myHR: January 13, 2022

University Updates COVID-19 Protocols

As COVID-19 positivity increases regionally, Penn is taking the necessary steps to keep the campus safe and healthy. The University has updated its public health guidance regarding testing, masking, and vaccinations.

In the January 7 message to the Penn community, University leaders announced that all staff, faculty, and post-docs should follow the instructions in these four areas:

Pre-Arrival Testing

Faculty, staff, and post-docs are strongly encouraged to complete a COVID-19 test before returning to campus. A PCR test is preferred, but rapid tests are also acceptable.

• Those who receive a positive PCR test result must email their result to covidtesting@upenn.edu and report their positive result through PennOpen Pass.
  
• Those who receive a positive rapid test result must report their result through PennOpen Pass.
  

Anyone with a positive pre-arrival test should complete their isolation at home before arriving to campus. Negative test results do not need to be submitted to the University.

Those who do not have access to a pre-arrival test should immediately test upon arrival to campus and quarantine until they receive a negative test result.

Gateway Testing

All faculty, staff, and post-docs who will be on campus and/or enrolled during the spring semester must complete a gateway test after returning to campus and no later than January 31, regardless of vaccination status or the result of their pre-arrival testing.

After January 31, those arriving to campus should test the day they arrive. This test must be completed through our Penn Cares testing system.

Anyone with a positive result from a gateway test will be required to isolate and cooperate with our contact tracing efforts. All University community members can schedule their gateway test on the Penn Cares website.

Double-Masking Requirement

Masking remains a key mitigation strategy to minimize transmission during this virulent phase of the virus.

Effective January 10, all members of the Penn community in campus buildings are now required to double mask (layering a cloth mask on top of a disposable mask) or to wear a KN95 or N95 mask. Penn has also increased the availability of masks across campus. For information about masking, review the CDC’s Guide to Masks and the Penn EHRS website.

Vaccine Boosters

All eligible staff, faculty, and post-docs are required to receive a booster vaccination by January 31. Anyone who is not yet eligible for the booster by this date must receive the shot within 30 days of becoming eligible. Individuals who were previously approved for a medical or religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement will be exempt from this new requirement.

 According to the current guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals are eligible for a booster six months after their second dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or two months after receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. For more information on vaccine boosters, visit the CDC website.

The University will hold a vaccine booster clinic on January 14, 17, 18, and 19 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Gimbel Gymnasium in the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, 3701 Walnut Street. To schedule an appointment, please visit the Sunray Drugs website. You can also find clinics by zip code by visiting Vaccines.gov.

Once you receive your booster shot, document your latest dose in Workday. Review the Self Service: Enter Vaccine Information tip sheet for step-by-step uploading instructions

For more updates and resources, visit the Penn public health guidance page.

Celebrate Employee Health and Wellness Week

For many people a New Year means time to set new health goals and improve your physical activity, nutrition, and overall health and wellness. Penn is fully committed to the well-being of its staff and faculty. That’s why, this month, Penn celebrates an extended Employee Health and Wellness Week, with events from January 24-February 1.

“The new year brings fresh energy to focus on areas of our health that may need attention. Penn provides valuable wellness and work-life programs and tools to support you along the way. Employee Health and Wellness Week serves as a reminder of these available resources, as well as how important staff and faculty are to the Penn community,” says Chris Hyson, Senior Health and Wellness Specialist, Human Resources.

“Whether you wish to focus on physical, emotional, or financial wellness, we invite you to join in and take time for your well-being,” Hyson says.

Mark your calendar for a series of fun and healthy activities to keep you moving, learning, and focused on your well-being.  Here’s a list of highlighted Employee Health and Wellness Week events. Check the Events Registration page for updates and additional activities.  All events are offered virtually, unless noted.

