Every day, our nurses at UF Health shift into gear to provide the best possible care for patients. Now, it’s our chance to return the favor.

GatorCare and the UF-UF Health Wellness Committee developed a pilot program called Shift into High Gear. It’s a voluntary and comprehensive wellness program for nurses that focuses on sleep, nutrition, physical activity and stress management. Seventeen units and 191 employees from UF Health Shands Hospital and the UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital participated in the four-month program beginning in June 2017.

The UF Health Shands Hospital Admissions Discharge Transition Unit, or ADTU, won the challenge based on overall involvement, with more than 28 employees participating. They were named the Healthiest Unit of 2017.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard at bettering ourselves and challenging each other to drink more water, eat healthier and exercise more,” said Rachel Shrum, R.N., UF Health Shands ADTU nurse. “A lot of us have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to our health. We really worked hard during the program to encourage each other where one of us was strong and the other weak.”

Don’t worry if you weren’t able to participate in the program last year. Units will have the opportunity to compete for the Healthiest Unit of 2018 by participating in various wellness activities throughout the year. Participating nursing teams can get started by designating a Wellness Partner to represent their units. Visit GatorCare.org/wellnesspartners to learn more.