East Baltimore Health Promotion and Well-Being

Overview

The East Baltimore Health Promotion and Well-Being staff serve students, post-doctoral fellows, house staff, and other trainees within the School of Medicine, Bloomberg School of Public Health, School of Nursing, and the Berman Institute. While you are learning and training here at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus, our mission is to enrich your experience, help you thrive professionally and personally, and promote an environment that supports your health and well-being. 

Please stay tuned for updates by subscribing to This Week in Well-Being, following Health Promotion and Well-Being on Instagram (@chewatjhu) and JHU Well-Being (@jhuwellbeing) Instagram. 

To learn about your primary care and mental health benefits through UHS, or to make an appointment to see a health care provider, please visit the UHS home page.  

This page is the hub for East Baltimore health and well-being programs, events, and resources, and more. Check out the Health Promotion and Well-Being main page for an overview of programs and services available to all JHU students and trainees. In addition, our other pages on the left-hand side menu provide general well-being information and other resources available to you focused on physical well-being, emotional/mental well-being, sexual well-being, alcohol and other drugs, and gender violence prevention.

Programs & Services

See below for current programs and events from Health Promotion and Well-Being and other partners on campus. Everything on this list is open to all students, postdoctoral fellows, house staff, and clinical fellows.

Monthly Wellness Break

The student health and well-being team hosts an in-person monthly wellness break in East Baltimore on the last Friday of each month from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm. The events are held at various locations on the East Baltimore campus. Wellness breaks can include a free fitness class taught by instructors from the Cooley Fitness Center, a well-being information table, health education activity, and healthy snacks. Subscribe to our listserv to receive notifications of Monthly Wellness Breaks.

Well-Being Consultations and Programs

Health Promotion and Well-Being staff offer meetings for personalized health and well-being sessions with a Health Education Specialist.  The sessions are designed to help you identify and reach your wellness goals, guide you towards specific health and well-being resources, and share successful habit formation and health behavior change information with you.

Carol, our Health Education Specialist on the East Baltimore campus offers in-person or virtual meetings, schedule your appointment here.

*Health and Well-Being consultations are not intended for clinical health services. If you are seeking medical or mental health treatment, you can contact University Health Services to make an appointment to see a primary care or mental health physician.

The Health Promotion and Well-Being staff offers a variety of standard programs for student organizations, faculty, and university departments to request. Fill out this form to request a specific program and to learn more about our programs. Please allow at least two weeks’ notice for all programming. Examples of health education topics and interactive discussions include Maintaining Healthy Habits, The Health Benefits of Sleep, Mental and Emotional Health, Stress Management, Growth Mindset, Time Management, Identifying and Using your Strengths, and many more.

28 Day Health Challenges

Have you and your colleagues been thinking about establishing or re-setting some healthy habits? Perhaps you would even like to eliminate a behavior. If you and your department, cohort, or student/trainee group would like to create a health challenge to cultivate a specific healthy behavior, a member of the student health and well-being team will be happy to help you design a tailored, 28-day healthy habit challenge to help meet your health and well-being goals.  Contact uhswellness@jhu.edu if you are interested in designing a sponsored challenge.

Check out the list of suggested health challenges you can choose from below. We can also work with another theme you may have in mind!

  • Steps/Walking Challenge
  • Meditation Challenge (using the Calm app or another source)
  • Water Challenge (Increase water intake/reduce caffeine, etc.)
  • Nutrition Challenge (i.e. Increase/track fruit and vegetable intake, meal prepping competition)
  • Eliminate alcohol/other vices
  • Gratitude Challenge (Journaling)
  • Reading Challenge (For pleasure)
  • Outdoor Challenge (Getting outdoors, taking photos, exploring, etc.)
  • Sleep Challenge (Track sleep hours, sleep hygiene)
  • Fitness Challenge (Log all exercise)
  • Healthy Habit Challenge (Choose any healthy habit and track habits)
  • Contact Student Health and Well-Being to design your challenge
  • Promote the challenge information and registration/sign up to your group
  • Choose incentive prize winners (raffles, participation prizes, etc.)
  • Distribute post-program survey
  • Discuss your challenge goals, theme, and timeline.
  • Brainstorm options for tracking habits (i.e. fitness app, habit tracking app, step tracking app).
  • Provide registration/sign-up and pre/post-program surveys
  • Provide incentive prizes
  • “Kick-off” your health challenge (virtually or in-person) where we will share information about health behavior change, habit-forming tips, accountability, incentive prizes, and how the challenge will work.
  • Arrange for health education to support the theme of the chosen health challenge

Health Promotion and Well-Being Small Grant Program

Have an idea for an initiative that would reduce stress, improve the quality of life for the student/trainee community, or create a supportive environment by bringing people together? Are you already involved in a program that supports the well-being of your fellow students/trainees but you need more funding to make it happen? Health Promotion and Well-Being seek applications to a small grant program that will fund student or trainee-led well-being initiatives during the fall semester.

This grant program is meant to support student and trainee well-being, broadly defined. The application is designed to capture the essence of your idea for a project or program, while being as simple to complete as possible.