• January 24: 30-Minute Chair Yoga plus Core, 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• January 25:
  • Happy New Year, Happy New Me nutrition workshop with Corporate Wellness Nutrition, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Power of the Positive – Cultivating Optimism workshop with Penn EAP, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• January 26: Healthy Aging Brain workshop with Penn Memory Center, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• January 27: Safeguarding Yourself: A Workshop on Identity Protection with PNC Bank, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• January 28: Yoga at the Palestra (onsite) with Healthy Penn Partnership, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., the Palestra, 223 S. 33^rd Street. You will need to wear a mask and show a Green PennOpen Pass to enter the Palestra. This event is sponsored by Campus Recreation and other Healthy Penn Partners. 
• January 31: Tax Strategies financial wellness workshop with MetLife, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• February 1: Virgin Pulse Wellness Platform Demo, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Plans for a January indoor Monthly Wellness Walk to kick-off Employee Health and Wellness Week were cancelled. However, Human Resources and the Center for Public Health Initiatives look forward to our next Monthly Wellness Walk inside the Palestra on Monday, February 14 at 12 p.m., celebrating Go Red for Heart Health Day. Register today for this opportunity to walk with your colleagues and support a heart healthy lifestyle!

“In today’s complex world, prioritizing our health and overall well-being is not simply important – it’s become vital. We know that building healthy habits and finding time for self-care isn’t generally easy, but it can start by taking one positive step forward. Setting a goal, utilizing available resources, and finding ways to make small, incremental changes in the right direction can have a lasting impact,” Hyson says.

For more wellness and work-life information visit the Penn Healthy You webpages.  

Confirm Your Beneficiaries for Peace of Mind

Are your retirement plan’s beneficiary designations up to date? What about your life insurance? If you're not sure, please take a moment today to review the designations for your retirement accounts at TIAA and your life insurance elections in Workday@Penn. For your peace of mind and your loved ones’ future, make sure your records reflect your wishes.

As you may recall, during the retirement plan’s transition to TIAA in April, 2021 beneficiary designations for mutual fund contracts could not be automatically transferred to the new contracts at TIAA.

When retirement plan contracts don’t have a beneficiary designation on file with TIAA at the time of the participant’s death, the assets are distributed according to legal defaults. Letting your retirement plan default isn’t the same as naming a beneficiary. For participants who were married at the time of death, the assets default to the surviving spouse, even if there are others they may wish to receive assets. For participants who were single at the time of death, the assets default to the participant’s estate. Then the assets are distributed by the courts through a process called probate. Probate can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful for the deceased’s surviving family.

A member of the Penn retirement plan team at TIAA shares a personal experience with probate:

“Probate costs both time and money, and larger estates may cost more to settle, both in court fees and if an attorney is required.

“However, the worst part of probate will be the stress. Not having a proper will, named executor, and beneficiary on accounts like these makes someone’s death so much harder to deal with at the same time one is grieving the loss of a loved one.”

If you haven’t designated your beneficiaries for the Basic, Matching, and Supplemental Plans, please do it today. For more details and to access your retirement plan account at TIAA, visit the Designating Your Beneficiaries webpage. You can also call the TIAA Retirement Call Center at 877-736-6738.

For your Penn life insurance, log in to Workday@Penn to view and make changes to benefit elections, benefit events, dependents, and beneficiaries. Step-by-step instructions are in this Self Service-Manage, View, and Change Your Benefits (pdf) tip sheet. The Penn Benefits Solution Center also offers assistance by phone at 866-799-2329.

Learn more about beneficiary and estate planning at TIAA.org. You can also phone the TIAA Retirement Call Center at 877-736-6738 for assistance. For a consultation, schedule a counseling session at www.TIAA.org/schedulenow-upenn or by calling 800-732-8353 Monday-Friday 8am-8pm ET.

Keep Your Projects on Track

For some teams, strategic planning involves creating a vision and practicing values. For others, it means setting deadlines for action items and managing changes. There are different ways to approach strategic planning, but no matter what method you use, it can help move your team’s projects forward toward a shared vision. Learn how to create strategies that will improve your results and set your organization up for success at the Fundamentals of Strategic Planning virtual workshop on February 3, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

In the workshop, participants will learn to identify the foundation for creating a strategic team, discover strategic values, participate in strategic planning efforts, and avoid common pitfalls that derail strategic plans.

