myHR: June 29, 2022

Be in the Know Brings Back On-Campus Biometric Screenings

Penn invites you to join the 2022-2023 Be in the Know campaign, available for all benefits-eligible staff and faculty. Starting July 1, 2022, you have a new opportunity to focus on your health, connect with the Penn community, and earn rewards of up to $300 this year. Be in the Know continues to partner with Virgin Pulse, Penn’s wellness platform provider, for a robust array of programs, resources, and rewards.

For the 2022-2023 Be in the Know campaign year, Penn renews its commitment to the importance of biometric screenings. This year, a biometric screening is the only activity required to receive earned rewards.

Get started today to feel your best and earn up to $300* plus the opportunity for VIP special recognition!

To access the Virgin Pulse platform, go to join.virginpulse.com/penn. If you’re new to Be in the Know, you’ll need to sign up for your account online. After you sign up, you can download the Virgin Pulse mobile app from your app store and connect a fitness tracker (optional) to get credit for your steps, active minutes, and sleep.

Steps For Success

Be in the Know continues the same system for earning points and rewards, using the Virgin Pulse "Steps for Success" campaign design with four reward levels. However, for 2022-2023, the biometric screening is a prerequisite for this year’s Pulse Cash earnings.

STEP 1: NEW AND REQUIRED! Complete a Biometric Screening = Earn $50 Reward

Completing a biometric screening is an essential step for Be in the Know in 2022-2023. Once you complete your screening, you’ll earn your first $50 and be able to earn additional rewards!

The no cost, confidential biometric screenings give you the opportunity to learn these key indicators about your health:

• Blood pressure
• Total cholesterol
• HDL cholesterol
• Blood sugar/glucose

Choose from four available options to earn biometric screening credit—all free, convenient and easy!

• On-campus screenings return to Penn this fall. These screenings, provided by Health Advocate, will be available at convenient campus locations. Penn Healthy You will announce dates and registration details in the near future.
• Two options available through Virgin Pulse: Sign into the Virgin Pulse platform, go to Programs tab and Biometric Screenings page for the order link and directions.
• LabCorp Voucher Program: Download a voucher and schedule an appointment at a participating LabCorp facility near you.
• Home Test Kits: Order online, complete at home, and return in the mail.
• Submit results from your healthcare provider: Watch for announcements on submitting results obtained from your doctor between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

STEP 2: Begin Completing All Other Qualifying Activities—from the Health Check to Bonus Actions—to Earn Up to Another $250 in Rewards!

You can complete the Health Check and other Bonus Actions at any time during the campaign year (July 1, 2022–June 30, 2023) to receive points. However, your points won’t count toward Virgin Pulse cash rewards until you complete STEP 1, a biometric screening. Choose to complete any activities of interest, and as you do, you’ll earn points. Our 2022-2023 “Ways to Earn” list, available July 1, will give you over 90 options. As points accumulate, your goal is to reach the next points level to earn your next reward!

• Reach 5,000 total points = Earn another $50 (Level 1 reward)
• Reach 15,000 total points = Earn another $75 (Level 2 reward)
• Reach 30,000 total points = Earn another $125 (Level 3 reward)

STEP 3: Keep Going to Earn Special Recognition as a VIP!

Continue earning points to reach our highest level of achievement as a Be in the Know VIP, “Very Impressive Participant,” and earn special recognition.

• Reach 50,000 total points = Earn VIP recognition (Level 4 reward)

Partnering with Be in the Know and Virgin Pulse allows you to earn rewards for activities that mean the most to you and your health. Once you’ve earned rewards, Virgin Pulse makes it easy to spend them on the platform. Choose from three categories: gift cards, wellness items (such as fitness trackers), and charitable donations. Whether you want to buy multiple smaller items or save up for something special, Virgin Pulse gives you ample options! Learn more by reviewing the How to Redeem Pulse Cash Rewards section at www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow.

2021-2022 Wrap-Up Reminders

Points and “Pulse Cash” rewards earned this campaign year (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022):

• Points earned this year will not roll over into next year. Your points balance will reset at zero on July 1, 2022.
• Pulse Cash rewards earned this year but not redeemed by June 30 will roll over and be available next campaign year.

