The VCU Gold program facilitates timely access to VCU Health specialty care for VCU and VCU Health team members, dependents and family members within 30 business days of calling the VCU Gold helpline at 804-828-2778 (VCU-APPT). The helpline operates from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call today for questions or to schedule an appointment.
Work/Life
A fulfilling and balanced life is crucial to your overall happiness and success. At VCU, we are dedicated to providing you with the resources and support you need to achieve a healthy work-life integration. Discover strategies to manage stress, enhance your well-being, handle challenging situations and create a fulfilling personal life while excelling in your professional role.
VCU's work/life programs have received local and national recognition from Sports Backers (Active RVA) and the American Heart Association (2022, Silver Recognition).
RamStrong
RamStrong is a collective resource for VCU students, faculty and staff focused on the eight dimensions of well-being – physical, emotional, financial, intellectual, occupational, environmental, social and spiritual.
Employee Health
VCU Employee Health Services provides a wide range of health and wellness services to both university and health system employees, including work-related and general health concerns, injuries, or exposures.
Work/Life Resources
Please note that this list is provided as a convenience to the VCU community. The listing of various resources and service providers in the area does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the university for the companies, organizations, or private providers listed.
VCU is committed to supporting employees who are growing their families by providing resources and guidance for this chapter in life. Everything you need to know about taking time off work, enrolling your new child in benefits, and resources to help you take care of yourself and your new bundle of joy can be found in VCU’s Adding to the Family Guide. For questions about adding to the family, talk to your HRP.
This guide is intended to serve as a resource for VCU faculty and staff who are adding children to their families and provides a general framework and timetable for planning and completing employment and benefit actions. This guide is not intended to cover every possible scenario, but provides helpful tools and resources for this exciting new journey.
The content in this guide applies only to university employees' benefits. If you are simultaneously employed by another VCU-related entity (including but not limited to VCU Health, VCU Dental Care, or MCV Physicians), separate employment and benefits provisions apply to that employment. Please connect with the HR department of your other employer for details about leave and benefits processes applicable to that employment.
Child Care
- On Campus
- VCU Child Development Center - For VCU and VCU Health employees based upon availability. Not affiliated with VCU.
- VCU Health System Child Care Services – For VCU Health System Team members only. At least one parent must work for the Health System. Questions should be directed to childcare-ndeck@vcuhealth.org.
- Off Campus
Virtual
Summer Camps
Additional Resources
Text 4 Baby is an educational program that sends free messages each week to your cell phone to help you through your pregnancy and your baby’s first year. For more information, or to sign up, visit the Text 4 Baby web site.
Capitol Square Healthcare, conveniently located in downtown Richmond, gives state employees, their covered spouses, and covered children ages two and older, access to high-quality and affordable health care. For additional information visit Capitol Square Healthcare online, or call 1- 844-342-1791 between 7:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.
Virginia Department of Social Services Adoption and Foster Care is there to help. Making the decision to become a foster parent or adoptive parent is one that may take time and consideration before you commit to the process. Employees interested in becoming a foster or an adoptive parent should contact the Social Services Office in their city or county to learn more about each agency's process.
North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) provides advice on parenting children in adoption and foster care, information on adoption assistance and adoption tax credit, and training for parents during the process.
FedEx Cold Shipping for Moms offers temperature-controlled delivery services that let mothers ship breastmilk home during overnight travel.
Bon Secours Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants offer lactation and breastfeeding education and support and a chance to connect with other nursing mothers. Breastfeeding helps build a lasting bond between mother and child. It’s a health practice that's been shown to protect babies against ear infections, lower the mother's risk of breast cancer, and help moms lose pregnancy weight.
Child Passenger Safety provides important resources for learning to keep your child safe while travelling. For a child safety seat to work correctly, it must be appropriate for the child’s age and size, installed properly in the vehicle, and adjusted to fit the child securely. Let the Virginia Department of Health help keep your child safe!
Virginia Department of Social Services offers helpful information about different types of child care options and early learning centers licensed by the agency. Finding the right place that meets your needs can take time, so be sure to start this process early.
- Emergencies - 911
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - 988
- Crisis Text Line - 741741
- Shelter & Rent Assistance - 211
- Emergency Housing - 804-648-4177
- Disaster Distress Helpline - 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746
- TimelyCare
- EAP
- The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) provides various mental health resources.
- The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) provides homelessness and housing crisis resources.
Divorce is challenging, and can present a number of issues surrounding your employee benefits. Here are some tips to help you navigate common situations that may arise.
- If you are carrying your ex-spouse or step-children on your health coverage, you will need to change your benefits to remove them when they lose eligibility.
- You may be considering changes to your beneficiary designations. To update your life insurance beneficiaries, see changing your benefits for more details. To update beneficiaries for TIAA or Fidelity Investments accounts, make changes online.
- If you participate in a COVA Health Plan, you have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for yourself and your family members. The EAP provides helpful resources and access to counseling visits at no cost. Anthem participants may log in with the employer name Commonwealth of Virginia and Aetna participants may log in with username and password COVA.
- The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides access to free legal consultations and ongoing discounts for the services of network attorneys. Contact your EAP for details. The EAP websites also provide templates for certain legal documents, including wills and health care directives.
- If you will be changing residences, use VCU’s moving and relocation resources to decide on a new residence or secure discounts for home financing.
- Contact your financial institutions for information about how to change account names as needed.
