With the Regional Wellness and Healthy Workforce partnership, the Go KP Worldwide Wellness Team Challenge encouraged teams of at least four or more participants to become more virtually active together. This summer, we had two Mid-Atlantic States teams place in top three nationally! In total, the top five MAS teams were recognized by the Regional Wellness Team with personalized certificates of achievement and medals, along with a virtual Game Night Celebration with mocktails. They were honored and recognized by our special guest speakers: Jocelyn Herrera-Ternes, Interim Vice President of MAS Human Resources, and Maria Dee, Executive Director of National Workforce-Wellbeing. The teams had the pleasure of the thrive breaks being held by our very own BurnAlong partners. See below the top MAS teams and learn how they did it!
Rock the Plank (300 pts) top 3 national winner
Team Lead: Iris Von Palubitzki
| Iris | Von Palubitzki |
| Abby | Chough |
| Elizabeth | Audet |
| Charles | Harriman |
| Pam | Ferraro |
2021 Redemption Tour (288.92 pts) top 3 national winner
Team Lead: James Geist
| James | Geist |
| Alena | Vidlakova |
| Annie | Phu |
| Carol | Wright |
| Fatmata | Sillah |
| Francisco | Ayala |
| Jessica | Galindo |
| Kristin | Torkelsen |
| Leila | Diop |
| Nelly | Alarcon |
| Stephanie | Waszkiewicz |
| Valerie | Solorzano |
| Wafa | Taher |
Holy Walkamolies! (261.13 pts)
Team Lead: Colleen Powell
| Colleen | Powell |
| Jennifer | Napolitano |
| Jody | Kraemer |
| Kim | Adams |
| Krista | Stephens |
| Lisa | Ruffin |
| Mariann | Bryan |
Fredericksburg Krew 8039 (246.88 pts)
Team Lead: Laura Johnson
| Laura | Johnson |
| Caroline | Nguyen |
| Dina | Cotton |
| Elizabeth | Knepper |
| Krunal | Patel |
| Teresa | Pace |
| Thien | Nguyen |
| Undra | Graves-Guyton |
Surg Specialties Step-in (234.73 pts)
Team Lead: Aissa Yaye Habi
| Aissa | Yaye Habi |
| Carrie | Czosnowski |
| Courtney | Ensslin |
| Daisy | Ortega |
| Fatimah | Hickman |
| Gloria | Mensah-Acquaye |
| Kenya | Slaughter |
| Nicole | Chakalakis |
| Robyn | Faulcon |
| Sarah | Navarro |
| Valerie | Woods |
Despite the team members working in the medical centers while social distancing and others working remotely, they were still able to virtually support and motivate each other to take at least 10,000 steps a day.
When the team members were asked in 1-2 words, how would you describe your Worldwide Wellness experience, responses such as fun, motivating, rewarding, encouraging, liberating, challenging, satisfying, teamwork, competitive, enticing, came to mind.
Teams participated in an array of different physical activities to earn either minutes or steps during the challenge. These included regular walking routines, 30-minute workouts either at home at the gym, and others continued their customs of swimming, Zumba classes, and running. Other teams used the free KP offered on-demand wellness platform, BurnAlong, which allowed them to take dance and other fitness classes.
The “2021 Redemption Tour” scheduled off-site walking and/or biking days in different cities for anyone in the area who was available to attend in person. Other teams did weekly reminders to complete the Flourish Friday bonus points to earn 100% points for the week.
Despite the teams’ different work schedules and work environments, they remained in touch daily to follow-up and make sure each member logged in their points via MS Teams chat, outlook emails, texting, Worldwide Wellness app, and scheduled small huddles/meetings. Some synched their devices such as Fit Bit & Apple Watches, while others manually entered in their steps/activities.
During the ceremony, teams were asked to give their advice to teams seeking to be on top next year. The winning teams shared the following ‘words of wisdom’:
- Explain commitment goals to new team members prior to joining the team- once they agree, like a contract, they can officially join the team.
- Commit from day one and stay engaged with your team throughout the challenge timeframe- even if you had a bad day, get up the next day, shake it off, and start moving.
- Check the leaderboard on the website/app regularly to know where you are in line and strategically plan how many points are needed to get above the top teams.
- Send group text reminders to encourage team members to log in their points using any communication vehicle that works for your team specifically.
- Have your family/friends join along the fun and be active to motivate you to deliver your accountability to the team.
- Sync your device to the app directly so you don’t have to remember to log your steps daily.
- Finally, have fun!
This group of MAS team members are excited to join upcoming wellness competitions and are up for the challenge from the other teams! Are you ready to join the next wellness competition? Reach out to Wafa.Taher@kp.org if you would like to learn more.