Be in the Know VIPs Notification

All confirmed Be in the Know VIPs for the 2021–2022 campaign year will be notified by Virgin Pulse email in early August 2022. This year’s VIPs will earn special recognition for achieving Level 4 reward and completing a biometric screening.

On July 1, details about biometric screening options, the Health Check, and Bonus Actions for 2022–2023, will be available on www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow or the Virgin Pulse platform at join.virginpulse.com/penn.

* All Be in the Know rewards are subject to applicable payroll taxes at the time they are earned. Penn will process taxes on any earned rewards through participants’ paychecks on a quarterly basis. For the 2022-2023 campaign year, taxes will be processed in October 2022 and January, April, and July 2023 paychecks. All impacted participants will receive an email alert from Virgin Pulse prior to taxes being processed.

Your privacy is strictly protected. Penn receives only aggregated data for the participating population. Penn will never know your individual screening results, health assessment answers, or personal health goals.

Community and Connection Drawing Winners

In a recent article about the benefits of workplace friendship, myHR invited faculty and staff members to share ways your teams support positive coworker connections in a Community and Connection questionnaire. Now you can see the wide range of results on our Community and Connections page.

Along with the classic, tried and true social gatherings like coffee breaks, lunches, professional development events, and strolls to the Kaskey Park Biopond, myHR readers shared a variety of other fun and meaningful options for introverts and extroverts alike to enjoy. Penn faculty and staff are connecting and reconnecting over everything from book clubs to Wellness Walks to axe throwing. Colleagues grew closer by volunteering at Penn Food Farm and celebrating Adopt a Plant day. They cheered for the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and for the Penn Baseball team in the University’s River Fields. They’ve bonded online through Wordle, music exchanges, and Zoom. They’ve toured Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the Penn Museum and dined together on pizza, BBQ, gingerbread houses, and Filipino cuisine. They’ve matched skills and wits in pumpkin carving and gingerbread house competitions. One group found a new way to relieve technological stress by making a printer-shaped pinata.

All the food, festivities and one-on-one conversation helps coworkers maintain the kind of trust and communication that makes the Penn community productive, creative, and supportive.

Thanks to the dozens of Penn community colleagues who contributed to this collection of friendly workplace activities. Two participants, Nell Jones and Diane Pinder, were selected to receive a gift package for themselves and their direct reports courtesy of Facilities and Real Estate Services, Business Services, and the Human Resources Work-life and Wellness team. Nell Jones (pictured above) is Manager, Financial Reporting and Analysis in the Comptroller’s Office. Diane Pinder (pictured on the right) is Associate Director, QA & Compliance, in the Vice Provost for Research Institutional Review Board.

Take a look at the other inspiring examples of gratitude practice that your colleagues shared at www.hr.upenn.edu/communityconnection.

Visit the Wellness & Work-life pages for links to more emotional well-being resources.

Help for Your Emotional Health 

Life’s stressors, the loss of a loved one, or a major setback at work or home could all affect your emotional health and depression may develop. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder, or depression, affects about 17.3 million American adults or 7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. To watch the television news these days, you may feel bad about the escalating violence in cities across the country or sympathize with an individual who has been wronged in some way. How do you know if you or a loved one is depressed or sad?

Dr. Lily Brown, Director of the Perelman School of Medicine’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, says sadness can be a part of major depressive disorder, but it’s not the only sign.

“Sadness is the affective or emotional component of major depressive disorder for many individuals. However, a person can meet criteria for depression without reporting sadness provided that they have other necessary symptoms, including loss of interest in things that they usually enjoy,” Dr. Brown explains.

The clinical definition of depression, Dr. Brown says, is “reporting either sadness or loss of interest most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. In addition, a person must have a combination of other symptoms including disturbances in appetite, sleep, energy, concentration, thoughts about death or suicide, and thoughts about worthlessness or extreme guilt.”

