Health and Human Services News

He gained the tools he needed to succeed in corporate health

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Matt Hancock earned a bachelor’s in exercise science, became a personal trainer and managed a gym.

The Springfield native eyed MSU’s health promotion and wellness management graduate program because he wanted to make change on a larger scale.

“I really wanted to get into corporate health,” Hancock said. “It has been blowing up over the past couple of years. There’s a lot of opportunity. Companies are realizing healthier employees are more productive, too.”

Working while completing his degree

Missouri State’s program was attractive because it was flexible and offered a mix of seated and online courses. He worked full time at Mercy and was able to go to school part time and tackle his degree in chunks.

“I really liked the core classes because they let me learn a lot more about the direct areas I was going into, such as how to build up a program, how to look at a population health approach. My undergrad was more studying facts. My master’s was more applicable to everyday life and translating into a working situation,” Hancock said.

As part of a clinical requirement for his master’s, Hancock completed a 420-hour internship at Bass Pro working for the company’s wellbeing program.

He added on a certificate in health education because Hancock felt it would give him an edge in the job market and it did.

Shortly after graduating in spring 2019, Hancock left Mercy and joined Prime Inc., as Driver Health and Fitness Coordinator.

Matt Hancock giving presentation at work.
At Prime, Inc., Matt Hancock oversees programs that improve employee health.

Making a difference

At Prime, Hancock was able to use the knowledge he learned in his master’s courses to directly impact driver health.

He revamped the wellness program and reaches nearly 8,000 drivers.

“In the past, Prime focused on a 13-week weight loss program for drivers,” Hancock said. “We have evolved to focus on a whole person virtual approach now. When COVID entered our lives, we had to look at our health initiatives in a different way. In-person services were no longer an option, so in October 2020 we began designing our own online wellness platform using a learning management system called Learn Dash.”

“The master’s program really helped prepare me for my career by giving me the base of knowledge I needed. I didn’t know anything about corporate health when I started. I learned a lot to prepare for the position I am in now.”

Through this platform they created health risk assessments, collected health data and designed and evaluated programs more efficiently to suit drivers needs based on the health risks that are prevalent in the occupation, such as fatigue and back pain.

A holistic approach to employee health

The platform will allow them to offer fitness, nutrition and mental health programs around-the-clock to fit drivers’ unique schedules over the road.

“All aspects will be gamified so we can create an engaging, competitive atmosphere by offering points to our drivers for completing certain health-related activities and tasks,” Hancock said.

Drivers can access virtual personal training and nutritional counseling with their registered dietitian.

Taking a holistic approach, they also addressed:

  • Mental health, which is so important during the pandemic.
  • Created a tobacco cessation program since 60 percent of drivers use tobacco products, said Hancock.
  • Formed a healthy driver task force and put together exercises that drivers can do at truck stops or using equipment on the truck
  • Showed employees how to make healthier choices on the road.

“Not everyone is interested in losing weight or eating right, but if we have several initiatives they can focus on, then we can let them hone-in on one that helps them lead a healthier life,” Hancock said.  “It has gotten a lot of traction. We are starting to see improvement in employee health. It’s really a rewarding job. This is what I’ve been wanting to do for many years. I want to make a big impact on driver health, satisfaction, happiness and lifestyle.”

Explore a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management

A Google search led him to Missouri State University

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Ben Hunt was always athletic.

So, it was no surprise when he majored in exercise science, with a goal of moving into a physical therapy program.

While finishing his undergraduate degree at Evangel University, he did an internship at a physical therapy clinic. it turned into a part-time job for another year where he gained valuable hands-on experience.

But something bothered him.

“Many of the injuries were simply the result of having lived a long-term unhealthy lifestyle and could have been prevented through better nutrition and physical activity. Many of the patients I helped recover, came back a year later with the same or similar injury due to the continued unhealthy habits,” he said.

Change of course

Ben Hunt at flu shot clinic.
Ben Hunt, right, helping with campus flu shots.

Hunt came to the realization that instead of healing people, he’d rather prevent injuries by helping them live a healthier lifestyle.

So, he began a Google search for the next phase of his career.

Google led him to Missouri State’s health promotion and wellness management graduate program.

“I had never heard of it before, but I immediately knew that was where I needed to be,” the Bois D’Arc native said.

He enrolled in the program and particularly loved its management and coordination content which is applicable to wide array of careers.

“The program also did an excellent job of preparing me for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam, which is a highly desirable certification that will set individuals apart from other job-seeking candidates,” he said.

