WPS Benefit News
MARCH 2021
In This Issue:
- Spring Break: Give Yourself a Break
- Live Inspired: Food Good Enough to Eat
Work-Life Harmony (FREE Webinar)
Wellness Credits: Frequently Asked Questions
Work Smart Tips: Protecting Your Body from Injury
Employee Benefits Reminders
Spring Break: Give Yourself a Break
Spring Break is around the corner. Sometimes our winter holiday breaks, while welcomed, involve rushing around and don't always involve a lot of down time. Spring Break can be that for you, a time to recharge and make room for self-care.
Consider prepping your work area before you leave for Spring Break. That could mean tidying up your area, wiping down your surfaces, or having a written to-do list or plan for the day of your return. This may reduce some anxiety knowing you can walk back into a planned day and prepped work area after your break.
"The Printable Princess" is a blogger who designs her work toward teachers but offers great advice for any of us with these suggestions for unwinding on spring break:
- Self-Care: Do something for yourself over Spring Break, something absolutely just for you. Self-care is so important and it is okay to treat yourself at times, especially given the challenges you may have been faced with this year. Don't look at self-care as selfish, but as an essential part of your well-being.
- Productive Laziness: This Is doing something for yourself that could also be considered accomplishing a goal. It could be reading that book that has been sitting on your nightstand that you really want to read but have had too many other distractions to do so. It could be making a recipe you have really been wanting to try, or anything else you have been waiting to have the time for.
- Slow Down: If your other home commitments can allow it, take the time to take a walk, sleep in if you can, and just live life at a slower pace for this one week.
- Quality Time with People You Love: Take the time to do something fun, even if at home, with your family, significant other, or beloved pet.
- Staycation: Not everyone can afford or may have a desire to travel for spring break. That doesn't mean it can't be a vacation of sorts for you. A vacation can just be a time to relax, or it can be a time to remember how cool your town really is by visiting some spots you forgot you loved.
Enjoy your time. You have earned it!
Source: www.theprintableprincess.com.
Food Good Enough to Eat
1. Eat a variety of healthy foods. This is good advice for anyone, but if you are a parent, setting a good example will help your kids see you practice what you preach.
2. Stick to a routine. Try to eat meals and snacks at the same time every day. This will help you avoid overeating and keep your energy up throughout the day.
3. Be patient with new foods. Encourage yourself to try something you never have or maybe
haven't in a long time. We change and have new outlooks as we age. You might be
missing out on a healthy food you didn't even realize you loved.
4. Consider meal planning. Go into the grocery store with a plan for the week to make sure
you have healthy food options on hand and are less likely to turn to take-out for dinner. If
you have kids, consider making them part of the shopping and cooking process. This could go a long way in getting their "buy-in" at dinner time if they were part of the plan.
Sources: 2021 Live Inspired Calendar
Work-Life Harmony Webinar
Free Webinar
Our lives are busy, and different responsibilities can pull us in many directions. In this session, learn how to flow with responsibilities to find the harmony and happiness in your life.
Webinars can be found below the Resource Library under Check Out Our Webinars.
Click here to access the webinar (this link allows you to skip the login page)
Wellness Credits: Frequently Asked Questions
Employee Benefits recently provided a reminder about wellness points and the fact that a COVID-vaccine can be applied toward wellness points. Based on feedback from employees, we decided to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about our wellness points.
- Do I have to get the COVID vaccine with the district to have it apply toward wellness points? Absolutely not. It is your choice whether or not to get the vaccine and where to get it. If you don't use your insurance or prescription card to get it though, bswift will not capture it, so it will be necessary for you to keep and upload a copy of your vaccine card if you wish to apply it toward wellness points.
- If I have more than one vaccine for the year, will I get more points toward wellness? No. Only one vaccine can apply toward wellness points. This could be a flu shot, the COVID vaccine, a pneumonia vaccine, or any other CDC-approved vaccine.
- Why aren't my wellness points showing up on bswift? Points show up based on quarterly reports received from our vendors (Meritain, Maxor, Delta Dental, and EyeMed). It could be that your provider has not completed or submitted the claim yet.
