[December 10, 2007]

UC faculty and staff and their family members covered by most UC medical plans (Blue Cross Plus and PPO, CIGNA Choice Fund, Core, Health Net, and Western Health Advantage) can enjoy enhanced University wellness and personal health management benefits in 2008.

In addition to providing an employee medical insurance program that offers affordable, quality benefits, the University has made it a priority to provide employees with the latest tools, information, and resources to help them and their families achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. As announced in November during Open Enrollment, UC will launch in January the new StayWell benefits program as part of the expanded UC Living Well program.

Participation in the StayWell program will be voluntary and at no cost to faculty or staff. The UC Living Well website will include a link to the StayWell site in January.

UC Living Well is the University's umbrella wellness initiative for faculty and staff that expands system-wide in 2008 after a successful 2007 pilot phase at Berkeley, Office of the President, UCLA, and UCLA Medical Center. Along with links to varied wellness resources and information, the UC Living Well website gives information about the many UC local campus, medical center, and laboratory wellness programs and recreational and sports facilities and activities.

"The UC Wellness program brings to UC faculty and staff the very latest advances in promoting health," said Dr. Lester Breslow, MD, Professor Emeritus in the UCLA School of Public Health, dubbed "Mr. Public Health" by the Los Angeles Times. "Substantial evidence shows that those who participate in such programs gain accelerated declines in heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other current major causes of early death and disability."

StayWell will enrich individual wellness efforts

As part of UC Living Well and the wellness efforts provided at UC locations, StayWell offers improved, standardized wellness and individual health management resources at no charge. The program is designed to help eligible employees and their family members achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The program is administered for UC by StayWell Health Management, a renowned nationwide industry leader for nearly 30 years.

If you are eligible to participate in the StayWell program, you will receive introductory communications from StayWell in January. You and your eligible family members are encouraged to consider the many benefits and resources that are available and to check out the StayWell website.

StayWell will not be available to Kaiser members who currently have access to Kaiser's fully integrated wellness resources.

The leadership of several unions at UC - AFSCME 3299, CNA, CUE, SETC, UAW 2863, UC-AFT, and UPTE-CWA - have notified the University that they are choosing not to participate in the StayWell Health Management benefits program on behalf of their UC bargaining unit members.*

Those participating in StayWell may look forward to the following benefits and services.

StayWell health assessment

To take full advantage of StayWell benefits, a participating employee or family member would first take a voluntary online or paper health assessment survey that reviews their health behaviors and gives them immediate, personalized feedback to help understand the results and suggest any changes that may be helpful.

Upon registering for a health assessment, the participant establishes a personalized website that is a portal to health information and services and becomes an individual wellness tracking and progress site.

Those who complete a health assessment will receive a $75 gift certificate that may be redeemed at a wide variety of recognized retailers. This gift certificate is available not only to employees, but also to dependents age 18 and older who complete a health assessment.

When taking the health assessment survey, the participant's personal identifying and health information is fully protected in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and other privacy laws.

Health Assessment follow-up and coaching

After completing the health assessment, the participant will be invited to participate in the NextSteps^® Wellness Coaching Program if the health assessment identifies any significant health risks. The coaching program is a health education program designed to help participants set and meet health improvement goals.

Wellness coaching is a very valuable, entirely personalized feature of the StayWell program. Participants will receive information and personal guidance from an experienced wellness coach by phone, mail, and online educational resources. As with the program as a whole, this step is entirely voluntary.

Later, the participant will be able to take another health assessment to evaluate how positive lifestyle changes that have been made have benefited his or her health.

Additional online health resources and tools

StayWell benefits include a number of other dynamic online interactive tools and educational resources, many of which are available to those who do not take a health assessment and get involved in a personalized wellness program.

Family Centers provide information on an array of family and lifestyle health issues of interest to men, women, and children.

Take Care is a drug and nutrition guide resource.

Health Tools help those engaged in personalized health improvement programs to create goals and reminders for preventive measures, appointments, and exercise sessions.

Health Centers offer a collection of online guides to help you with any of 11 health topics, such as cholesterol, tobacco cessation, stress reduction, and more.

Watch for more information and details about how to get started with StayWell in January.

* AFSCME 3299 on behalf of SX (Service Unit), EX (Patient Care Technical), and K7 (Skilled Crafts at UC Santa Cruz); CNA on behalf of NX (Nurse Unit); CUE on behalf of CX (Clerical Unit); SETC on behalf of K6 and K4 Skilled Trades at San Diego and Los Angeles; UAW 2863 on behalf of BX (Academic Student Employees Unit); UC-AFT on behalf of IX (Non-Academic Senate Instructional Unit) and LX (Professional Librarians Unit); and UPTE-CWA on behalf of RX (Research Support Professionals Unit), TX (Technical Unit) and HX (Health Care Professionals Unit).

• The information presented in these news archive articles may no longer be current. Please note the date when the article was first published.