| Dear LifeLong Clinical, Dental, and Behavioral Health Staff, We need your help. Federal regulations require LifeLong Medical Care to report each year on up-to-date “clinical staff profiles” for our medical, dental, and behavioral health staff providing direct patient services. These staff profiles include: – CPR Certification – Physical Fitness Completion Forms – Vaccination Verification – Education Documentation – Communicable Disease Status – Valid Government Photo ID – Resumes Over the next three weeks, LifeLong’s HR Department will be asking you provide up-to-date documentation for any gaps in your personnel records. Please be on the lookout for these emails. It is imperative that you respond promptly to these requests. In the next few days, HR will send links for virtual CPR training in case you need an updated CPR certification. Thank you in advance for your attentiveness and patience during this reporting process. Respectfully, DL Poole |
Benefits 101: Health Reimbursement Account – June 28, July 26 or Aug 31 @ 2 pm
We want you to make the most of your employee benefits. Did you know that LifeLong pays out of pocket costs associated with your health plan?
Attend one of our virtual training sessions for a deep dive in how to review your benefit payments online and ensure your Health Resource Account (HRA) dollars are working for you!
At 2 pm on the fourth Tuesday in May through August, a representative from Felice, LifeLong’s Benefit Plan Administrator, will review LifeLong’s medical plan and HRA benefits. The session will cover logging into your Health Equity/WageWorks account, the HRA claims submission process, and an overview of benefits resources and support.
Each session will cover the same topics, so you only need to attend one. The first session was May 31. The remaining sessions will be June 28, July 26, and Aug 30.
These sessions are for questions about the program. If you have any specific questions about your individual account, please reach out to the Filice team by calling 888-860-1554 or emailing LifeLongBenefits@filice.com
LifeLong Medical Care Street Medicine’s Mental Health Work Recognized
The City of Berkeley Mental Health Department and LifeLong Medical Care Street Medicine will be awarded the “2022 Mental Health Achievement Award.” The award ceremony will be on Zoom Wednesday May 25th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm and requires free registration.
LifeLong’s Berkeley Street Medicine crew have been able to provide a higher level of mental healthcare for people experiencing homelessness. We are so proud of them and grateful for their dedication to our patients. Thank you!
Please join us in giving the Berkeley teams a big round of applause and for the awards ceremony Wednesday, May 25th. Congratulations!
Free Zoom/Call-In Community Event!
When: Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 P.M.
Zoom Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GoUKdRC5RuyDCVx8nwHfsw
Telephone option: Dial: US: +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 816 4887 6503
For additional information contact: (510) 981-5290
Let’s Go Ride a Bike!
This month happens to be the confluence of several national celebrations: Physical Fitness and Sports Month, Senior Health and Fitness Month, and Mental Health Awareness Month. And, one more, Bicycle and Bicycle Safety Month, which can help celebrate the first three!
There are a lot of reasons to love biking, whether it brings back childhood memories, provides an eco- and wallet-friendly mode of transport, or gives you an energizing way to move your legs to your favorite playlist without fancy dance moves.
Spend more than a few minutes on a bike and you’ll feel the immediate cardio impact, but that’s not all. “Cycling, whether indoors or outdoors, can benefit the lungs, heart, skeleton, muscles, and the mind,” says Bianca Beldini, who has a doctorate in physical therapy and is also a USA Triathlon Level 1 coach, competitive age group triathlete, and certified indoor spin instructor.
As a non-weight bearing activity, biking can help get you stronger without overly taxing your joints. If you (or your body) are not a fan of higher impactactivities like running or jumping exercises, biking is a good alternative. It puts less stress on joints of the hips, knees, and ankles.
Whether you ride down the street or in your living room, you’ll be getting exercise. Indoor biking can provide more control for a beginner and is a convenient option for anyone with a desk job. “Indoor is great if you work from 9-5 during the week and don’t have any daylight to sneak in a ride. It is super-efficient because you can get straight to a workout and don’t need to worry about getting through traffic,” says Lauren De Crescenzo, a former professional cyclist.
Outdoor biking offers the advantage of being outside and breathing fresh air, but is obviously subject to available daylight hours or unpredictable road, weather, and traffic conditions. “Road cycling can build muscular strength along with coordination and balance skills … and gives the rider an opportunity to travel and explore the world in a healthy way,” says Beldini. Morning riders can also benefit by getting some sunlight to “help reset your circadian rhythm for sleep, make vitamin D, and decrease stress,” says Jessica McManus, a physical therapist.
Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nikolai notes, “The days are longer, and the weather is getting warmer and nicer, really making it ideal conditions to go on a bike ride.”
Safety Tips for Bicyclists:
- Use lights at night (at minimum, a front white light and rear red reflector)
- Always wear a properly secured helmet. Helmets significantly reduce the chance of a head injury in the event of a crash
- Bicyclists must travel in the same direction of traffic and have the same requirements as any slow-moving vehicle
- Yield to pedestrians, just as a driver would. Pedestrians have the right-of-way within marked crosswalks or within unmarked crosswalks at intersections.
Sources: Byrdie.com, Is Biking Actually Good Exercise? We Asked Fitness Experts, by Lesley Chen, Sept. 9, 2021 and City of Santa Clara, CA.
3rd Round of Free At-Home Covid Tests
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order a 3rd round of free at-home tests. Place your order with the US Postal Service today.
Asian American Representation Needed in Leadership and Diversity Efforts
In May our nation marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to remember struggles and celebrate achivements. Although often perceived as a monolithic minority, Asian and Pacific American people comprise more than 30 nationalities and ethnic groups and are a very economically diverse population in the United States. This special month is also a reminder that there is still much work to be done.
Asian-American workplaces and neighborhoods have seen a surge in bigotry and violence over the last two years. However, data from a 2019 survey of 6,000 U.S. physicians showed that even before the Covid-19 pandemic, 22.5 percent of respondents who identified as Asian-American were dealing with intolerance.
National data indicate that about a fifth of medical students, practicing physicians and medical school faculty members in the United States are Asian-American. But that proportion shrinks at the top of medicine’s academic ranks, at a cost to individuals, institutions, and healthcare at-large, according to a commentary published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by the deans of Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Only 9 percent of U.S. medical schools’ female department chairs and 11 percent of male department chairs are Asian-American, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, and Dr. Anil K. Rustgi, dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, argue that chronic barriers in career advancement can translate into less diversity and fewer mentors for Asian-American students.
This pattern of underrepresentation in leadership—also found in law, business and technology—prevents individuals and organizations from reaching their maximum potential. “Medical institutions should strive for equity at all career levels, recognizing that different forms of communication, cognition, and leadership style can be equally effective,” they write.
To move forward, they endorse an approach that incorporates as many members of the medical community as possible in diversity and inclusion initiatives, and one that forges connections and emphasizes unity against systemic racism.
“Enhancing mentorship, career development, and skills training for talented individuals of all backgrounds should be a priority,” Drs. Choi and Rustgi write, “and will strengthen institutions, the…workforce and healthcare at large.”
Source: Weill Cornell School of Medicine