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How to complete the HRA and Wellness Screening/Lab for the Healthcare Plan
UnityPoint health plan open enrollment is November 1 – 15. You will need to have your HRA and Wellness Screening/Blood
work done by the end of open enrollment to take advantage of the premium discounts offered. Here are some tips about the
process:
• Go to Your Benefit Source at http://benefitsource.unitypoint.org Once there log in and click on the Wellness Tab.
Instructions will be provide to you.
• One you click the link to take the HRA it will take you to our new vendor, Limeade, and their site. Please click the Health
Assessment tab to start the HRA. If you have had a blood screening in 2013 you can use those numbers and self-report
during the assessment. If you do not have your numbers use the voucher found online or in HR to have your blood drawn.
The information on your values will electronically be sent to the HRA vendor and you will be able to view your results
within two week by clicking the Wellness Screening link on the Limeade site.
• If your spouse/domestic partner is not currently enrolled in the health plan and you intend to put them on the plan for 2014
you will not be able to have your spouse take the HRA till they are enrolled. Once you enroll them, November 1 – 15, wait
two days and then they will able to take the HRA.
Any questions please contact Human Resources.
NAMI Features Speaker from Allen Hospital for
Mental Illness Awareness Week, October 6 to 12
Kay Froehner will talk about how to cope with depression. Froehner has a master’s degree in Nursing and
Educational Psychology. She is a Certified Nurse Educator and is an Associate Professor at Allen College, where
she teaches mental health nursing. Her presentation
will be Thursday, October 10, from 7 to 8 pm at the
First Congregational Church in Waterloo, 608 West 4th
Street, in the downstairs parlor. NAMI will also offer support groups during the week in
Waterloo for both adults with mental illness and their
family members. The Sharing and Caring group will
meet on Tuesday, October 8, from 6 to 8 pm at Hawkeye Community College’s Metro Campus, 844 West 4th
Street, room 228. The NAMI Education/Support Group
meets on Thursday, October 10, from 2 to 3:30 pm at
the Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial
Street (entrance with the metal canopy, 2nd Floor
Rotary Room).
NAMI Black Hawk County is dedicated to improving
the lives of all individuals affected by mental illness.
For more information, call 319-235-5263 or email
[email protected].
Materials Week, October 6-13
Movie Saturday
Saturday, November 2
Crossroads Theater
Doors open: 7:30 a.m.
Movies start: 8:30 a.m.
Bring your badge and cash only.
Parents must accompany children.
Six tickets per associate.
Movie prices are $3.00 for regular movies and
$6.00 for 3-D movies.
Each year, a first week of October is dedicated to celebrating healthcare
supply chain professionals for their outstanding contributions to healthcare and the overall success of the supply chain. Let’s celebrate all supply
chain professionals for their hard work and strategic value, which help
ensure that healthcare delivery organizations thrive and succeed in the
new healthcare landscape.
Pi Kappa Honor Society Seeks Nurse Leader Members
Pi Kappa, the Allen College chapter of the nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) is seeking nurse leaders
to join its chapter. Licensed RNs with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent in any field who have demonstrated achievement in nursing administration, education, global health, clinical practice, publication, or research should consider
applying for membership. To learn about the benefits of membership, visit the STTI website.
Potential candidates should complete an application form available on the STTI website.
Send completed applications to Gale Carlson ([email protected]) or Cindy Jenness (cindy.jenness@allencollege.
edu) at Allen College, 1825 Logan Avenue, Waterloo, Iowa 50703. For questions or assistance, contact Gale Carlson ([email protected]) or Cindy Jenness ([email protected])
THE NEW UNITYPOINT HEALTH ID BADGES HAVE BEEN PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED
• If you haven’t received a new badge, please check with your department manager.
• Associates whose photo was at least four years old, faded or had a blue colored background instead of white were not
printed. Please stop in HR between 7:30am and 4:30pm to get a new photo and badge. Outside locations, please contact
your Human Resources Business Partner.
