Introducing… a healthy workplace coordinator

Melissa Cummings is a healthy workplace coordinator who has been with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) for less than a year working on the health, safety and wellness team. She is the key contact for HHS’ Shine wellness program. Everyone in the organization may know her as the person who helps you de-stress with the popular massage clinics.

What do you do?

I develop programs and create opportunities to promote health and wellness for our HHS employees. These programs may include Shine educational presentations on wellness topics, fitness classes and special events. I also design wellness content for the Shine website and newsletters we send to our employees.

There are two projects where I supervise students including the stretch break program and the healthy cafeteria project. I regularly connect with contracted benefit and service providers, and internal and external wellness stakeholders to develop and deliver programming. Data analysis and reporting are also part of my role. There is always something on the go and every day is different.

It’s wonderful to hear about the positive impact the Shine program has on our people’s health and well-being.

What do you love most about your job?

I love connecting with our people to talk about their personal wellness. Listening to their success stories and their ideas for programming are big benefits of my job. It’s always wonderful to hear about the positive impact the Shine program has on an individual’s health and well-being. We spend a lot of time at work, which makes it the ideal setting to support the wellness of our staff, physicians and residents.

Tell us about your most gratifying experience at HHS.

There are too many to count. I’ve received numerous positive comments from my colleagues via email, at onsite events and phone calls expressing their gratefulness and appreciation for the Shine program. It truly touches my heart. I’m so fortunate to be part of such a caring organization that wants to see others succeed and be well.

I want to help sustain a healthy workplace culture.

What do you hope to accomplish while at HHS?

I’m currently revamping the Shine program to increase engagement so we can sustain a healthy workplace culture. I constantly search for and tweak programming to adhere to best practices and make it more convenient for staff to get involved.

I would love to establish wellness committees at all our sites. More staff should be involved in how we deliver programs that will be the best fit for them and their colleagues.

How do you use social media in your role?

Social media is a great tool that allows me to let staff know about all the wellness opportunities around HHS. You can follow me on Twitter @mmcummings91.