• Back to School Resources with ComPsych EAP
• ComPsych: Employee Testimonial on Assistance with Elder Care Research
• Benefits Open Enrollment Dates
• Newsletter Survey Feedback & Croquet Set Winners!
• Wellness Reminders for Your 2024 Discount
• Wellness Reminders: For New Hires & Transfers Into Benefitted Positions 4/1/23 & After Only
• Hootie Tip: Preventive Services Covered
• Employee Benefits: Who We Are & How We Can Help You
  

This month, WPS welcomed over 700 new employees into our family, as well as new students and returning employees and students from the summer. It is a great time for us to offer both new and current employees a reminder of the free resources available at your fingertips with ComPsych, our EAP (Employee Assistance Program).

While calling their number directly (866-517-1254 or TTY 800-697-0353) is always the easiest way to get set up with counseling, ComPsych has many educational and resource tools beyond that.

Use the following instructions to get set up on their website to access these resources:

Visit www.guidanceresources.com

Use Web ID: usd259

Once you have an account set up, on the main page under Featured Resources, you will find the Wichita Public Schools Teacher Resource Guide. While designed for teachers, the guide offers tools that could assist in many positions as we are all here to serve a combined purpose. Combating Compassion Fatigue, Self-Care for Stress Relief, Budget Plans, Paying Back Your Student Loans, and Encouraging Tolerance and Acceptance in Children are just a few of the topics covered in this guide.

For those of you balancing work and children returning to school, ComPsych has just released a new webinar entitled No Such Thing as a Perfect Parent. Once you are signed up for Guidance Resources sand logged in, you can jump right to the webinar by clicking here No Such Thing as a Perfect Parent Webinar or find it on the homepage, under Featured Resources.

In one of our recent newsletter surveys, you expressed interest in real-life testimonials on how some of our work-balance services worked. One of our own WPS employees wants to share their testimonial with you:

"My mother-in-law has lived with our family for several years. Her memory issues and cognitive difficulties have progressed to a point that it is getting difficult for us to care for her on our own. Her providers have shared with us that she is in the middle stages of Alzheimer's and dementia and that we need to begin considering alternative living arrangements for her such as a memory facility. We are overwhelmed by this research and don't know where to even begin. You are not able to simply find the prices and availability by just looking online. I used ComPsych's Guidance Resource expert tool and explained our family issue, asking for help to research this.

Within 24 hours, they had provided me an entire portfolio of facilities within a 40 mile radius that met our needs. They not only provided a breakdown summarizing what each facility provided, but also told me whether they had availability or a waitlist and the particular pricing at each facility based on what type of room. This saved our family hours of phone calls, and now we can pinpoint where we want to visit more easily. In addition, they emailed me after a day to make sure I had what I needed to make sure there was not more they could provide. I was really surprised with the level of detail and attention given. I would not have been able to collect this much information on my own in that amount of time given my work schedule."

Elder care is one of our most frequently searched topics according to generalized data we receive from our ComPsych usage reports, telling us this is a relevant issue for many of our employees. Many of us find ourselves in that "sandwich generation" where you are still caring for kids at home but also find yourself in the position where you may also be caring for aging or ailing parents at the same time. This can put a lot of strain and stress on you and your family. ComPsych can assist. To get help with an issue such as this, you can call the number with your question at (866)517-1254 or TTY 800-697-0353 or you can sign up on the website and send your detailed list of questions by using the following guide:

• Log onto www.guidanceresources.com
• Use Web ID: usd259 to set up an account if you have not done so already.
• On the main homepage, use the Envelope icon to select Send a Question.
• From there, you can choose the topic you need assistance with and fill out relevant information.
• A guidance consultant will reach back out with detailed information within 24-48 hours.

Thank you for your responses to our July newsletter survey. This helps us gauge how well we are communicating and where we can do better.

Have you used our newsletter translation feature? 15% said yes.

Are you signed up for Guidance Resources? Sadly, only 16% of you are registered for Guidance Resources, our ComPsych EAP (Employee Assistance) website. 42% of you did not know what Guidance Resources was. Be sure to check out the feature in this newsletter to show you the again the different ways this website can help you with everyday matters, not just with counseling.

Do you understand the new simplified wellness points system? Over 96% of you said yes!

Do you know who to call if you need medical leave? 79% of you know who to call if you need medical leave. Not bad! If you don't, you can find that in our EBIM Contact List at the end of this newsletter: Nicole Heizelman for Certified Staff & Jeana Melton for Classified Staff.

Our Croquet Set winners are listed below:

You may pick these up at our HR front desk at AMAC between the hours of 7:45 AM and 4:45 PM. Please show your ID badge when picking up. We hope you enjoy this set with friends and family!

• Amanda Popp - Levy
• Aurora Juarez - Gateway
• Blake Mosier - Spaght
• Chanda Smart - Curtis
  
• Jennifer Setser - O K Elementary
• Jeri Yanez - Washington
• Keri Mick - Isely
• Malia Lindner - McAuliffe
• Patrick Greene - AMAC
• Tori Blackburn - SSC