Provided solely for helpful information. AVUHSD does not endorse any particular organization or company.

►Assistance Resources for Anyone Needing Help:  Anthem Employees Assistance Program  ~  Alcoholics Anonymous  ~  Narcotics Anonymous  ~ Gamblers Anonymous  ~   Suicide Prevention  ~  Community Resources Flyer.

►CPR/ First Aide Training:   AVROP is an American Heart Association Training Center and offers dates for the Heartsaver First Aid CPR course as well as the BLS HCP (Basic Life Support for Healthcare providers) CPR class. You can register online at www.avrop.avhsd.org. Just click on the “Now enrolling” found on the home page in the announcement section.  

►Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), is a community based organization for local public health planning and intervention in the Antelope Valley.  It is our vision that all children and families in the Antelope Valley will have optimal psychosocial, physical and environmental health. “Healthy People in a Healthy Antelope Valley” Their mission is to serve as a catalyst that enhances community health wellness and quality of life in the Antelope Valley through collaboration of local residents, agencies, faith based organizations and government entities.  AVPH seeks to improve the lives of the most vulnerable and underserved population of the Antelope Valley.  See more at Antelope Valley Partners for Health

►Emergency and Disaster Preparedness - Please click for more information from multiple resources to help you be prepared.  A Public Safety and Emergency Expo will be held by City of Lancaster on Tuesday, August 7, 2012. Click here for more information .

►Local Gym Memberships:    Posted January 25, 2012 - Welcome to 2012, for those of you who have decided to make 2012 the year you decide to join the gym craze, please see the attached fliers below from four local gyms who are offering discounts on their membership fees. Please note: All membership questions must be directed to the gym of your choice. All membership fees are paid by you directly to the gym of choice, no payroll deductions can be taken. AVUHSD does not endorse any gym. 24hr fitness does not offer discounts.   Informational Flyers for local gyms.   2013 UPDATE: Don’t forget the following gyms continue to offer discounts to our employees. Please contact them for 2013 discounts:

Curves- (661) 726 1980 (Jackman) or 661 718 2305 ( W. Ave L)
Ladies First- (661) 942 6496
Monster Fitness- (661) 723 8900
Palmdale Fitness- (661) 266 3200
Sport Club AV- (661) 942 9422
YMCA- (661) 723 9622
As of March 2013 24hr Fitness NOW OFFERS discounts!

►The Health Care website from the US Government is filled with helpful information - www.Healthcare.gov

►NFIRS Report: There are over 23 million incidents and 1 million fires annually in the United States. Visit the National Fire and Incident Reporting System to learn more.

►USFA Releases Report Civilian Fire Injuries in Residential Buildings. The report focuses on the causes and characteristics of fire injuries in residential buildings. The United States Fire Administration recommends everyone should have a comprehensive fire protection plan that includes smoke alarms, residential sprinklers, and practicing a home fire escape plan.
 
May 2, 2012 Emmitsburg, MD. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) issued a special report today examining the characteristics of civilian fire injuries in residential buildings. The report, Civilian Fire Injuries in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) (PDF, 277 Kb), was developed by USFA's National Fire Data Center and is based on 2008 to 2010 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

According to the report:

• Seventy-six percentof all civilian fire injuries occurred as a result of fires in residential buildings.

• Cooking(30 percent) was the primary cause for residential building fires that resulted in injuries.

• Thirty-five percent of civilian fire injuries in residential buildings resulted from trying to control a fire followed by attempting to escape (26 percent).

• Seventy-nine percent of injuries resulting from residential building fires involved smoke inhalation and thermal burns.

• The leading human factor contributing to injuries in residential building fires was being asleep (55 percent).

• Bedrooms(35 percent) were the leading location where civilian injuries occurred in residential building fires.

For further information regarding reports or any programs and training available at USFA, visit www.usfa.fema.gov.

 ►Posted Feburary 6, 2013:   

 

• AVUHSD SISC MEMBERS, Pre-Register now for a free health screening event on March 13, 2013 in the District Office Board Room. Schedule an appointment at www.sischealth.com. Click for informational flyer.
   