The road to depression looks different for everyone. It can be triggered by external circumstances but is usually a combination of biological and environmental factors, Dr. Brown says. Whatever the cause, there are ways you can treat and defeat depression. Dr. Brown offers these five tips:

1. Consult your healthcare provider. For some individuals taking an antidepressant medication can be extremely important for treating and managing depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for depression, can also provide positive results. If you are depressed, consult your healthcare provider for the best course of treatment for you. There are many proven and effective options.
2. Track how you are spending your time. Depression gets worse when we change our behavior because of the depression. The behaviors that depression encourages (e.g. withdrawing, isolating, napping) actually tend to worsen depression over time. Identify and be mindful of what you are doing with your time and how those behaviors impact your sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. This can alleviate symptoms of depressive disorder but should not replace the help of a professional healthcare provider.
3. Proactively schedule activities that will increase your sense of accomplishment and lift your mood. What are you interested in doing? Identify hobbies and those things that bring you pleasure and engage in them. Start small. If it’s taking a walk at your favorite park, watching a funny movie with a friend, or cooking with your children, carve out time to get it done.
4. Celebrate your victories and reward yourself. Don’t punish good behavior by saying “Why didn’t I do this a long time ago?” or “Anyone can do this, it’s no big deal.” Every victory is a victory, so applaud yourself, reward yourself, and move on to the next.
5. Track your thoughts. Notice which ones tend to tank your mood, and start to put them in categories (e.g. self-defeating thoughts, catastrophizing thoughts, hopelessness thoughts, imposter syndrome thoughts, which are feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments). Once you notice your patterns in negative thinking, it is easier to manage those patterns with practice and support. 

If you or someone you love is struggling with depression, you can also use these resources to help get your emotional health back on track:

Penn’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP is here to help you 24/7. To get started, just call 1-866-799-2329. For emotional support:

• Talk to an EAP professional about feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, anger, fear, and confusion.
• Learn healing ways to talk with your kids about current events and their safety.
• Explore resources for preparing and protecting loved ones’ emotional well-being.
• Receive tips to stay positive and productive and maintain self-care.

The EAP offers an array of confidential counseling services to help you manage challenges you may face. In addition to in-person counseling, options include tele-behavioral health, therapy and medication management technology, video, text, and chat. Your spouse, dependent children and young adults, and your parents and parents-in-law, can all take advantage of this service.

Call 1-866-799-2329.

Email eapinfo@healthadvocate.com.

Visit https://www.hr.upenn.edu/eap.

Schedule an EAP appointment through Penn Cobalt.  

MindWell at Penn. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the country. Tending to your mental health is as essential as taking care of your physical health. Visit the MindWell at Penn website for details about mental health and emotional well-being resources, including behavioral health coverage for participants in Penn’s health plans.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). This international nonprofit organization is dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and co-occurring disorders through the alignment of science, treatment, and education. For more information, visit the ADAA website.

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT). Dr. Brown says that if you notice someone in your life who has symptoms of depression, get them connected to evidence-based therapy options. ABCT is a good place to identify therapists who offer evidence-based treatment for depression. 

Healthy Meals: Red White and Blue Greek Yogurt Bark

This colorful Yogurt Bark with mixed fruit is an easy no-bake snack or dessert recipe. It’s also a perfect way to prepare a fun dish with kids. Fruity frozen yogurt bark is delicious, low in calories, and patriotic.  The red, white, and blue color combo adds a nice touch to the table for those July 4 holiday gatherings!

Click here to send us your healthy recipes and tips.

Ingredients:

3  cups plain, low fat Greek Yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup blueberries

½ cup strawberries

Optional: ¼ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

Wash fruit and cut strawberries into bite sized pieces.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.

Place ingredients onto a sheet pan covered in parchment paper.

Spread out evenly onto a pan using a spatula.

Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

For more tips and nutrition support, meet with a Corporate Wellness Nutrition Registered Dietitian today!

• One-on-One, virtual sessions you can schedule at any time that works for you
• 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 1-2 business days to book your appointment.

Did You Know: YMCA Discounts for Penn Employees

Want to visit your local YMCA to swim, play sports, or attend an exercise class this summer? Penn has discounts for faculty and staff at participating Greater Philadelphia YMCA locations. Choose from two available discount options: You can pay no joiner fee for any membership or receive 10% off monthly membership fees for new or existing members. For more information and to find a location near you, read the YMCA flyer.