King's has 73 wellness resources ready for new academic year

The recently-completed Wellness Audit demonstrates “King’s has made it a priority to continually improve and develop a culture of health promotion on campus,” says Laura MacKenzie, a Master of Public Health student at Western University.

As part of a 12-week placement at King’s, MacKenzie conducted the audit, creating an inventory of the health and wellness resources here, using the Okanagan Charter, signed by King’s two years ago. She says the audit shows “(King’s) has gone beyond just signing the Charter.”

MacKenzie’s audit produced an inventory of 73 resource items currently available to support the promotion of wellness, both on and beyond campus, including personal counselling services and campus green spaces.  The inventory “can be used as a living document to fulfill the continuous commitment to wellness on campus and bring awareness to all that King’s has to offer,” explains MacKenzie.

“Wellness is at the core of our mission as a Catholic university in caring for the whole person. Such audits and assessments help us to continually improve our efforts to make decisions, allocate resources and live up to the commitments made to our students and the Okanagan Charter,” says Joe Henry, Dean of Students.

The Wellness Audit focused on key action areas stemming from two calls of action in the Charter:

• Embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates
• Lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally

 

MacKenzie included a snapshot of key action areas so readers could see the strengths of wellness programming as well as recognize areas for improvement. The most common themes represented in wellness programming at King’s include:

• Create supportive campus environments
• Support personal development
• Create or re-orient campus services
• Generate thriving communities and a culture of well-being

With growth in all the key actions areas, the audit shows King’s has continued to move forward since the initial audit completed two years ago by Danielle Robinson, a graduate from Western’s Master of Public Health program.

She also included a second “mini-inventory” of initiatives already planned for the 2019/2020 Academic Year. Initiatives include Guided Walks of the surrounding area and Thrive at King’s, a 10-week program designed to help students thrive, personally and academically. “This will help King’s staff think about how upcoming initiatives align with the Charter right from the beginning, ensuring all programs going forward are designed with the Charter in mind,” says MacKenzie.

MacKenzie presented her findings to members of the Campus Mental Wellness Committee and the King’s senior administration team. Both presentations included an overview of the project, reviewed the Okanagan Charter, outlined MacKenzie’s findings, and further discussion on how King’s addresses health and wellness going forward.

Read MacKenzie's blog entry about her placement at King's and the Wellness Audit at https://westernmphpracticum2019.wordpress.com/

Learn more about Mental Health and Wellness at King’s at https://www.kings.uwo.ca/current-students/student-affairs/mental-health-and-wellness-at-king-s/

Read the Okanagan Charter at http://internationalhealthycampuses2015.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2016/01/Okanagan-Charter-January13v2.pdf