Healthy Boiler

Healthy Boiler, Protect Purdue align to keep Boilermakers healthy, safe

Purdue University is committed to the overall health and well-being of its community. From the introduction of the Healthy Boiler Program in 2018 to the recently launched Protect Purdue initiative, the University strives to put the safety of its people first. And when it comes to the overall wellness of the Purdue population, the two go hand-in-hand as both work to ensure that everyone in the Purdue family has the resources available to them to live their best lives, including protection from COVID-19

Driven by science, Protect Purdue’s foundation is Boilermakers protecting themselves, protecting others and protecting the university amid COVID-19. The five pillars that structure the Healthy Boiler Wellness Program – physical health, financial wellness, behavioral health, social wellness and work-life integration – all have been impacted by COVID-19’s reach and continue to play a part in daily life. Every aspect of being a Healthy Boiler has been tested and continues to be challenged by the virus. However, the resolve of a Healthy Boiler is relentless in its pursuit of staying healthy and ensuring others do as well.

“Early on, we asked all employees whose job responsibilities didn’t require them to physically be on campus to work remotely, which in turn impacted their work-life integration as well as their social wellness and behavioral health, and we shared information on how to make that transition easier,” said Candace Shaffer, senior director of benefits in Human Resources. “Now, as the Purdue campus begins to welcome faculty, staff and students back for the fall semester, the campus community is being asked to take the Protect Purdue Pledge and take extraordinary steps to stay well and persistently protect each other, on campus and in the community, which again speaks to demonstrating Healthy Boiler behavior. We need to look at this from all angles of wellness represented by the pillars as changes to campus life will be made in order to uphold the pledge to ourselves and one another.”  

Each part of Protect Purdue is aimed at offering the safest experience possible to protect all members of the Purdue community, especially those most vulnerable to the serious consequences of COVID-19. As adjustments are made to campus, others will continue working from home offices, which will continue to impact the Healthy Boiler pillars. Employees will need to take personal responsibility for their choices and actions and consider how they can support Healthy Boiler and Protect Purdue.

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