Applications should describe how the project will promote students’ and/or trainees’ health and well-being.

Applications may fund new projects or help support existing programs. Applications can be for short-term or longer-term initiatives. Applications may be submitted by representatives of a current student/trainee organization or by individual students/trainees unaffiliated with an organization.

Funds may not be used for alcohol or unapproved activities which may vary by school. The maximum amount of the award is $1,000, with smaller requests favorably considered.

The next application cycle will take place in Fall 2023. Please check back here in September 2023 for updated information.

Timeline for Fall 2021 Application Cycle

Applications open:–
Applications due:–
Awards announced:–

If your project is chosen for funding, additional details will be provided on how to document expenses, parameters for using the funds, and instructions for completing a project summary at the end of the project.

  • Budget and budget justification should be detailed so the review committee understands how you determined the budget request.
  • Food can be included if it is a necessary part of the project but should not be the only item in the budget or the primary purpose of the funding. Funding food for an already existing program is a low priority for this program.
  • Justification for your project idea bolsters the application. This can be anything from anecdotal information to an internal poll sent to the student/trainee’s cohort.
  • Assess which groups of students/trainees you aim to participate in your project. This may be a small group of people instead of opening it up to the three schools in East Baltimore.
  • Ideas that foster social connections and support among students and trainees are highly encouraged. All activities must comply with the current phase of the JHU reopening plan.

What is the purpose of the grant program?
The purpose of this program is to directly support our learners in ways they find most valuable and to inspire new and creative ways to enhance health and wellness among students and trainees in the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Bloomberg School of Public Health.

What types of projects are you looking for?
We do not have pre-set projects in mind; our goal is to support the ideas (big or small) you think are most valuable. We are particularly interested in projects that foster social connectedness and projects that support healthy ways to relieve stress. Both short-term and longer-term projects are welcomed.

Who is eligible to apply?
Any student, postdoctoral fellow, clinical fellow, or resident from the School of Medicine, School of Nursing or Bloomberg School of Public Health is eligible to apply.

If my project receives funding, when will the funds be dispersed?
Funds will be available by early January 2022. They will be disbursed to a department or office which will hold the funds for you and allow you to use them for the intended purpose.

When do funds need to be used by?
Funds should be used by December 2022, although this will be coordinated with the department or office that will hold your grant funds.

How will the grantees be selected?
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of faculty, staff, students, and trainees from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Do the funds have to be used for a brand new initiative?
No, the funds can go toward a new or existing initiative related to well-being.

If my project receives funds, what else do I need to know?
Grantees will be responsible for:

  • Documenting expenses
  • Using funds for the stated purposes and within the specified timeframe
  • Evaluating the impact of your project
  • Acknowledging Health Promotion and Well-Being as a sponsor on all communications and outreach
  • Completing a project summary report at the completion of the project period

To date, we’ve allocated 2 rounds of small grant funding for well-being projects led by students and trainees in BSPH, SOM, and SON totaling $10,000. The first round of 7 projects was disbursed in June 2019. The second round of 11 projects was disbursed in December 2019. Project titles for the grantees are included in the table below. Some projects are restructuring or delaying their plans due to COVID-19; however, the grantees are coordinating with UHS Wellness to ensure their projects still meet their intended goals.

June 2019 Grantee Project TitlesDecember 2019 Grantee Project Titles
Frederick Brancati Memorial Lecture: Pursuing equal access in science and medicineEnvisioning a Better Future for Hopkins™ Mental Health: Interviews with Academics
Wholesome Culture and Eating HabitsIn-between the Lines: An explorative program aimed at sparking curiosity and community
Pharmer’s GardenSON Mental Health Grad Network
Student Wellness Initiative Craft NightBrief Mindfulness Practices for Residents
Stoop Storytelling Event at SONPlants for Pediatricians: A Wellness Event with B.Willow (Mini Planting Workshop)
SOM Teaching KitchenThe Peer Collective
Residency Support CommitteeHappy Horticulturists: Revitalizing the AMEB Garden
Hopkins Association of People Practicing Yoga (HAPPY)
Women in Academic Research Pathways (WARP) @Hopkins
Art of Medicine – Art IS Medicine
Coffee Connect

General Campus Resources

Below are some East Baltimore-specific resources available to you as a student or trainee. Visit our other pages for more well-being resources. To learn more about eligibility and resources visit the JHU Well-Being site.

Corporate Security, Parking & Transportation 

  • Supports getting to and around the JH Medicine campuses and offers a range of services to ensure a safe and stress-free work and school environment. For more information click here.

University Health Services (UHS)

  • Call UHS to make an appointment to see a primary care or mental health clinician. The UHS Benefits Office can also help if you have questions about a bill, your benefits as a student or trainee, or your Student Health Program insurance. Visit the UHS website here.

Breastfeeding Support

  • Johns Hopkins provides access to mother’s rooms as well as resources and information for mothers who choose to breastfeed after returning to work or school. For information on breastfeeding support click here.

Disability Support Services