• Your old badges should be turned into your department manager.
• Old badges will be deactivated beginning November 1st.
With our new UnityPoint Heath ID Badges there are few things you should know:
• The new badges have your ID information and photo on both sides so your information is always visible to patients, visitors
and staff.
• There will be no badge buddies or other materials worn under new badges (i.e. pictures, previous instructions or cheat
sheets).
• There will be no items covering the information on new badges (i.e. keys, stickers, pins). Flu shot stickers should not be
placed on your badge.
• RN or LPN are listed where they apply, but we will not list other degrees, credentials or licensures.
• Understand that while there are endless ways we could customize badges; our goal is standardization, simplicity and clarity
for our patients.
If you have questions, please call us at 235-3605 or contact your Human Resources Business Partner.
Allen Auxiliary Gift Shop Upcoming Events
October 24 - 25: Scrubs Sale
October 28: Membership Meeting & Brunch
November 7: MOE Celebrate the Season Event
November 18 - 19 : Books Are Fun
Winners for the Tailgate Party Baskets:
Iowa Basket: Whitney Wubbena
UNI Basket: Kay Willard
ISU Basket:
Sandy Swanson
Please stop by the gift shop to claim your prize!
UnityPoint Hospice
Volunteer Honored
UnityPoint Hospice volunteer Mary Weld
was recently recognized as a 2013 Honored
Volunteer. Mary received her award at the
Hospice & Palliative Care Association of
Iowa’s volunteer award ceremony held on
September 13. Volunteers from hospices all
over the state of Iowa were recognized.
Mary has been a hospice volunteer since
2012. “Mary displays a heart for hospice
patients and their families by sharing her
gentle spirit, kind ways and humor. She brings left to right are Mary Weld, UnityPoint
Hospice Volunteer and Linda Alexandres,
comfort to her patients as she listens to
UnityPoint Hospice volunteer coordinator
stories, shares laughs and reads with them,”
says Linda Alexandres, UnityPoint Hospice volunteer coordinator.
Mary was chosen for the honor by the UnityPoint Hospice interdisciplinary
team. Award recipients are selected for best representing the hospice’s
mission; providing compassionate care, dignity and support for every patient
and family.
UnityPoint Hospice relies on compassionate and caring individuals like Mary
to help hospice patients and their families. A hospice volunteer training
session will be starting October 10, and continuing Oct. 17, 24 and 31. If you
are interested in becoming a UnityPoint Hospice volunteer, contact Linda
Alexandres at 319-235-5027 or [email protected].
Allen Hospital Auxiliary Sponsored Shopping Trip
to Jordan Creek
Tuesday, November 12 • $42 per person
Bus leaves fat 7:30 a.m. from Lot 7A
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Shopping & lunch (on your own)
at Jordan Creek
5:30 p.m. Arrive back home
For additional information or to book your trip, contact
Linda in Volunteer Services or call 235-3692 or email
[email protected]
CARE COUNTS ALL STARS AND AMBASSADORS
NOMINATION STORIES FOR MAY - JULY 2013
Ambassador Dr. Kaaki, OB: I cannot pick just one care value since he exemplifies all of the values! Dr. Kaaki is the most
kind, gentle, and highly expert doctor. He takes time to answer the most personal questions from our patients. He treats nurses
with respect and even brought treats on his birthday to share with us. He is a great example of Allen CARE!
All-Star Kate Bissig, Inpatient Therapy: Kate is a newer employee who has just began her profession as a physical therapist. She has gone above and beyond what is needed for her rehab patients. She comes up with new and exciting things for
the patients to do (Fun Fridays), brings in her own items to keep our rehab therapy organized and fully ready for each day. Kate
is always in a great mood and never complains about issues that may arise. She is an amazing therapist and she has only just
begun bringing great changes to our department.
