SCCSD Wellness

Newsletter

November 26, 2013

1

Health Screenings We have completed our health screenings and flu shots for the year. If you still need to get your flu

shot, there is still time. Anyone under the District’s UnitedHealthcare Medical Plan can use their

insurance card at their in-network doctor’s lab, or go to one of the locations below.

Health Assessments - Employees and Spouses, who are on UnitedHealthcare’s Health Insurance, will be

able to complete a Health Assessment and Coaching Programs. An individual can earn up to a $175.00

gift card reward, or up to a $350.00 gift card reward if both the employee and spouse complete the

requirements. Rewards are redeemable for gift cards valid at 100+ national retailers. I will be sending

out an email soon with the guidelines.

2 Benefits Manager – Stefanie Verros Phone 293-2356

REMINDER: To access information on Health Benefits, EAP, Leaves, previous Wellness Newsletters,

and HR info, go to the District website at the following address:

http://www.siouxcityschools.org/pages/Sioux_City_Community_School_Di/Departments/Human_Re

sources

Blue Zones Project Discover the Habits with the Power 9 Principles.

1. Move Naturally 2. Know Your Purpose 3. Down Shift 4. 80% Rule 5. Plant Slant 6. Wine @ Five 7. Right Tribe 8. Community 9. Loved Ones First

This month we are looking at what it means to Move Naturally. The longest-lived people live in environments that get them moving without even thinking about it. They live in places where they can easily walk to stores, places of worship or to a friend’s house. To start moving naturally, park further from the front of stores, walk a dog, take extra trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator and do more yard work (or shovel instead of using the snow blower).

Visit www.bluezonesproject.com, and click on the “Join and Pledge Today” banner. Fill out the information that is requested. If you do not live in Sioux City, don’t worry. You work in Sioux City, so you qualify to join. You will need to make sure that you put a checkmark in the bottom box “I have an organization code”. The code for the Sioux City Community School District is “SCCSD”. Click to “Complete Registration”. Once you are logged in you can click on “Profile” in the upper right-hand side of the site to complete the rest of your profile. An important action to do on this website is to Pledge to Take Actions for Life. Under “My Tools” you can find Pledge Actions to complete. Click on the tabs and find actions you feel you can complete. Click on “Pledge to do this”. Once you complete the pledge you can then click “I Did It”. Once you have pledged and completed at least one action, you have helped Sioux City get one step closer.

3 Benefits Manager – Stefanie Verros Phone 293-2356

Wellness Events around Siouxland

Shake the Holiday Blues! - Tuesday, November 26th from 6:30 – 7:30 PM. Mercy Leiter Room next to

the Gift Shop in the South Building. Dealing with stress that comes with the holidays.

Free Winter Safety Tips for Children – Wednesday, November 27th from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM at 1951

Leech Ave. (East Door) in Sioux City.

Winterfest – Free indoor and outdoor activities to rekindle wintertime family

traditions each Saturday from 10 AM – 6 PM starting November 30, 2013 –

December 28 at Ponca State Park. Sledding hills, groomed cross country ski

trials (available snow permitting) and lighted hayrack rides. Call 402-755-2284

or go online to www.outdoornebraska.gov for more details.

Alzheimer’s Support Group – Tuesday, December 17th from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM at Country Side Estates,

921 Riverview Drive, Cherokee, IA. A support group for family members and friends of those who have

loved ones with Dementia and/or Alzheimer’s Disease.

Walking Moai – Walking Moai Kickoff on January 11th from 7:30 AM – 9 AM. More information coming

soon.

Is Radon in Your House? - Tuesday, January 28th from 6:30 – 7:30 PM. Mercy Leiter Room next to the

Gift Shop in the South Building. Information on this odorless, colorless, tasteless, radioactive gas found

in 7 or 10 Iowa homes. Presented by Dr. Cindy Wolff.

National Diabetes Month

Diabetes is a challenging disease that affects the entire family in many ways.

If You Have a Family History of Diabetes, You Are At Risk.

If you have a mother, father, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes, you are at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Women who had gestational diabetes when they were pregnant are at risk for developing diabetes in the future, and so is their child from that pregnancy.

The good news is that you can prevent or delay type 2 by losing a small amount of weight (if you are overweight), and by being more physically active.

Talk to your family and find out if you have a family history of diabetes. If you have a family history of diabetes, make sure you share this information with your doctor.

You can’t change your family health history, but knowing about it can help you change your future.

Visit the National Diabetes Education Program at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org for more information.

4 Benefits Manager – Stefanie Verros Phone 293-2356

Food for Thought & Good Living

Friendly Food Facts...Turkey!

The kitchen can be hectic in preparation for November's "Big Day", but don't forget to follow safe food handling guidelines when preparing the Thanksgiving feast.

Wash hands with soap and very warm water before and after handling raw poultry and meat

Prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen: o Use separate cutting boards for meats and vegetables o Carefully clean all cutting boards, countertops and utensils with soap and hot water o Keep raw poultry separate from ready-to-eat foods

Cook turkey and all meats immediately after thawing

Chill cooked turkey rapidly, cover and refrigerate promptly

Provided by the Iowa Food & Family Project

Stress Reliever Decompress

Place a warm heat wrap around your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Close

your eyes and relax your face, neck, upper chest, and back muscles. Remove the

wrap and use a tennis ball or foam roller to massage away tension.

