Pathways to Wellness: 2020 Health and Wellness Expo

Wellness isn’t a singular or linear journey. Instead, there are various paths that one can take to improve and manage different aspects of life. The 2020 health and wellness expo hosted by the Office of Human Resources will provide faculty and staff with information and resources to manage and maintain their physical, emotional, mental and financial health.

Pathways to Wellness will take place Nov. 9 through Nov. 13 and will include webinars with benefits experts and virtual activities to get employees moving more, eating healthy and taking time for rest and meditation.

“Our goal for this year’s expo is to move beyond a one-day event and instead offer week-long programming that introduces or re-introduces faculty and staff to the various benefits available,” says Zenobia Hargust, M.S., SPHR, chief human resources officer. “The virtual sessions will be led by  experts who will offer information and resources for physical, mental and emotional health, along with financial planning information that is related to the University’s benefit offerings for 2021.”

Some of the events include a virtual cooking demonstration, chair yoga, meditation sessions and a financial planning webinar hosted by TIAA. Pre-registration is required for certain sessions. 

The annual health and wellness expo kicks off the University’s open enrollment season. This year open enrollment begins Nov. 9 and ends on Nov. 20. New benefit offerings for the upcoming year include:

• A new vision plan: This voluntary benefit gives participants access to yearly eye exams and frames. The benefit also includes up to $270 for frames and up to $250 for contacts. 
• An enhanced Employee Assistance Program (EAP): The updated EAP program will be administered by Health Advocate and includes additional resources to support work/life balance, a larger network of providers and an increased number of free visits to therapists and counselors.
• The introduction of Voya, the new critical illness and accident insurance provider, replacing AFLAC.

Employee rates for the health and dental plans will remain the same for the upcoming year.

“When evaluating our offerings, it was important to us that we provide comprehensive coverage without compromising on quality or increased costs for employees,” added Hargust. “I’m excited and pleased we were able to enhance many of our offerings without faculty and staff incurring an additional cost.”

New benefits are effective Jan. 1, 2021. For more information about the wellness expo or open enrollment, email humanresources@sju.edu.