Employee Wellness Blog

2026 wellness calendar

Have MORE Good Days!

This month, the Lafayette Employee Wellness Program (LEWP) offers the following tips and resources from our benefit providers focused on Mental Well-Being and High Blood Pressure Awareness.

FREE: WEBINARS, LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS & PROGRAMS

Don’t miss these free offerings from your benefit providers:

Blood Pressure Snapshot (Capital Blue Cross)

May 20, 2026
11:00 - 11:15 am

Managing Stress, Guilt, and Decision Fatigue (Wellthy)

May 20, 2026
12:00 pm

Caregiving often means juggling countless tasks, emotions, and decisions, leaving many feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. In this webinar, Wellthy care experts will explore strategies to lighten the mental load, set realistic expectations, and build emotional resilience while caring for others.

Mental Health and Me (Health Advocate)

May 21, 2026
10:00 am

Explore strategies to manage mental/emotional health as well as understand where and when to seek help.
Topics to be covered:
• What is mental/emotional health?
• Why mental health matters
• Early warning signs
* Techniques to maintain good mental health & well-being

A Care Guide for Dementia: Strategies, Support, and Self-Care (Wellthy)

June 17, 2026
12:00 pm

In this webinar, Wellthy care experts will offer practical advice to navigate the stages of dementia, support your loved one with dignity, and care for yourself throughout the journey. You’ll also have a chance to ask questions during a live Q&A at the end of the session.

Single Working Parents - Survival Skills (Health Advocate)

June 18, 2026
10:00 am

Join us for a webinar to share simple, realistic tips and proven approaches that can help reduce stress, create supportive routines, and make daily life more manageable for single working parents.

Communicating With Your Teen (Health Advocate)

July 16, 2026
10:00 am

Does it feel like you and your teen are on different planets? Understanding your teen’s perspective and initiating conversations at the right time can help close the gap. If you want to really get through to your teen, learning to think like a teen can make all the difference.

Your Mental Well-Being

Mental Health Awareness Month

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, depression raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity by 40%, while about 35% of adults in the U.S. with mental illness also have a substance abuse disorder. (Mental Health by the Numbers | NAMI)

Experts wish more people spotted the signs earlier: feeling overwhelmed, not feeling “like yourself,” shifts in sleep, behavior and mood. More young people, especially girls, are reporting poor mental health. Mental health crises can happen abruptly or build to a tipping point over time. (Associated Press | April 13, 2026)

Health Advocate, Wellthy, and Capital Blue Cross - Your mental health resources

Your Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) through Health Advocate, your Wellthy Family Care Support plan, and your medical plan through Capital Blue Cross all offer critical resources to help with your, and your family's, mental well-being. Learn more about their easy to access support services.

EAP benefits are available to all employees and their families. Benefits include Confidential Counseling, Online Peer Support Groups, 24-hour Crisis Help, Financial Help, Legal Services, Child & Parenting Services, Adult & Eldercare Services, and Webinars & Training.

Wellthy offers dedicated care coordinators to help you with family and life issues including caregiving support for elder care, child care, and your own mental health and wellbeing. Their services help you take care of life matters that you don’t have time for. Life can present challenges that are overwhelming and the assistants at Wellthy are there to navigate you through those challenges.

Capital Blue Cross offers virtual counseling and psychiatric services, mental health support services, and self-guided programs on Mental Health Awareness, Living with Depression, Managing Your Stress, Enriching Your Emotional Well-being, Mindfulness with a Meaning, and more.

NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAY IS MAY 15th

The benefits of biking to work are numerous: Better mental organization, Better work performance, Improved physical fitness, Reduced carbon footprint, and it Saves money.

National High Blood Pressure Education Month

According to the American Heart Association, almost ½ of U.S. adults over 20 years old have high blood pressure. Many don’t know their blood pressure is high which puts them at risk for heart attacks and stroke if not controlled. If not detected and controlled, high blood pressure can lead to heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease/failure, vision loss, sexual dysfunction, and more health problems. High blood pressure is the number 1 preventable cause of stroke.

Ultraprocessed foods may hurt muscle health

Ultraprocessed foods, which include salty snacks, sugary drinks and fast food, make up the majority of calories in Americans’ diets. The negative effects they have on heart health and diabetes risk is well-established. “What is not so well-known is that diet also has a significant impact on musculoskeletal health,” said Dr. Thomas Link, chief of the musculoskeletal imaging section at the University of California San Francisco and the senior author of the study. Muscles store fat in two ways: in “streaks” of fat that sit between healthy muscles, called intermuscular fat, and in droplets stored in muscle fibers, called intramuscular fat. (NBC News – April 14, 2026)