A university version of a national organization is ramping up efforts to ensure both students and staff can get the best healthcare possible.

The Student Recreation Center and the Student Health Center are taking part in a national movement known as Healthy Campus 2020, which the American College Health Association started in 2000 to address students’ and staffs’ health needs. The program’s university form is called the Healthy Campus Coalition.

The movement’s purpose is to combine information on programs such as sports, counseling and religious organizations that tie into all kinds of health, including mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health, and make all the information available to students in one central location, said Troy Vaughn, Recreation Sports Services director.

There are two sides of this movement: one for students, which includes existing organizations and services; the other as a new initiative designed for university employees.

Dawn Null, Wellness Center coordinator and registered dietitian, said she focuses on the movement’s student side. Campuses often don’t provide adequate information about family planning and sexually-transmitted infections, Null said, and she hopes to address these unmet needs in order to improve the student body’s overall health.

Healthier students will do better academically, which benefits both the students and the university, she said. All health aspects are affected by students’ everyday interactions with friends, classmates, instructors, counselors and doctors, she said.

“Everything around us helps decide what behaviors we make,” Null said.

According to information Null provided from a 2012 SIU student survey, 47.5 percent of students are at a healthy weight, less than the national average of 61.6 percent. However, the surveys indicated that 20 percent of students are overweight, which is more than the 11.6 percent national average.

Out of the students surveyed, 51.7 percent participate in aerobic activity, exceeding the national average of 48.7 percent.

However, SIU students also participate in negative behaviors. Smoking, as well as drinking and driving, is higher than the national average, she said, and condom use is lower. If resources are provided for these issues, Null said, students can learn how to live healthier lifestyles.

“If we can help instill some healthy, lifelong behaviors, I think that we (will) have done a good job,” she said.

In addition to improving and adding to the student services offered, one of the movement’s largest goals is to address employee needs.

Vaughn said the movement’s employee initiative is called the Chancellor’s Employee/ Retiree Wellness Program, also known as WELLSIU. The program’s goal is to provide information and programs to employees, work with insurance companies on low or no-cost fees and provide initiatives to restrict smoking and encourage weight loss.

While developing WELLSIU, Vaughn’s goal was to gather a wide range of campus employees’ opinions, including faculty and civil service employees, he said.

“One of the things we sorely have missed on this campus is the fact that we don’t have a developed wellness program for our employees,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn said some campus employees might not seek the preventive treatments they need because they’re not making annual doctor visits and getting the recommended blood tests.

“People have a tendency to not want to know bad information,” he said. “Making change takes effort and it takes a lot of work.”

Vaughn said a healthy workforce could result in lower insurance rates for campus employees. This semester, the wellness coalition communicated with healthcare providers and conducted research with peer institutions such as Weight Watchers to pursue new campus resources, Vaughn said.

Jason Davis, Recreational Sports and Services assistant director of fitness, said the coalition’s goal is to involve as many people in the program as possible, regardless of background, career or any other issues that might make them feel insecure. This will enable the program to provide resources that are easier to use, he said.

“We want to make this as easy, as simple as possible for everybody to participate in,” Davis said.