• Earn $170 Rewards~ You and anyone in your family can participate if they are age 18 or older and are currently enrolled in our SISC medical plan (Blue Cross PPO, California Care HMO, and Kaiser). Go to http://www.sischealth.com and follow the instructions. You may use your old username and password. If you don’t remember your username or password, there’s a link in the login page that will assist you. There will be two award cards, one for the $20 Health Screening, and another re-loadable one for the health activities on the Healthy Lifestyles portal. The information you provided when you logged in to the Health Smarts Program is confidential. DO Risk Management does not have your information including username, password, or when you will be getting your cash rewards. Please click HELP (upper right hand corner of the SISC LOGIN page) if you need assistance or have any questions. The health activities will start mid-March and must be completed before September 30, 2013.  Flyers:   Health Smarts  and  Kaiser Health Smarts

 ►Posted February 4, 2013: 

• New insurance cards will be issued to all PPO and California Care members. Once you receive your new cards, please destroy your old cards.  New medical cards for your dependents age 26 and under are not automatically mailed to them.  Please call Member Services (1-800-322-5709-listed in the back of your card) to request for cards for your dependents.    Kaiser is not sending any new cards. 
   
• All PPO members - MDLive – Effective January 2013, SISC is partnering with MDLIVE to provide all PPO members only with on-demand 24/7 access to board-certified doctors and pediatricians by online video, phone, or secure e-mail. The phone number for this service will be listed on the back of the ID card. This will replace the 24/7 NurseLine. You will receive information in the mail regarding this service.  You will be required to register online prior to using this service.
   
• All PPO- Medco/Express Scripts – Name change to Express Scripts. The Express Scripts logo will now be printed on the ID card instead of the Medco logo. The bin number will remain the same (610014). This number will direct the pharmacy to the correct Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) to use. In this case, the member must tell the pharmacy to use this bin number otherwise the claim will reject if the member merely states that they now have Express Scripts. 
   
• Anthem Blue Cross HMO members - New HMO cards are being sent to clarify the 800 number for customer service which is for both medical and pharmacy.

 ►Posted August 15, 2012: Free flu shots, sponsored by the SISC Health Smarts program, will be offered to all permanent employees, as well as spouses and dependents over the age of 18. You must be enrolled in a SISC health benefit plan through the district in order to participate. The one day clinic will be held on Thursday, October 11, 2012 from 10am-5pm in the DO Boardroom. Make your appointment at www.siscflushot.org Limited walk-in appointments will be available: however, it is best to make an appointment to ensure that they have an adequate supply of vaccine. Note: This year the vaccine has been reformulated. It now offers protection against two new virus strains, as well as the H1N1 virus.

 ►Posted August 13, 2012:  Open Enrollment this year is from August 13, 2012 to August 29, 2012.  Open enrollment is the only time (unless special events like marriage, newborns, adoptions, divorce, and loss of spouse/child’s insurance) for permanent employees to change health/dental plans, make changes to current plans, or add dependents .  The effective date of coverage is from 10/1/12 to 9/30/13. Copy of a marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates are mandatory!  Please turn in Enrollment and Change forms to Risk Management by 4:00 pm on August 29, 2012.  Forms turned in after this due date will not  be in SISC’s computer on October 1, 2012.  If no changes, then no forms required! (Emailed to all AVUHSD Employees 8/13/12)
 

►Posted August 27, 2012:  Aflac will be at the following sites this week.  If you want to sign up for AFLAC you must sign up this week. Remember the total amount you choose will be deducted in 8 payments.  (Emailed to all AVUHSD Employees 8/27/12)
 

►Posted August 28, 2012 SUBJECT: Limitation on Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs.  Effective October 15, 2012, some cholesterol-lowering drugs will no longer be covered by the pharmacy benefit plan unless approval is obtained through a coverage review. In late September, Express Scripts will be sending a letter to members who have been taking a drug that will be impacted by this limitation.  If you are taking a brand name version of some cholesterol-lowering drugs you may be responsible for entire cost of the drug after October 15, 2012, unless you or your doctor request a coverage review.

