Open Enrollment for 2025 benefits continues this week
Faculty, staff, retirees and benefits-eligible graduate students are reminded that Open Enrollment, during which they can change their benefits for 2025, ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 1. Changes can be made to health, dental, vision and legal plan enrollments. Faculty and staff also may add eligible dependents and enroll in a flexible spending account. No action is required during Open Enrollment for faculty, staff and retirees to keep their current benefits, except for flexible spending accounts. Employees who are eligible and wish to participate in an FSA for 2025 will need to enroll. For more information, go to hr.umich.edu/open-enrollment. To make changes, go to wolverineaccess.umich.edu, search for Employee Self Service, click on Benefits, then Benefits Enrollment. For answers to benefits questions, call the Shared Services Center – HR Customer Care at 734-615-2000 or 866-647-7657 (toll-free) off campus from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Library offering free access to audio and ebook editions of ‘Not Too Late’
In solidarity with LSA’s Year of Sustainability, and to further the universitywide Vision 2034 initiative, the U-M Library is offering free access through Dec. 13 to the audiobook and ebook editions of “Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility” to everyone in the state of Michigan. “Not Too Late” is a resource anyone can use — from technical and policy experts to high school students to people who might just have begun to notice the impact of the climate crisis on their own lives. The book offers a wide range of perspectives from a variety of communities from around the world, who all have in common an unwillingness to accept prewritten narratives of climate despair. Learn more about this effort.
Inaugural Nature for Wellness symposium encourages nature for well-being
All members of the U-M community are invited to attend the Inaugural Nature for Wellness Symposium, to highlight nature-focused practices and the impacts of nature for human health, well-being and flourishing. The free event will take place Nov. 7-8 at the Rackham Amphitheatre. It is organized by Nature Rx at U-M and Nature Rx team member Samuel Kocurek, a graduate student in the School for Environment and Sustainability. Keynote speakers include Sara Newman, director of the National Park Service’s Office of Public Health, and Robert Ernst, U-M’s chief health officer and associate vice president of student life for health and wellness. This event will focus on exploring and promoting nature-based interventions to enhance the health and well-being for students, faculty and staff. To learn more or to register, go to nature-rx.umich.edu.
U-M in annual Blood Battle with Ohio State for lifesaving donations
The 2024 Blood Battle against The Ohio State University is underway and runs through Nov. 27. The annual contest pits the rival universities against each other to see which one can generate more blood donations in the weeks before U-M and Ohio State compete on the football field Nov. 30. A variety of blood drive locations and dates are listed on the Blood Battle website at bloodbattle.org, and people can schedule an appointment through the American Red Cross. Donors can enter a raffle for prizes from local businesses. Before donating, donors are asked to review eligibility requirements and complete a Rapid Pass at the Red Cross site the day of their appointment to save time.
UM-Flint receives $3.94M grant to address rural nursing shortage
The UM-Flint School of Nursing has announced the launch of an initiative aimed at addressing the critical nursing shortage in Michigan’s Thumb region. The UM-Flint Educates Rural Nurses program, also known as the UM-FERN project, is backed by a four-year, $3.94 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration and seeks to increase the number of nurses in rural and underserved communities, particularly in Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. The project is led by two SON faculty members. Megan Keiser, professor of nursing and director of academic programs, who serves as project manager, and Carman Turkelson, professor of nursing and director of the Center for Simulation & Clinical Innovation, who works as UM-FERN’s assistant director. Michigan is among the 10 states experiencing the most severe nursing shortages in the United States, and the impact is especially pronounced in rural areas like the Thumb region. The nursing shortage negatively affects health care quality and accessibility, putting additional strain on existing workers and facilities. Key objectives of the project are increasing enrollment and graduation rates, offering specialized training, providing an accelerated pathway to a degree, and establishing clinical faculty and preceptors. Read more about this study.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
