Monday Campaign: April Is National Minority Health Month & Celebrate Diversity Month

NOVA is a community that embraces diversity. The College’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion partners with all of us — all facets of NOVA — to protect and strengthen the power of a community that embraces different ideas, identities, values, beliefs, intersectionalities, ages, abilities and perspectives. Diversity doesn’t merely mean recognizing different cultures and ethnicities; it’s also about how we understand them and how willing we are to listen and appreciate our differences.

April spotlights various diversity-focused campaigns, including Celebrate Diversity Month and National Minority Health Month. Celebrate Diversity Month is designated to spotlight an array of causes, voices and stories, all while encouraging the expansion of opportunities and access for people from all walks of life. Celebrate Diversity Month dovetails nicely with National Minority Health Month, which focuses specifically on increasing awareness of persistent health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in our country.

Improved health literacy is essential to closing the gap in health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. Indeed, the Monday Campaigns and CommonHealth encourage us all to up our health literacy to more effectively access, understand and use information to protect our health. Read this recent Daily Flyer article for more valuable guidance on health literacy.

Mobilized employee health and wellness partners join NOVA’s Office of Employee Wellness and Wellbeing in developing and implementing strategies that promote greater access to health resources. So, on this Monday, let’s all activate a plan to move our wellness goals forward by accessing tools and information to improve our overall health. 

Use the following links to leverage the resources available to you:

• EAP: All health plans offered to state employees and their dependents have employee assistance programs (EAPs) available 24/7.
• TimelyCare: This helpful resource is available to ALL members of the NOVA community. Information for employees can be found on NOVAnet, while information for students can be found on NOVA’s website. More than 50% of TimelyCare’s diverse network of providers identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) to help and support you on your wellness journey.
• Become familiar with your benefits plan. Use your plan’s tools, incentives and offerings to help you stay well.  Employees participating in one of the state’s health plans are strongly encouraged to visit the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management’s (DHRM) website and check out the benefits included in the various plans. For more information, please contact benefits@nvcc.edu.
• The Monday Check-In is a helpful tool to support your wellness efforts. Each week, take what you need and leave what you don’t!

Submitted by: 
Dahlia Henry-Tett, Chief Wellness Officer (CWO), employeewellbeing@nvcc.edu