Blue Zones Update: Cedar Falls Campus Named a Blue Zones Worksite

A Cedar Falls campus will serve as a worksite for a community wellness initiative known as the Blue Zones Project. 

The Kaplan University-Cedar Falls campus received the designation. Blue Zones encourages employers to foster health and wellness for employees in the workplace. 

“Kaplan University-Cedar Falls is honored to be a Blue Zones worksite,” Kaplan University-Cedar Falls Campus President Gwen Bramlet-Hecker said, according to the Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. “Because the Blue Zones principles are in alignment with our own values, we feel that the designation is a great opportunity for us to expand on existing efforts to help our employees have a more fulfilling work experience.”

According to the chamber, "staff at Kaplan University-Cedar Falls has formed an internal wellness committee that schedules monthly wellness activities for employees. The committee also promotes events such as nutritional potlucks and community walk/run marathons."

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Western Homes Communities also received the Blue Zones designation. Western Homes supports "workplace exercise classes, healthier vending machine options and lunchtime walking groups" and "more than 25 percent of employees completed pledge actions designed to nudge them toward improved well-being," the Courier reports.

Cedar Falls was designated a Blue Zones community in 2012.