All-Star Doreen Boss, Clinical Services: Nursing had a large project for the roll-out of Mosby’s skills. This project required
skills to be reviewed in comparison to our current policies and procedures and then notes to be developed and submitted to be
placed on the intranet. The process required someone working to put these notes on the intranet so that nurses would be able
to get procedural information in one location. This job was given to Doreen. She willingly and with a smile loaded each of the
new notes and will soon remove all of the old procedures from the intranet allowing nursing staff to utilize Mosby’s skills for any
procedural questions. Sometimes we forget to recognize the people behind the scenes that work extremely hard to make sure
that the staff providing care at the bedside have what they need to continue to provide care. But because of Doreen’s excellent
work and assistance with this project, the staff now have the information with just a simple click of their mouse in EPIC. Thank
you, Doreen, for your awesome attitude towards our request and all your hard work it on it. It is greatly appreciated.
Fire Prevention Week – October 6 – 12, 2013
By Steve Cusher – CHFM, Environment Safety Officer/Emergency Management Coordinator
Next week is Fire PreventionWeek. This is a good time to review plans for your family in case of a fire emergency in your
home. There are some simple and cheap things you can do to help insure the safety of your family and yourself.
1.
2.
3.
Make sure you have smoke detectors in every bedroom of your house and at least one on every landing of your house.
Make sure you have extinguishers so you have the ability to put out small fires if necessary. Have an evacuation plan from your house and a meeting spot for your family in case you have to evacuate your house.
The emphasis this year for Fire Prevention week is to prevent kitchen fires. Most house fires start in the kitchen. This is the
same in healthcare where 61% of all fires start in the kitchen. This is why we have specialized training for our dietary staff
on an annual basis.
Also in the month of October there are classes that are offered for staff that are fire responders for the hospital and clinics.
You can sign up for classes in the hospital through Net Learning. Classes for the clinics are scheduled with the clinic managers. In healthcare, there is a term known as “Defend in Place”. This term refers to the fact that we have patients that cannot perform self-preservation during the time of a fire emergency. It is our obligation as healthcare providers to put out small fires and
to evacuate our patients if needed if the fire cannot be put out. Always remember the RACEE (Remove, Activate, Confine, Extinguish, and Evacuate) acronym for response to fire emergencies. Also remember the PASS (Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep)
technique when using a fire extinguisher.
For further reading and education on fire safety and fire prevention week please go to www.nfpa.org and www.fpw.org. BLUE ZONE EVENT
UNI Wellness Center Family Fun Night:
Saturday, October 26
Tickets go on sale outside the Allen Cafe:
October 14
UPCOMING EVENTS
UnityPoint Hospice Training
Four-part orientation on October 10, 17, 24, and 31, from 8:30 - noon
Contact Alexis Henning at [email protected] for registration information and
location of training.
Pink Ribbon Run (click)
Saturday, October 5, downtown Cedar Falls
Benefits the Beyond Pink Team
Building Healthy Communities Conference (click)
October 8 and 9
Artists’ Paws for a Cause Benefit (click)
Thursday, October 10 - Benefits injured and orphaned wildlife.
Trick or Trot Run
Saturday, October 12 at Lour Henry School Parking Lot
8:30 a.m./5K and Fun Run, entry blanks at Allen Foundation office
Fundraiser for Waterloo Schools Foundation
2013 Iowa Adverse Childhood Experiences Summit
Data in Action: (click)
Crafting a Response to Iowa’s ACE Score
Monday, October 14
25th Anniversary Reception Celebration
Beyond Pink, Thursday, October 17, $25 per person or breast cancer survivors FREE
Register by calling 232-8691
Ethics in Organizations Symposium (click)
Friday, October 18 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Center for Energy & Environmental Education, UNI
Topic: Character Counts in the Cedar Valley
Pathways 5K Run, Walk, Wheelchair or Virtual Run
Saturday, October 26 at 9:00 a.m. from Pathways, 3362 University Avenue
Don’t forget the FREE classes to
learn new skills or brush up on software
programs!!!
FREE
Computer classes
starting for
October,
November &
December.
Click here for
schedule.
Kay Willard, Editor
Please send all stories to [email protected] or call 235-3619.