Turning part-time into full-time

While a student, he interned with Jon Mooney, who was then wellness coordinator at Jordan Valley Community Hospital (Mooney is currently the assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department).

During the internship, Mooney encouraged Hunt to join a local collaboration called the Childhood Obesity Action Group (COAG), which consisted of several area organizations. “Among the COAG organizations was a nonprofit called the Healthy Living Alliance (HLA). As I neared the end of my internship, HLA approached me and offered to create a part-time job for me. I took this position, which then turned into a full-time position before I even graduated,” he said.

“The internship offered through Health Promotion and Wellness Management program was a critical piece that directly led to a pre-graduation full-time position, which ended up being a steppingstone to the position I’m in today.”

Hunt graduated in 2013 with a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management.

But his position was grant-funded. When grand funding was about to run out, Hunt accepted a position as public health program representative, tackling a variety of community health programs in the Springfield area.

A year later, the employee wellness coordinator position for the City of Springfield became vacant.

He landed that job and was there for three years.

“I gained a tremendous amount of experience in workplace wellness programming,” Hunt said.

Coming back to MSU

While he loved his job with the city, the wellness program coordinator position opened at MSU and caught his eye.

He applied and got the job in 2016.

“My position manages and oversees all wellness programming for employees, spouses, dependents and retirees of the university. One of the things I love most about my position is that I get to be all over campus and interact with all employees, even at West Plains and Mountain Grove,” he said.

The wellness program provides support and encouragement to people to help them live a healthier lifestyle.

There are many aspects of wellbeing: physical, occupational, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and environmental.

The job has been very fulfilling.

“I’ve had several individuals express to me how our programs have helped influence them to make positive modifications to their lifestyles, which in return has had life-changing results,” Hunt said.

Explore the health promotion and wellness management program

Helping those in need

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In March 2020, when it became clear that COVID-19 was impacting lives in the Ozarks, Jaime Gnau placed a call to Ozarks Food Harvest.Gnau is a dietitian at the MSU Care Clinic. In May 2020, she graduated with a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management.

That degree gave her the organizational and leadership skills to launch a food box initiative at the clinic.

“I had a diabetic patient that came in and he was scared to go to the grocery store. He was scared to leave his house. We started doing phone visits to stay connected with him. He didn’t have enough food and it was impacting his blood sugar. I felt so helpless,” Gnau said.

Taking action

Jaime Gnau hauling food boxes.
Jaime Gnau bringing in food supplies at the MSU Care Clinic.

Gnau transformed that feeling into action.

She contacted Ozark Food Harvest and asked if she could get nutritious food to hand out to food-insecure patients.

“I told them the contents I would like to have. Food that is low in sodium, balanced with fruits and vegetables, whole grains over refined grains. I told them how many we would need based on what I assumed would be the need. They stepped up to the plate,” she said.

“My degree in health promotion and wellness management has helped me as far as the academic side. There was a lot of focus on theory and research and that has helped me immensely. It’s a strong program.”

The need exceeded her expectations.

Between March 27 and September 9, staff at MSU Care Clinic parceled out 14,093 pounds of food to their patients.

That translates into 11,744 meals.

The partnership is continuing.

“I am proud of our team. It’s been great. If you are hungry, it’s hard to do anything. I am glad we’ve been able to help with food insecurity. It’s a climbing problem with COVID,” she said.

Big hearted, but not yet a Bear

This is a second career for Gnau.

The Ozark native spent 13 years as a radiologic technologist, but she longed for more.

“I got into health care to help people. In that position I didn’t get that fulfillment. We were told to get people in and out as fast as we could. I couldn’t develop relationships with people,” she said.

So in 2013, Gnau decided to switch careers. She enrolled in Missouri State’s dietetics program.

“I love that Missouri State has the community focus. It resonated with me to be a Bear,” she said. “This is exactly where I want to be.”

She graduated in 2017 and completed her one-year internship in 2018.

Then she decided to pursue a master’s in health promotion and wellness management. The degree would expand her skillset and enhance her degree in dietetics.

“What I really enjoyed was it was flexible enough for me to work part time and take care of my family,” Gnau said. “The faculty were very helpful in helping me complete the process and supporting my goals. It fit really well within my experience as a dietitian. A lot of responsibilities of health educator align with nutrition.”

She landed a job before graduation — at Missouri State.

Gnau wears three hats: she’s a clinical instructor in the biomedical sciences department, a dietitian at the MSU Care Clinic, and clinical coordinator for the dietetic internship program.

“I love that I get to teach and remain in clinic,” Gnau said.  “It’s the best of both worlds.”

Earn a master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management