Don’t put your health on hold. It’s important to continue preventive care, such as your annual well exam or biometric screening, even in the midst of a pandemic. Enrolled faculty and staff can earn a $25/month premium credit, or up to $40/month with an enrolled spouse, off of employee medical plan contributions by completing a Personal Health and Well-being Assessment (PHA) and a verified Biometric Screening to earn premium credit.

Your verified Biometric Screening, consisting of height, weight, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL, and blood sugar value (either glucose or A1C), can be completed in one of the following ways.

OPTION 1

Your values obtained during an annual exam with an OSU or Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC) provider are received by the OSU Health Plan (OSUHP). Once all values are received (height, weight, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL and a blood sugar value: glucose or A1c), OSUHP will provide verification that you have a complete biometric screening.

o  NOTE: If you complete your exam via Telehealth, not all values can be recorded. After your visit, please reach out to OSUHP to confirm your screening is verified.

OSUHP must receive all of your values by December 30, 2021 to count your screening as complete and verified. Some file feeds can take 10-30 days to process. Please plan your well exam/physicals with this in mind and reach out to OSUHP if you have questions about getting your verification in by the deadline.

OPTION 2

If you see a provider outside of the OSU or COPC network, you may need to have your values submitted by your provider. Please have your provider complete the Provider Fax Form and submit to OSUHP to verify that you have completed a biometric screening with him or her. Forms received after December 30, 2021 will not be processed or accepted.

OPTION 3

If you complete an on-campus screening^*   you will automatically receive credit for completing the verified biometric screening. Due to the pandemic, increased safety protocol and many still working remotely, screening events will be available but limited.

• On August 6^th, the OSU Health Plan’s (OSUHP) RN Health Promotion Specialist(s) will be in BRT 105 to complete complimentary biometric screenings*  for our department. See below for screening registration details.

On-Campus biometric screening registration for our department:

If you would like to register for the upcoming biometric health screening event for our department, follow the steps below:

1. Visit the registration portal
2. Log in with your Ohio State credentials (last name.# and password)
3. Click “Schedule Appointment or Class”
4. Select “Biometric Health Screening” as the appointment
5. In the “Appointment Code” box type in   PIIO  Do NOT copy and paste as this doesn’t always work to activate the
6. To search for an available time, click “Find Appointments or Classes”- This will show only the appointments available for this screening
7. Complete registration to schedule the appointment. If you experience any difficulty, please contact OSUHP Customer Service at 292-4700 with your Appointment

Personal Health and Well-being Assessment (PHA)

Once you’ve completed a verified Biometric Screening, you will need to complete the PHA. A new PHA is available for 2021 and can be found under “Health Check” in your Virgin Pulse account.

The newly designed PHA has been improved so it can be completed quicker and provider a better completion experience on mobile devices than in previous years. Once you’ve completed a verified Biometric Screening, your values will be populated into your PHA.

Confirm Screening & PHA Completion

When your verified Biometric Screening and PHA have been processed, it will be reflected in your Virgin Pulse account. To confirm completion, log in to your Virgin Pulse account and select “REWARDS” under the Home tab. When you see a checkmark and date beside the PHA and screening descriptions, you have completed the requirements to earn the premium credit.

If you are anything like me, you are drained at the end of the work day. But, you still have to go home and take care of all the jobs that await you there and take care of those you love – both the two-legged and four-legged!  So how do we find the energy?

We take care of ourselves. No it is not selfish to take care of yourself.

So how do you take care of yourself?  I have been asking that question of myself for quite a while.

Here are my insights and a few Health Plan options to help you:

Sleep

• Plan for sleep time. It does not just happen.  I have Alexa remind me 30 minutes before bedtime to start my bedtime routine. (And yes! I do have a bedtime routine.)
• Turn off your electronics 30-60 minutes prior to bed and stretch a bit, journal about anything that has been bothering you or talk to your partner about your day.
• Play meditation or soft music before and for 15 minutes after your bedtime.
• My sleep has been the one greatest factor to help my eating, exercising, mental focus, and maintaining relationships.

Eating

• There are all kinds of ways to change our eating habits, but the one I found to be extremely important was to change my own understanding and attitude about eating! I moved from an “I love to eat” to an “I eat to live” outlook. I had to learn to not see food as central to all of my daily activities. I still plan and eat things I enjoy, but I no longer look at my day in terms of when and what I will eat.
• Planning does not have to take the spontaneity out of eating. I have a plan that has 4 menu rotations/seasons: January-April, May-July, August-October, and November-December. Each menu rotation has 4 weekly unique menus that I repeat during that rotation/season. I keep the basics for the month on hand (other than fresh veggies) so I can choose which ever meal appeals to me that day and  then I cross it off the list. I plan for a couple of eating out days per month. If I happen to eat out more than that – I have a headstart on groceries for the next month or enough to double up and invite friends over.
• Think about portion control and frequency of meals; then plan accordingly. If you fix 4 oz servings of meat for each person and no more, that encourages them to eat the veggies and sides if they are still hungry!  Plan for your snacks – and keep them relatively easy and healthy.
• Living with a Full Energy Tank!: Four week series on Thursdays from 12-12:30pm starting June 17^th – this one combines healthy eating and emotional well-being strategies!

Physical Exercise

• This is my least favorite part of taking care of myself, but I feel great at the end! Schedule it in and have a reminder pop up on your smart phone.
• Include members of your family (furry or not) and/or friends in your exercise so you do not feel alone. You will be helping them as well!
• Make it as fun as you can. Have you ever tried jumping with your kids on the trampoline? That is a great workout and great fun too!

Mental/Emotional Exercise

• Utilize your commute as a transition time to sing out loud! or listen to your favorite podcast! or pray out loud! or learn a new language! The possibilities are endless.
• If you have people waiting for you to get home and they pounce as soon as you walk in the door – create a routine for your homecoming that gives you 5 minutes of adjustment (even if it means you hide in the bathroom!) and then 5 minutes for each family member to have one-on-one time with you before you do anything else.
• Discovering Happiness: Four week series on Wednesdays from 12:30-1 pm starting July 7th – How do you define happiness? Where does happiness come from?  What are the dimensions of happiness? Happiness is something you can cultivate with a little intention and consistent practice! Join health coach Amanda to learn some practical happiness-boosting strategies that you can implement into your own life. We’ll discuss themes such as gratitude, social connections, and more.

Do not do it alone!

• Include your family members in the planning process – you will be glad you did. Invite friends to exercise or walk with you – even if you have to do it by zoom or FaceTime!  I, will often call my grandchildren when I am walking and we sing together or skip or whatever they can imagine! Makes the time go faster.

Walk With A Health Coach

(In Person): Come enjoy the nice weather for a mid-day break to get some fresh air and some extra steps! Join Health Coach Bonnie for a 20 minute walk!

For June 3, 10, 17 & 24 walks, meet at the Ackerman Complex between the 660 and 700 Ackerman buildings at the basketball courts.

For the July 8, 15, 22 & 29 walks, meet at Ohio Stadium near the north entrance (Gate 5).

To register for the walks, visit https://linktohealth.osu.edu (search class type “Physical Activity Program”).

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May 2021 Buckeye Wellness Tip

WE3 is the PIIO blog for welcome, wellness and wealth in the PIIO. 

WE3 stands for 

• Welcome: to build stronger community, research collaborations, and welcome all PIIO members.
• Wellness: to help individuals and units to find wellness in their lives, their work, and our community.
• Wealth: to help individuals and units to build upon their strengths, build a wealth of knowledge that can be shared, and to build a healthy, wealthy community.