Bryant Kuehner, Senior Training and Development Consultant, Talent Development, says strategic planning helps teams and organizations identify how work will be done, but that can be a challenge if different perspectives are not considered.

“A major part of strategic planning involves having a full understanding of both the capabilities and shortcomings of your organization, as well as environmental opportunities and threats. While most strategic planning initiatives include some sort of exercise related to discovering these characteristics, they often fall short because of a lack of diverse voices,” Kuehner says.

“It is important to make sure that the ideas and experiences of all types of individuals are represented at the strategic planning table, otherwise, you risk getting stuck in a rut by continuing to utilize the same strategic initiatives and subsequently, making the same mistakes,” he says.  

The workshop will cover eight basic steps of strategic planning:

1. Develop a shared vision.
2. Analyze the situation.
3. Create a strategic agenda.
4. Establish measurable goals.
5. Establish a strategic action plan.
6. Assign responsibilities and timelines.
7. Write and communicate an action plan.
8. Acknowledge completion and celebrate success.
   

Some recent participants had this to say about their workshop experience:

“This workshop had a clear structure, so participants were able to almost instantly get a big picture of how to strategically think about and approach challenges teams or organizations face. Once the big picture was understood, it was clear where to place each specific element in that picture.”

“This course had me think about ways I can improve at work and not be discouraged. The course was inspiring.”

“Fundamentals of Strategic Planning was helpful in gaining insight into your personal style with strategic planning efforts, understanding strengths and weaknesses, and it provided tips and identified tools like SWOT for effective strategic planning.”

The workshop includes an optional pre-work module that will prepare you for the discussion.

Register today for the Fundamentals of Strategic Planning workshop and gather the information and resources you need to help create successful projects and teams.

For more professional development opportunities, visit the Learn and Grow section of the Human Resources website.

Form 1095-C to Arrive in February

While you do not need to attach a 1095-C to your tax return, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that Penn send the 1095-C tax form to certain benefits-eligible faculty and staff members. This form includes information about the health insurance coverage offered to you by Penn and information for each of your family members enrolled under your Penn benefits plan.

The 1095-C form will be mailed at the end of January and made available online beginning in February. To access your form online, go to the My Pay section of the secure U@Penn portal at www.upenn.edu/u@penn, then select “My 1095-C form.”

If you have questions about your form, contact the Penn Employee Solution Center at 215-898-7372 or solutioncenter@upenn.edu for assistance.

Healthy Meals: Buffalo Chicken Soup 

Here’s a healthier version of Philly’s traditional Wing Bowl. This zesty soup has all the heat and satisfying flavor of buffalo wings, but it will fill you up with hearty protein and vegetables instead of weighing you down. Add a sprinkle of calcium-rich blue cheese for that authentic flavor.

Click here to send us your healthy recipes and tips.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, diced

2 carrots (about 1 cup), diced

2 celery stalks (about 1 cup), diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles

1 (14 ounce) can white Northern beans

1/2 cup sweet corn

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/3 cup hot sauce

Salt and black pepper to taste

Optional blue cheese

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat until shimmering.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are cooked and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
3. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
4. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm topped with blue cheese crumbles and green onions.

Meet With a Registered Dietitian Today!

• One-on-one, virtual nutrition counseling
• 100% covered under many insurance plans and available to spouses and dependents
• Simple Sign Up Process – Visit Penn’s Corporate Wellness Nutrition’s Sign Up page, provide your information and a customer service team member will reach out in one to two business days to book your appointment.

Did You Know: Caregiver Resources

With the uncertainty we’ve experienced this winter, many family caregivers could use a post-vacation break. Whether you’re caring for children, elders, or both, Penn has practical resources to support you. In addition to Penn’s Care.com backup care benefits for children and adults, you can connect with other caregivers through Penn Cobalt and the Family Center at Penn ‘s online Penn Parent Check-Ins. Visit our Caring for Your Family pages for more information.