone is encouraged to seek lifestyle choices for health promotion, disease prevention, and health care savings. The wellness programs and services provided by PFW are opportunities for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities to support short and long term health and wellness goals.
If there are topics or concerns not addressed, please contact the fitness/wellness coordinator (260) 481-6647. Perhaps a service or program could be tailor made to meet your needs.