The following medications will continue to be covered without a review:
Atorvastatin (generic version of Lipitor)
Simvastatin (generic version of Zocor)

If your doctor believes that you should use a brand name drug you, your pharmacist, or your doctor may request a coverage review. A coverage review may be requested by calling toll-free 1 800 417-1764, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., eastern time, Monday through Friday.  If coverage is approved, you will pay your plan’s appropriate brand co-payment/coinsurance for the medication, which may be higher than what you would pay for the plan-preferred alternatives.  Express Scripts manages your prescription benefits. Medco is now a part of the Express Scripts family of pharmacies.   Unless approval is obtained, you will be responsible for the full cost of the medication after October 15, 2012.  

Posted May 4, 2012  - On Saturday, May 12, 2012 10 AM to 3PM, High Desert Medical Group to host a Tribute to Mom - Life Festival" at the AV Mall - FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS, entertainment, fun and more.  Click for details.

► Posted March 26, 2012   Anthem Blue Cross and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)have been engaged in negotiations for several months. Unfortunately, Anthem and HCA were unable to reach an agreement and the contracts are terminated effective March 3, 2012. Click here for memorandum with additional details .  If you have questions or concerns, please call Blue Cross PPO customer service at 800-322-5709orBlue Cross CA Care HMO customer service at 800-227-3771.

►Posted December 16, 2011: Anthem Blue Cross PPO: Knee or Hip Replacement Surgery has a limit $30, 000 as of January 1, 2012.  Click for details.  (Information e-mailed to all AVUHSD employees from Risk Management)

►Posted October 21, 2011: Walgreens Pharmacy – Network Termination Effective January 1, 2012. Walgreens pharmacies will no longer be a viable option for most SISC plans. In most cases, a member using a Walgreens pharmacy as of January 1, 2012 will pay out of pocket for the entire cost of the drug.  We are concerned about the impact rising health care costs have on our members. The elimination of Walgreens helps in maintaining an affordable benefit program. We are committed to keeping your health care both affordable and accessible. Our analysis indicates 99.8% of current SISC Walgreens customers will be able to continue to travel the same distance or less to an alternative network pharmacy.

►POSTED OCTOBER 2011:  Health Smarts Digital Coaching - Earn up to $150!  Emailed to all AVUHSD employees October 18, 2011:  You and your family can participate if they are age 18 or older and are currently enrolled in a SISC health plan (Blue Cross PPO and California Care HMO).  You may log into http://www.sischealth.com and follow instructions. You may use your old username and password or if you’ve forgotten your username or password, there’s a link that you can click. Click HELP (upper right hand of the login page) if you need assistance or have questions. It may take up to 2 business days after you complete the health assessment, engage in digital health coaching, or complete a survey for your award status to be posted. After you complete the health assessment, it can take up to 2 weeks for your reloadable award card to be processed and mailed to you. This is handled by SISC, so district HR staff cannot access any info for you, check balance, check status of rewards, etc.  Kaiser members will have access to the programs, but will not be able to process the award until 11/1/11. When you log in, you will be automatically redirected to the Kaiser site. Just FYI that your October paycheck will reflect new health benefit rates and AFLAC (if you signed up for it)

►POSTED APRIL 2011:  SISC will be performing annual health assessments at our main sites during the month of April.  Participants will receive a $20 gift card. (Card is activated 2-3 days after your appointment) All employees of the district are able to attend the onsite screenings.  For those of you who have District insurance coverage, your spouse and or children over the age of 18 can also participate.   Please see the schedule below for dates and times. You may choose to attend any site.  You must register at the link below.  Online appointments are open 24-7 including weekends and will close at 3PM the day before each event.  Apologies, Risk Management is unable to help you with website issues including user names and or passwords.   Screenings: Fasting recommended but NOTrequired.  Drink plenty of water.  Black coffee without cream and sugar is considered fasting.  Screenings will take about 15-20 minutes per person and include: Blood Pressure,  BMI/Body Fat, Waist Measurement, Hip Measurement, Glucose, Total Cholesterol, TC/HDL Ratio  Note: One fingerstick for glucose and cholesterols.     www.sischealth.com