“Place the ball between your back and the wall. Lean into the ball and hold gentle

pressure for up to 15 seconds. Then move the ball to another spot and apply

pressure,” says Cathy Benninger, a nurse at The Ohio State University Wexner

Medical Center in Columbus.

Thanks to Debbie Logsdon for submitting a picture

of her and some friends at the Color Me Rad Run!

Thanks to Dr. Rita Vannatta for submitting a

picture of the Leeds staff at the Color Me Rad Run!

5 Benefits Manager – Stefanie Verros Phone 293-2356

Healthy Recipes Wonderful Stuffed Potatoes

Baked potatoes stuffed with seasoned, low-fat cottage cheese are a lavish low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-sodium treat.

4 medium baking potatoes

¾ cup cottage cheese, low-fat (1%)

¼ cup milk, low-fat (1%)

2 Tbsp soft (tub) margarine

1 tsp dill weed

¾ tsp herb seasoning

4-6 drops hot pepper sauce

2 tsp Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Prick potatoes with fork. Bake at 425º F for 60 minutes or until fork is easily inserted.

2. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out potato, leaving about ½ inch of pulp inside shell. Mash

pulp in large bowl.

3. Mix in by hand remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into potato shells.

4. Sprinkle top with ¼ teaspoon of Parmesan cheese.

5. Place on baking sheet and return to oven. Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Baked Apple Slices

This recipe provides 1.5 fruit and vegetable servings per person.

2 oranges

2 Tbsp honey

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch slices

5 Tbsp raisins

¼ cup chopped walnuts, divided

¼ cup vanilla yogurt, low-fat

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. 2. Grate the zest of one of the oranges and set aside.

3. Squeeze the juice from both oranges into a small bowl. Stir the honey, cinnamon, cloves, and half the zest

into the juice.

4. Lay half the apple slices in a glass baking dish. Scatter the raisins and 2 tablespoons of the walnuts on top.

Pour on half the juice mixture and top with the remaining apples and juice. Combine the remaining 2

tablespoons of walnuts with the orange zest and scatter over the top.

5. Cover lightly with foil, and bake 30 minutes or until the apples are soft and the juices, bubbly. Serve warm

or cold with a dollop of low-fat vanilla yogurt.

Yield: 4 servings

Serving size: ~1½ cups

Each serving provides:

Calories: 206

Total fat: 6 g

Saturated fat: 1 g

Carbohydrate: 41 g

Sodium: 13 mg

Fiber: 4 g

Recipes from http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/recipes.html

Yield: 8 servings

Serving size: ½ potato

each

Each serving provides:

Calories: 113

Total fat: 3 g

Saturated fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 1 mg

Sodium: 151 mg Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 5 g

Carbohydrate: 17 g

Potassium: 293 mg

6 Benefits Manager – Stefanie Verros Phone 293-2356

COPD Awareness Month: Lung Association Report Shows Women

at Greater Risk of COPD

Washington, D.C. (November 18, 2013)—

Women are 37 percent more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than men and now account for more than half of all deaths attributed to COPD in our nation. The American Lung Association’s health disparity report, “Taking Her Breath Away: The Rise of COPD in Women,” examines the nation’s third leading cause of death and its increased prevalence among women in the United States. For COPD Awareness Month this November the Lung Association is working to increase awareness of this disease and its impact on women.

More than seven million women in the United States currently have COPD, and millions more have

symptoms but have yet to be diagnosed. The number of deaths among women from COPD has more than quadrupled since 1980, and since 2000 the disease has claimed the lives of more women than men in this country each year.

“We know that more women than men in this country are now dying from COPD—and nearly half of the women currently living with COPD don’t even know they have it,” said Susan Rappaport, Vice President, Research and Health Education, American Lung Association. “What we do with this knowledge is the important thing, because it will help determine the fate of millions. To confront this

deep-rooted and deadly disease head on, we urgently need leadership in public health and health care at the national, state and local levels.”

COPD is a progressive lung disease with no known cure that slowly robs its sufferers of the ability to draw life-sustaining breath. Only heart disease and cancer kill more Americans than COPD does. Smoking is the primary cause of COPD, but there are other important causes such as air pollution.

The report, first published in June, identifies an interplay of risk-factor exposures, biological

susceptibility and sociocultural factors contributing to COPD’s disproportionate burden on women.

Foremost, the rise of COPD in women is closely tied to the success of tobacco industry

marketing. Cigarette smoking was rare among women in the early 20th century, but started

increasing in earnest in the late 1960s after the tobacco industry began aggressively

targeting its deadly products specifically to women. While nationwide anti-tobacco

campaigns and policy changes have successfully decreased smoking rates for both women

and men in the recent past, the tobacco industry’s success in addicting women smokers

long ago is still resulting in new cases of COPD and other tobacco-related illness in those

women as they have aged. “This month we are shining a light on COPD in women, added Rappaport. “For far too long, the enormous impact of COPD on the health of America’s women has been under recognized. We hope

mothers and daughters, husbands and sons will join are effort to curb this terrible disease.”

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About the American Lung Association Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading

organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy.

For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.lung.org.