- If I did a Cologuard test, will this count as a colonoscopy? Yes. Cologuard tests involve collecting your own stool sample and sending off for screening. It is becoming more frequent due to it being less invasive than a traditional colonoscopy. You are encouraged to speak to your provider about which test is best for you, but either will be accepted as wellness points.
- My spouse is on the plan. Do we each have to get 100 wellness points for the discount, or is it 100 points total between the two of us? It is 100 points for each of you.
- Will my annual physical count toward points if I didn't get the labs done? No. Points will be applied for an annual physical with lab work.
- If my points don't show up at the time of open enrollment next fall but I know I had the services, what can I do? On the bswift site's library, you can find the Optional Wellness Verification Form that can be filled out by your provider to show services were completed. This can then be uploaded to the bswift site before the enrollment deadline.
As a reminder, the wellness points matrix is shown below. Wellness points for the current plan year of 2021 were waived for that year only, based on COVID and issues with many facilities being closed or having limited hours for access. For the 2022 plan year that we enroll for in the fall of 2021, wellness points will be required in order for the discount in 2022. The wellness period runs from September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2021, so services will need to have taken place during that time period to apply toward the 2022 discount. We changed this period several years ago in an effort to not have employees scrambling during open enrollment to provide documentation for things that had just happened or not even occurred yet.
Work Smart Tips: Protecting Your Body from Injury
As we carry on with our busy lives in and outside of work, we often follow such a routine that we do not give a lot of thought to how we are using our body to accomplish different tasks. Our bodies get tired, and they need variation and movement to stay healthy and avoid injury.
The following tips can help you think twice about different tasks you may perform during your workday or home life to help you avoid injury, strain, or pain.
Floor to Waist Lifting Tips
- Start with a strong support base by spreading your feet apart.
- Don't just bend at the waist, but use your knees. If you have a knee condition, try to stand a bit staggered with your stronger leg behind your bad knee and using that strong leg for more support.
- Keep your head faced forward instead of peering down to keep posture aligned and avoid strain.
Overhead Lifting Tips
- Use a staggered stance to be able to stay close to the weight you are moving.
- When picking up the item, rock back to the back foot.
- Rock forward to your front foot when placing the item back on the shelf or overhead area.
- Keep the item directly in front of you to keep good posture.
You can check out videos here on lifting techniques:
https://arcpt.com/2020/06/18/lifting-and-recovery-techniques-to-avoid-injury/
Prolonged Standing Tips
- Stand with a wide stance or stagger your stance when possible if reaching.
- If working with your hands, alternate which hand you reach with to prevent overuse.
- Do backward shoulder rolls to provide relief or shoulder blade squeezes.
You can check out videos here on prolonged standing and reaching techniques:
https://arcpt.com/2020/06/24/prevent-injury-during-prolonged-standing-and-reaching/
Proper Gripping and Pinching Tips
- Use the entire hand, not just your fingers. This will avoid overstressing your tendons which is more likely to cause injury.
- Make sure if using a tool that it is the right size for you so you can use it appropriately and avoid injury.
- Be sure to stretch hands open and closed throughout the day to increase blood flow.
You can check out videos here on how to avoid injury from gripping and pinching activities:
https://arcpt.com/2020/06/30/video-gripping-pinching-and-tool-techniques-to-avoid-injury/
General Tips to Avoid Injury
- Change positions frequently. to avoid overuse or strain on any body part.
- Take some stretch breaks throughout the day, even for a few second at a time.
- Adjust your work area so supplies are closer within your reach to avoid straining to get to them.
Source: www.arcpt.com
Employee Benefits & Insurance Management
COVID Reminders: Please continue to report your COVID situations by calling the hotline at (316)833-0074 or filling out the online intake form at https://bit.ly/3gdEbbu. Follow-up questions can be directed via e-mail to covidhotline@usd259.net. Your COVID situations are still important for us to know about not only to help guide you, but because this data helps drive decisions for the district. If you have been out for a COVID reason, it is important you communicate your return to work date by e-mail to covidhotline@usd259.net so we do not include you in active quarantine data.
Danielle Dettmer
Functional Manager
HR/Employee Benefits & Insurance Management
Email: employeebenefits@usd259.net
Website: http://www.usd259.org/HumanResources
Location: 903 South Edgemoor Street, Wichita, KS, USA
Phone: 316-973-4581