The University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) has recently been honored by Exercise is Medicine (EIM) for creating a culture of wellness on their campus.
EIM is a community-impact initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine.
The EIM program at USCA focuses on encouraging students, faculty and staff to move more often. The program includes individual health coaching and education for individuals and groups. This helped USCA earn a gold-level designation from EIM.
“We are thrilled to recognize these campuses’ commitment to make movement a part of daily campus culture and give students the tools to cultivate physical activity habits that will benefit them throughout their lives,” said interim CEO Katie Feltman, CAE. “These campus programs are nurturing future leaders who will advance a key tenet of Exercise is Medicine making a physical activity assessment and promotion a standard in health care.”
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Mila Padgett, director of campus recreation and wellness, launched EIM at USCA in 2012 with the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. The program targets students who want to be physically active but may not know where to begin. The Physical Activity Vital Sign program by the Counseling Center and the Student Health Center also refer students to the EIM program.
“EIM is made for people who want to improve their health but don’t know where to start,” says Padgett. “We start by connecting them with a peer at the university who then coaches them through a structure to follow. Many people are intimidated to work out in a public setting, and we want to give them the confidence and the tools to overcome that hurdle.”
EIM is free for all students, faculty, and staff who want to participate. Exercise and Sports Science majors serve as coaches for the program. Participants meet with their student coach to discuss their needs, which is followed by three sessions where they set goals and learn exercise protocols, the importance of weight training, and how to measure vitals. The last session is to measure progress and set a path forward.
According to Padgett, every participant has indicated improvement in their confidence level in exercising in a public setting.
“We want people to own their health and be confident in their ability to do that,” says Padgett. “If the confidence level isn’t there, it is unlikely for a person to implement positive behaviors that impact both physical and mental wellbeing.”
The American College of Sports and Medicine awarded USCA a microgrant in 2022. This was given to review the referral process for students entering the EIM program. They wanted to double the number of participants and learn where students hear about the program, which was discovered to be at Inter-curricular enrichment (ICE) events.
“This does not negate the importance of the referral system with the Student Health Center and Counseling Center, but rather speaks to the importance of creating a culture on campus to emphasize the impact of exercise on not only physical health but also mental health including anxiety and depression,” said Padgett.
Last year, 25 students and faculty participated in the program, and Padgett hopes to increase the number to 25 each semester through a more in-depth referral process and expansion to meet students’ needs.
EIM launched its recognition program in 2014 to honor campuses for creating a culture of wellness. There are 145 campuses recognized this year with 83 receiving Gold, 44 receiving Silver, and 18 receiving Bronze. All campuses that earned a designation will be recognized on May 29 at the EIM recognition ceremony at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting.
