WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER
In January, the Joint Benefits Committee will be launching a new employee wellness program:* What’s Your Number? The goal of the program is to assist employees in becoming more knowledgeable about their cholesterol levels, their blood pressure readings, and their Body Mass Index (BMI) number. In addition, the program will provide employees with tools and resources to build and/or maintain healthy habits.
The program will be available to classified, licensed, administrative, and professional active employees who are benefits eligible. At four pilot locations (Twin Oaks, Monroe, North Eugene and 4J Human Resources), employees will have the opportunity to participate in an early morning onsite fasting finger-stick cholesterol check, blood pressure check, and BMI calculation. Employees who participate in an assessment will be entered into prize drawings, and employees who complete all three assessments will be entered into a grand prize drawing.
If you do not work at one of the pilot test locations, or if you do but are unable to attend the day your onsite testing is scheduled, you can still participate through the 4J Wellness Clinic. There will be an early morning screening set up specifically to accommodate employees who would like to participate in the What’s Your Number? Program.
Scheduling at the pilot locations and the Wellness Clinic is currently underway. Additional details about participation opportunities will be shared as they become available.
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*Our employee wellness program is made possible with grant funding from the OEA Choice Trust Employee Wellness Grant Program, and in partnership with Cascade Health Solutions. |
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. ~Irish Proverb
WELLNESS CLINIC: WINTERBREAK & CHOLESTEROL SCREENING
The 4J Wellness Clinic will be closed December 24, 2013 through January 1, 2014. Regular clinic hours, which will resume January 2, 2014, are Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. The clinic is closed for lunch from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. If you will need a prescription refilled over winter break, please plan ahead.
Remember that the next drop-in cholesterol screening for the 2013-14 school year will occur Wednesday, January 8, 2014. These quarterly drop-in cholesterol screenings at the 4J Wellness Clinic are done on a first come, first-served basis from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. and are a fasting cholesterol finger stick, with the results available in about 5 minutes. Fasting means nothing to eat or drink but plain water for at least 10 – 12 hours.
If you have questions about whether it is time to have your cholesterol screened, please consult your health care provider.
FIND CARE IN A SNAP
Looking for a provider? Locate one with Moda Health Find Care. Go to https://www.modahealth.com/oebb/members/ and click “Find Care.” Then search for a doctor, dentist, pharmacy or clinic near you.
To make sure you see only preferred providers in your search results have your Moda Health member ID card handy and enter your subscriber ID.
Find Care lets you search by location, specialty, gender and even language. Smartphone users can use a mobile version of Find Care. Just search for the Moda Health mobile app in your app store (iPhone or Android), or type modahealth.com into your mobile browser.
FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT REIMBURSEMENT DEADLINE
If you had a Flexible Spending Account for unreimbursed health-related expenses and/or dependent care expenses during the plan year that ended September 30, 2013, please remember that all expenses must have been incurred between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013 to be eligible for reimbursement.
In order to claim any remaining unclaimed money you set aside for the previous plan year, you’ll need to either file your reimbursement claim electronically or submit a Reimbursement Request to PacificSource Administrators (PSA) along with the appropriate documentation. You can find information about how to file a request for reimbursement, as well as the necessary form(s) on the PSA website: http://psa.pacificsource.com/Flex/Request_Reimbursement/
The deadline for reimbursement requests for the previous plan year is December 31, 2013. If you have questions, please call PSA customer service at 541-485-7488 or 800-422-7038.
SWEET POTATO OR YAM?
What are commonly called yams are actually sweet potatoes, which are not really potatoes at all, but storage roots, like carrots. True yams belong to another plant family. You will seldom see a true yam in this country, except in specialty markets. Called njam and grown in Africa and the Caribbean, a yam is pale and starchy, with rough and scaly skin. Canned sweet potatoes are often labeled “yams”, since that’s what most people call them.
There are a least 16 varieties of sweet potato. Skin color ranges from tan to reddish-purple, usually with deeply colored flesh. Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables. A medium sweet potato contains about 10 milligrams of beta carotene (a hefty amount), plus fiber, vitamin C, some B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, and calcium – even more if you eat the skin. The true yam has no beta carotene and half the vitamin C.
In spite of their sweet taste, sweet potatoes have the same number of calories as white potatoes, about 100 per 4-ounce serving. It’s a shame that they often get “candied”-laden with sugar, syrup, and marshmallows.
Can drinking oxygenated water have any health benefits?
A: No. Makers of oxygenated water claim the water is infused with 7 to 40 times more oxygen than regular water. This, supposedly, will help your muscles, improve athletic performance and “purify” the body.
But this makes no sense. First, there’s little free oxygen gas in water to begin with; adding more doesn’t amount to much. A bottle of oxygenated water has less oxygen than the amount you get taking a single breath.
Most important, it doesn’t matter how much oxygen is in the water, because we absorb oxygen into our blood through our lungs, not our digestive tracts. And, in general, healthy people’s blood already contains all the oxygen it needs.
Oxygen water is a scam.
For Questions Regarding Benefits Or Claims,
Contact Moda:
- Moda Medical Customer Service –1-866-923-0409
- Moda Dental Customer Service –1- 866-923-0410
- Moda Pharmacy Customer Service – 1-866-923-0411
- www.modahealth.com/oebb
For questions regarding eligibility, contact OEBB:
- OEBB Information – 1-888-469-6322
- http://oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB/
To access the Employee Assistance Program:
- Reliant Behavioral Health – 1-866-750-1327
- www.myrbh.com/
For questions regarding life or long term disability insurance:
- The Standard – 1-866-756-8115
- www.standard.com/mybenefits/oebb
For questions regarding a Flexible Spending Plan:
- PacificSource Administrators – 541-485-7488
- www.psa.pacificsource.com/PSA/
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This newsletter is reviewed and edited each month by the District 4J and OSEA representatives of the Classified Joint Benefits Committee (JBC).The information in this newsletter is summarized, and is not intended as advice or counsel.