Contact the Social Security Administration for information regarding how divorce may affect your future benefits, or to obtain a new Social Security card if you make a legal name change.
For free, confidential assistance, 24 hours a day, please call the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Virginia Hotline at (800) 838-8238.
Resources
Senior and Adult Care
Senior Services
Aging and Memory Care
- Aging with Dignity
- Virginia Center on Aging
- National Alzheimer’s Association
- Richmond Area Alzheimer’s Association
- SeniorAdvisor.com
Other Resources
All health plans offered to state employees and their dependents have employee assistance programs (EAPs). Included are up to four sessions at no charge for such services as mental health, alcohol or drug abuse assessment, child or elder care, grief counseling and legal or financial services. EAP counselors are available to assist employees with problems related to Alcohol, Drugs, Family, Gambling, Health, Legal, Financial, Housing, Mental health, Child care, Eldercare, Grief, Spousal/child/parent abuse, Workplace Career Planning, Retirement
In general, care must be authorized in advance. You or your eligible dependent will speak to an EAP specialist who will assess your problem and coordinate assistance. Should your problem require mental health or substance abuse care, you will be referred to a provider, under your mental health and substance abuse benefit. Your EAP specialist or care manager will arrange a referral according to your specific needs.
Contact your plan's Member Services department for more information:
More health and well-being related services and resources can also be found in DHRM’s Employee Health and Wellness Benefits Guide.
Grief is a natural response to loss. Everyone experiences grief differently, and there's no right or wrong way to process it. It's important to take care of yourself and seek support from others during this time. While it is normal for grief to last for months or years, working through grief allows individuals to adjust to life after loss.
Following a Family Member’s Passing:
- Contact the Social Security Administration for information regarding how the death of a spouse or loved one may affect your future benefits.
- You may need to make changes to your beneficiary designations, which you can do through your TIAA or Fidelity Investments account.
- If you were carrying someone who passed away on your health care plan, you will need to remove them.
- If you have an optional life insurance policy on the person who passed away, please contact VCU HR at (804) 827-1723 for assistance on how to submit a claim for the life insurance.
- If you participate in a COVA Health Plan, you have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which provides resources and counseling for yourself and your family members at no cost. You can also find templates for certain legal documents, including wills and health care directives, and numerous articles, on demand webinars, and workshops on the topics of aging and death.
- Anthem participants may log in with employer name “Commonwealth of Virginia”.
- Aetna participants may log in with username and password “COVA”.
- If you will be changing residences, use VCU’s moving and relocation resources to decide on a new residence or secure discounts for home financing.
- Contact your financial institutions for information about how to change account names as needed.
Resources
Congratulations on getting married! As you prepare for your wedding and enjoy the early days of marriage, there are some important things to keep in mind about your benefits and employment information.
Pre-Marriage:
- Carefully check your health insurance plan's Employee Assistance Program for information and services related to real estate, legal services, financial tools, renter's rights, etc. There's also a wedding countdown checklist for handling wedding details.
- Check out VCU's discounts on jewelry, airport parking, auto rental, hotels, and other travel resources.
- A marriage license is issued by the clerk of the circuit court in any county or city in the Commonwealth. Licenses issued in Virginia are for marriages performed in Virginia only. You will need to present a valid photo ID and a certified copy of your birth certificate and the marriage must be performed within 60 days after the license is issued.
Post-Marriage:
- Be sure to review and compare health benefits, and make any changes to ensure your current plan meets your needs. Decide if you'll be enrolling your spouse on your health plan or if you'll drop your benefits to enroll with your spouse. To add your spouse to your VCU plan, your marriage must be recognized in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the employee must include a photocopy of a certified or registered marriage certificate.
- Consider whether to participate in Flexible Spending Accounts or if already participating, decide whether you need to increase or decrease your contributions to cover your spouse's uncovered health and dental expenses with tax-free dollars. If you are gaining a dependent, you may want to begin a Dependent Care Account to pay for daycare or other allowed expenses.
- Consider changing your tax withholding, since getting married will affect the amount of taxes you pay. You may wish to consult with a financial counselor to discuss your situation. If you decide to change your tax withholding, completed Payroll forms should be returned to the Payroll Office at payroll@vcu.edu.
- Consider the purchase or make changes to your optional life insurance. Getting married is a qualifying event for purchasing or making changes, but it must be done within 31 days of the qualifying event.
- You may need to make changes to your beneficiary designations, which you can do through your TIAA or Fidelity Investments account.
- If you change your name, first contact the Social Security Administration to change your name on your social security records. Your name on your payroll records must match the name on your social security card. Please provide your HR Professional with a copy of your SSN card using the Personal Data Form.
- If needed, address and emergency contact information can be changed via eServices.
Resources:
Lactating individuals can seek comfort and privacy for breastfeeding or pumping in lactation rooms located across VCU’s Monroe Park and Health Sciences campuses.
Working Parents
Learning For Children
- Little Sunshine Music Studio - Kindermusik Classes
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- Mindful.com - Mindfulness for Kids
- Virginia Museum of History and Culture - Learning Resources
- Virtual Virginia
- WHRO - Learn and Grow with WHRO (Grades K-3)
- WHRO - Continue to Know with WHRO (Grades 4-7)
Foster Parents
- Virginia Department of Social Services - Foster Care
- City of Richmond Social Services - Division of Children, Families and Adults
- Foster VA
- Hope Tree Family Services
Other Topics