Pitt Benefits Department Wins Human Resources Award for Launch of Employee Health Care Center

PITTSBURGH—The innovative new employee wellness center developed by the Benefits Department in Pitt’s Office of Human Resources has won the attention of colleagues in higher education—and the department will be honored in April for its successful project.

The department will be awarded the Fred C. Ford Award by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) at its Eastern Region conference.

CUPA-HR awards an individual or team that has made the most significant creative or innovative contribution to the profession in the previous year. Pitt’s Benefits Department was selected based on the launch of the UPMC MyHealth@Work Health and Wellness Center at the University of Pittsburgh in 2016. Facilitated by UPMC health care providers, the Center addresses acute conditions at no cost to the employee, regardless of insurance coverage. The Center is within walking distance of most campus locations and is open weekdays with no appointment necessary, allowing faculty or staff members to visit a clinician quickly and avoid disrupting their workday.

Since its April 2016 opening, the Center has had more than 1,300 visitors, and initial qualitative data shows positive results, with 97 percent of faculty and staff patients rating the care provided as “excellent.”

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts of our benefits team both in implementing and marketing the Center. UPMC also did a great job in the Center’s design and construction,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources John Kozar said. “In a world of continuing escalation of health care costs, the ability to provide a lower cost alternative that is both convenient and free to faculty and staff is a win-win situation for the University community.”

Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Cheryl Johnson added, “the Center is another of the innovative programs we strive to implement for the University community. The Benefits Department is cultivating a wellness culture, which will provide an additional incentive for all of us to become more involved in making healthy choices.”

To learn more about the UPMC MyHealth@Work Health and Wellness Center at the University of Pittsburgh, visit: hr.pitt.edu/wellness.

About CUPA-HR:
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) serves nearly 23,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders at more than 1,900 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad. CUPA-HR offers learning and professional development programs, higher education salary and benefits data, extensive online resources, and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.

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