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Mental Health First Aid Trainings and Keynotes Workplace Well-Being Blog The Homestead

ABOUT HAMMES HOMESTEAD & CONSULTING 

Hammes Homestead & Consulting was founded in 2023 by Megan Hammes. Megan felt called to bring her 20+ years of experience in employee health and well-being management directly to leadership teams and work groups with a focus on Mental Health First Aid trainings. Why? Hammes was deeply inspired by the resilience and perseverance of a number of front-line workers during the pandemic and simultaneously concerned about the future state of well-being given the trauma that many faced. Her observation is that mental health is minimally understood and highly stigmatized yet very common (20% of the adult population is affected each year). Mental Health First Aid helps to educate, normalize conversations, and reduce stigma. As of 2023, 3 million people in the United States are trained in Mental Health First Aid. Hammes hopes to play a part in increasing this number so that individuals have at least one person in their social circle who are a Mental Health First Aider. 

Inspired by a beautiful "homestead" that Hammes and her family (husband, two children) moved to in late 2020, she also desired more time to tend to the land and, with the help of her family, leave it better than they found it. While they don't have an operational 'business plan' for the Homestead, they invite you to follow along by filling out the email form below where we hope to share things that are happening. With some newfound time and space for creativity, it's only a matter of time before a vision comes into focus for the Homestead! 

Image of Megan Hammes at microphone presenting

ABOUT MEGAN

 

Identities

  • Daughter, Wife, Mom, - family is my WHY 
  • Novice and aspiring gardener
  • Open-minded, caring, empathetic, non-judgmental 
  • Experienced professional who uses history, data, and lived experiences of others to formulate positions
  • Owner and Founder, Hammes Homestead and Consulting (2023)

Degrees and Certifications

  • BS Exercise Science / Athletic Training - University of Iowa
  • MS Health Promotion Management/Corporate Wellness - American University, Washington D.C. 
  • Certified Wellness Coach - Wellcoaches
  • Multi-Cultural Competency in Wellness Certificate - National Wellness Institute
  • Resilience and Thriving Facilitator Certificate - Organizational Wellness Learning Systems 
  • Inclusive Workplace Culture Specialty Certificate - Society for Human Resource Management
  • Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor - National Council for Mental Wellbeing
  • Make It Okay Ambassador - Healthiest State Initiative 

Career Highlights

Presentations
  • Strategically Aligning a Wellness Initiative with an Organization’s Safety Goals. NIOSH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WorkLife 2007 Symposium. Bethesda, MD. September 10, 2007.

  • Leveraging Social Networks and Grass-Roots Efforts for Low-Cost, High-Impact Programming. 2nd Building Healthy Academic Communities National Summit. University of California – Irvine. April 23, 2015

  • Creating Supportive Environments to Drive Health and Engagement. Health Enhancement Research Organization Forum. Chicago, IL September 30, 2015.

  • Building a Culture of Resilience One Manager at A Time. Health Enhancement Research Organization webinar with Sara. S Johnson (Co-President and CEO Prochange Behavior Solutions) and Paul Terry (President & CEO of HERO). August 2017.

  • Low Cost; High Impact Well-Being. Big Ten Chief Human Resource Officer Conference. Rosemont, IL. May 2018.

  • Social Connectedness and its relationship to a thriving campus. CUPA HR – Iowa Chapter. Des Moines, IA March 2019.

  • The People Behind the Numbers: Health and Well-Being Dashboard journey from The University of Iowa. Health Enhancement Research Organization Forum. Portland, Oregon. September 2019.

  • The Surprising Impact of Vaping in the Workplace: Treatment and Policy Implications. Health Enhancement Research Organization webinar with Amanda Graham, PhD (Chief of Innovations, Truth Initiative) and Vickie Miene, MB, MA, LMHC (Interim Director, Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and Policy University of Iowa). August 2020. 

  • Coaching Team Resilience. 28th Annual National Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing Conference. Virtual. April 2021.

  • The University of Iowa is Enjoying a Recharge. 2022 HERO Forum.  Co-presentation with Kerry Evers, ProChange Behavior Systems, Inc. Amelia Island, FL. September 21, 2022.

  • Employee Well-Being Trends: What Works Best at Your Campus?" Higher Education Panel - University of Texas System Living Well Summit. Austin, TX. January 24, 2023. 
  • Evidence in Action: Mental Health First Aid in Higher Education. 2023 Iowa BEST Summit - Scanlan Center for School Mental Health. Des Moines, IA. October 5, 2023. 
  • Mental Health First Aid as a workplace safety, well-being, and culture strategy. Iowa Governor's Safety and Health Conference. Des Moines, IA. October 25, 2023.
Publications
  • Troester, JT and Hammes, MH. Development of a Health and Well-Being Dashboard to inform People Strategy at the University of Iowa. The American Journal of Health Promotion. 2020; Volume 34 (4); pp 455-458.
  • Moeller, M.A. and Snelling, A.M. Health Professionals Advice to Iowa Adults with Hypertension Using the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2006; 20 (6): 392-395.
  • Wellness Councils of America, 2004. Absolute Advantage. Retooling without Reschooling, co-author.
Awards

Heart of HERO Award (2022)

 

PURPOSE FUELS PASSION

 

I have seen firsthand the impact that the workplace can have on individual health and well-being. Ideally, the workplace is where people go to participate in community and camaraderie, earn a paycheck that is enough to cover basic needs and savings, and find meaning/purpose. Often, workplace policies and practices contribute negatively to worker mental health and well-being. When this happens, workplace productivity, creativity, retention and ultimately business success suffers. 

My purpose is to use my 20+ years of academic and experiential preparation as a student, scholar, and practitioner of worksite mental health and well-being to positively influence workplace culture and therefore individual health.

STAY UP TO DATE ON OUR PROGRESS

Blog posts, happenings on "The Homestead," offerings, program registrations, etc... will be sent to you via email as they arrive.