2020 Reopening FAQs

The WellWorks team is actively engaged in thinking about new ways to connect with our members. This includes virtual membership, virtual personal training, and how to keep our Grover Center facility a welcoming and stress reducing experience as we return to campus.  WellWorks will announce new adventures as they become finalized and we realize there are some other questions out there. In response to a quickly changing environment, we have compiled the following Frequently Asked Questions and will be updating it as information becomes available. 

WellWorks staff remains available to support your wellbeing journey and empower you. If you wish to reach out with additional questions or other ideas for our reopening, please email us at wellworks@ohio.edu

When will WellWorks reopen to the public?

Awww, we miss you too! WellWorks is waiting for University leadership to approve the opening of our wellness center on the Athens Campus. The University remains closed at this time and your favorite WellWorks staff are working diligently to support your wellness virtually. Check out WellWorks Virtual Memberships to connect with our friendly staff on a variety of wellbeing topics!

How will the experience at WellWorks change?

When we do reopen, things are going to be a little different at WellWorks with the Responsible Restart OHIO requirements from the state. Let us be clear that the one thing that will not change is our commitment to your wellbeing. 

We want to ensure the health and safety of our participants. Our team is working diligently with University entities such as Facilities Management and Safety to ensure you are able to come to WellWorks to relieve stress, not create more.  Most likely, our friendly staff will be wearing their smiles under awesome masks and cleaning like crazy.

Current considerations for reopening WellWorks:

  • Moving equipment to group fitness spaces to allow for physical distancing
  • Moving fitness classes outdoors (limited offering based on class type)
  • Asking participants to bring their own yoga equipment
  • Having each member have their own spray bottle and towel or making a large purchase of cleaning wipes
  • Having scheduled times for members to come in to minimize disappointment if the facility reaches capacity
  • Having closing times during the day to deep clean facility at regular intervals
  • Moving check in to the lobby of Grover Center
  • Keeping locker rooms closed

Have an idea you would like us to consider? Email wellworks@ohio.edu so the staff can discuss the logistic of your idea.

Will virtual classes continue?

Absolutely! In July, WellWorks launched our new Virtual Membership experience that includes live and on-demand fitness classes, virtual personal training, instructional videos, nutritional information, specialty programs and more! Offerings will be rotated twice each month to keep content fresh and exciting! Check out our Member Portal to see all of our current offerings. 

I have stuff in my locker that I would like to get. How do I go about getting it?

We know your personal belongings are valuable. If there is something you can’t live without, please email wellworks@ohio.edu to arrange a time to collect your items.  If it can wait, we will set up times for folks to come into the facility to get any non-essential items once the facility reopens.

I understand that our memberships are currently frozen, but will they be extended once WellWorks reopens?

We made a tough business decision to freeze all memberships, but we felt it was the right thing to do for our members.  Once WellWorks opens its facility, all memberships will be extended for the duration of the closure. For example, if we open in July 16, WellWorks will add 4 months onto the end of your current expiration date. So if you expired on March 20th, you will now expire on July 20. If your membership originally was set to expire January 2021, you will now expire May 2021. Please log into our new member portal (Coming mid -June) to find your current expiration date.  We will announce the extensions of memberships once our facility opens. If you made your 100 Day visits for the 100 Day Challenge prior to our closure, your name was submitted to Payroll and it was processed by HR. You may have seen a tax deduction occur on your paystub during your closure and that is because some memberships were processed a few weeks after the closure began. Rest assured, your membership is frozen and you will not lose any days on your Facility Membership once we reopen.

How was the 100 Day Challenge determined this year since WellWorks closed in March?

Wow! The 100 Day Challenge really was a challenge this year with WellWorks closing in March, but WellWorks team had your backs. For the past two years we have been tracking and posting progress for our members to help keep them on track averaging 2 visits a week. WellWorks and University Benefits determined that it would be equitable for folks to “win” the challenge with 2 visits a week for the duration of time the facility was open to employees. There were 37 weeks of operation between July 1 and March 16. We took winter closure and spring break out of the calculation.  So, 35 weeks x 2 visits a week = 70 visits. Therefore, members that reached 70 visits by March 16, 2020 were awarded the 1 year membership. 

We know that some of you are disappointed because there were more than 100 days remaining and you like to make this particular challenge right at the end of the year, but good news for you is that your membership will be extended and we hope that the 100 day challenge will be back and better than ever in 2020-2021.

How will the 100 Day Challenge be calculated for July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021?

Great question! Due to so many uncertainties in Fiscal Year 2021, the decision was made to pause or discontinue the 100 Day Challenge as of July 1, 2020. In its place, ALL current Ohio University employees will be offered a 30% discount on our Virtual Memberships! Use your OHIO Single Sign On (SSO) on our Member Portal to log into your account and access this discount (in the Membership tab). The normal cost of a Virtual Membership is $10 per month, but Ohio University employees will receive the membership for $7/month.

 

Why did my paycheck get taxed for WellWorks during the closure?

Congrats on accomplishing the 100 Day Challenge!  As an OHIO employee, when you earn your 100 Day Membership, the government views that as a taxable fringe benefit. This fringe benefit is taxed when we submit your name to Human Resources Benefits, as they pay for this membership on your behalf. WellWorks was diligent in communicating with our members about earning the 100 Day Challenge Membership. We also did our best to communicate membership extension details to members with the information that we had from the University. If you did not receive an email about earning your 100 Day Challenge Membership, please email wellworks@ohio.edu so we can check our system to ensure that all of your information is correct in our membership management software (NEW software coming mid-June!). If you made your 100 Day visits for the 100 Day Challenge prior to our closure, your name was submitted to Payroll and it was processed by HR. You may have seen a tax deduction occur on your paystub during your closure and that is because some memberships were processed a few weeks after the closure began. Rest assured, your membership is frozen and you will not lose any days on your Facility Membership once we reopen.

I no longer work at the University. Can I still be a member?

Absolutely! WellWorks is an employee and community wellness center. You will continue to be able to access our facility and virtual content as a part of your membership or community services. If you earned the 100 Day Challenge prior to separating from the University, it has already been added to your membership. You are also eligible for a Virtual Membership. We look forward to seeing you in our facility or virtually very soon.

 

I have Personal Training, Risk Reduction, or Massage Sessions on my account.  Will those expiration dates be extended?

We will be extending those expiration dates once we reopen and resume those specific services. We will be updating the expiration dates on your account on our Member Portal.

We are now offering Virtual Risk Reduction and Virtual Personal Training! Check it out. You can use your existing personal training sessions for Virtual Personal Training.