PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Jaclyn Beaty is a graduate of the University of Missouri where she earned a Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis in Nutrition and Fitness. She is a Certified Wellness Practitioner through the National Wellness Institute and a certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  Jaclyn is trained as a Healthy Behaviors Coach from the Cooper Institute and has earned WELCOA Faculty Status.  

DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS

Jaclyn has demonstrated success by increasing employee engagement in Sterling’s client companies. Sterling Wellness Solutions offers health management programs with comprehensive capabilities. Sterling coordinates with existing services including disease management, insurance companies, and third party providers. One client case study shows Jaclyn’s communication efforts were instrumental in reducing Emergency Room visits by 70% due to increased awareness, education about plan design, and co-pay differentials between primary, urgent, and emergent levels of care.  Jaclyn is the primary developer of all health challenges across the client board. In the 4 years she has been involved in rolling out challenges, employee participation has increased by more than 300%. Jaclyn designs challenges based on risk trends ranging from financial wellness and stretching challenges, to weight loss and physical activity challenges. Additionally, Jaclyn writes informational and relevant monthly eNewsletters for nearly 16,000 readers.

Jaclyn’s Health Coaching role has afforded her exposure to diverse populations, industries, and languages.  Clinical opportunities have led Jaclyn to take blood pressures in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans and the Alaskan oil fields to draw lipid profiles. Jaclyn was instrumental in writing the turn-key curriculum for Calling it Quits, Sterling’s branded tobacco cessation program. This eight-week health coaching program has had significant tobacco quit rates to date.

Prior to this, Jaclyn was the Health Educator for the University of Missouri System employee wellness program, Healthy for Life. Here she coordinated the help of over 500 Wellness Ambassadors across four campuses state-wide to disseminate health information within their workplace and serve as a volunteer base for health fairs, fitness classes, and stress reductions seminars to over 18,000 employees. She also has previous experience working with Boone Hospital Center’s WELLAWARE program providing Know Your Numbers screening events to rural communities, assisting cardiac rehab patients, and promoting community wellness events.

LEADERSHIP

Outside of her workplace, Jaclyn serves as the Chair of the Clarksville Mayor’s Fitness Council where she leads a 13-member executive council toward shifting the culture of their community. In her three years involved with this council, Jaclyn has played an important role in advocating for more greenways and bike paths, park systems, healthier schools, and vibrant workplaces. Jaclyn has led the council through the development of the ClarksWell Initiative, a community-wide grass-roots effort to brand the identity of the city’s health, fitness and wellness culture.  One of the greatest successes of the ClarksWell Initiative has come through the development and implementation of the ClarksWell Workplace Recognition program. Jaclyn, along with the council, established criteria for local businesses to adapt in order to achieve the ClarksWell Workplace status. Businesses are provided with a comprehensive tool-kit containing practical tips and sample policies for each of the 5 criteria; physical activity, healthy meeting and vending machines, lactation support, alcohol and tobacco-free, and active transportation.   

Additionally, Jaclyn serves on the YMCA Board of Directors and is a member of the Tennessee Obesity Taskforce. She was a keynote speaker and panelist at the 2013 Tennessee Obesity Taskforce Worksite Wellness Summit. 

Many of the simple pleasures outside of her work life come from practicing what she preaches in the form of playing on the city’s tennis league, slalom skiing, gardening, and cooking healthy meals.

INNOVATION

As the communications specialist, Jaclyn understands that good communications will make or break your wellness program. The ultimate goal for creating communications is to increase employee engagement. Employees cite the most important driver of their commitment to their employer is the company’s ability to communicate. Communications are a competition for your employees’ time, and winning that contest is vital to wellness program success.

Communicating wellness is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but the first step of laying groundwork is to involve your senior leadership to send the message from the top down. Put a face on your population by surveying your audience to find out what they want, how they prefer to receive communications, and what they hope to accomplish. Use personal success stories to inspire others, and link your communications to a multi-year incentive strategy so employees know what’s to come from their wellness program in the months and years ahead.

Less is more when it comes to branding a wellness program. Refresh your look (but not your brand) annually with friendly faces, bright colors, consistent fonts, and an ever-present logo.  You have seconds to captivate and educate your employees. They don’t read. They scan. Therefore use as many words as you need, but only as many as you need. Combine a mix of electronic and print communications to appeal to all demographics. Involve mailers, posters, flyers, emails, table tents, and social media. Although the methods will change, the message should stay the same!

COMPELLING VISION

My vision is that wellness and activity will reemerge as societal norms within workplaces, communities, and schools. The new standard will rise above sitting for 10 hours, building neighborhoods without sidewalks and serving sub-par school lunches. We can do better; and we will. Efforts will unite to raise the bar above status quo where healthy living is the expectation rather than the exception. Whether it’s a big leap or a small step, it’s all movement in the right direction.