Health and Association business go together like Roanoke and Optima Health at trade show

“How’s business? And, by the way, have you gotten your flu shot this year?”

Suzanne Stewart talks with attendees of the 2012 Business Technology Showcase.

That was just some of the “small talk” at the recent Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Business and Technology Showcase where Optima Health was a featured participant.

Optima Health was one of about 65 area businesses participating in the trade show, which was open to the public. Approximately 500 individuals attended the event. It was Optima Health’s first time taking part in the show. The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce signed with Optima Health and began offering its insurance products to its members on the first day that Optima Health entered the Roanoke Valley market on October 1, 2011.

Optima Health & Preventive Services Manager Corinda Miller and Elaine Roberts, RN, from Health and Preventive Services offered free flu shots, cholesterol screenings and blood pressure checks. Also on hand were Senior Account Executive – Associations Suzanne Stewart from Optima Health and Becky Pollard from Benefits Solutions who answered questions about Optima Health insurance plans.

“Since we are one of the new insurance carriers in the Roanoke area, there was a lot of interest from people attending the trade show,” says Stewart. “People are very interested in knowing who we are.”

In addition to conducting the screenings, the Optima Health representatives passed out yoga DVDs, tobacco cessation kits and WalkAbout pedometers to visitors.

“We had a great time,” Stewart says. “Everyone here is so friendly!”

Related articles

• Health and Association business go together like Roanoke and Optima Health at trade show (countonoptima.wordpress.com)
• Optima Health Making Connections in Roanoke (countonoptima.wordpress.com)
• “Touchdown Optima Health!” (countonoptima.wordpress.com)
• Two New Hires Join Optima Health Roanoke Team (countonoptima.wordpress.com)

OUCH: Why adult immunizations can hurt worse if you don’t get them

As children, most of us get immunizations. But as adults, we may think we don’t need them. That’s not true. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), all adults need certain immunizations to keep healthy. Specific immunizations are determined by your age, your lifestyle, any conditions you may have, the places you may travel, and any previous immunizations.  

As a result of health reform, many vaccines are covered by your health insurance plan. Check your Optima Health plan benefits and talk with your doctor to find out what shots you need. Keeping employees healthy helps to prevent illness and prevent the spread of germs. The old idiom, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” holds true. Prevention is the best medicine!

Some of the vaccines adults may need are:

•           Flu – The seasonal influenza shot or better known as the flu shot is the only shot you need every year.  It is recommended for almost everyone over six months of age.  Thousands of people are adversely affected by this virus each year.  It’s easy to protect yourself and your family by getting a flu shot.

•           Tdap – The Tdap vaccine protects adults from pertussis or whopping cough.  Whopping cough is on the rise in the United States.  To protect young children and others in the household, it’s very important for adults to get a booster dose of tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis or Tdap vaccine.

•           Herpes zoster or shingles – Adults 50 years old and older may need a shot to protect them from shingles.

•           Pneumonia – Adults 65 years and older and adults with specific health conditions need to get a pneumonia shot to protect them from pneumococcal disease.

•           HPV – Women 26 years and younger need to protect themselves from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

Other vaccines adults may need include: varicella, measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Meningococcal.

Check out this fun video from the Centers for Disease Control that is a take-off from the popular TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

VSI: Vaccination Scene Investigation http://www.cdc.gov/CDCTV/VSI_Vaccination/index.html

For more details on vaccines, their benefits, side effects, schedules and much more, visit the CDC website at www.cdc.com/vaccines.

Susan Tweed

The School of Nurse Advice Lines

Think you’ve been schooled in everything? How about nurse advice lines? Optima Health has a way for you to speak to a nurse after hours, weekends and holidays to get live interaction to help guide you with a health issue. What do you think about that?

If you’ve ever been in a position of wondering what your next steps should be with a health issue, then look no further….a registered nurse is available to help you.

Judith Destefano Nurse Advice Line Optima

Meet registered nurse Judy Destefano. She’s part of a team of 25 who assist members with health concerns for themselves and their families, ranging from a simple cold to helping them determine whether they should go to an Urgent Care Center, Emergency Room, or initiate 911. Actually, Destefano likes to take the Friday night shift, one of the more challenging shifts, with an average of 60-100 calls. Why, you may ask? Because approximately 85 percent of the calls are from mothers with sick children and her first love is children. She tries to go that extra mile to help them feel better about themselves and their situation and she gets great satisfaction helping them.

Optima Health’s Nurse Advice Line answers approximately 15,000 calls each year for our members and for contracted physician offices from other insurance plans. So, if you’re an employer or an employee, remember that your first line of defense after hours, is your health plan’s Nurse Advice Line.

Have you ever used the Optima Health Nurse Advice Line? Tell us your story.

“TOUCHDOWN OPTIMA HEALTH!”

The ribbon cutting ceremony. (L-R) Optima Health Staff – Darleen Mastin, COO, George Heuser, M.D., VP/Sr. Medical Director, Michael Dudley, CEO/President, David Bowers, Mayor of Roanoke, and Bill Roth, the Voice of the Virginia Tech Hokies.

This was what the crowd chanted while the Mayor of Roanoke, David Bowers, cut the ribbon during the open house to celebrate the opening of the Optima Health office and expansion into the Roanoke & New River Valley communities.  This chant was meant to sound like Bill Roth’s cries of “TOUCHDOWN TECH!” that have become a favorite of Hokie fans of all ages. Optima Health is a sponsor of the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Bill Roth was a special guest at the open house. 

More than 100 guests attended the open house served as a kick-off to a new era in the history of the organization. Brokers, neighbors, local politicians, business leaders, chambers, the media and Optima Health leadership were on hand to enjoy music, food and fellowship.

Optima Health staff stand on a street corner across the road from the office holding Dr. Pepper products to demonstrate their excitement for being in the iconic Dr. Pepper building.

The Roanoke community has been very welcoming to us and we are confident that we‘ll have great success in this market. The community is very excited to finally have more health insurance choices.

Optima Health has been selling Commercial plans since October 2011, Individual plans and Medicaid since January 2012. To date we have 91 Commercial clients with 2,000 members, 5,500 Medicaid members and 10 Individual members.

Two New Hires Join Optima Health Roanoke Team

 

Holly Holliday

Optima Health has recently appointed Holly Holliday as a senior sales executive and Traci Scales as field coordinator. Both new appointments are part of the expansion of Optima Health insurance offering to Roanoke that launched this past October. Large and small business health insurance as well as traditional HMO, PPO, and CDHP products are now available in the Roanoke area.

Holliday will serve as a senior sales executive with small group sales (2-99 employees) selling Commercial products. Holliday has a track record of achievement in health insurance sales and health service. Most recently Holliday worked as a Nurse Tech at HCA Lewis Gale Medical Center in Salem, VA, and prior to that she was a Medical Office & Clinical Assistant at Foot & Ankle Associates of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke, VA. Holliday has previously worked in sales and client claims at health insurance companies including: HSH Insurance in Salem, VA; Shenandoah Life Insurance Company and Carilion Health Plans, in Roanoke, VA.  At HSH Insurance, Inc. Holliday was the Benefit Service Consultant and specialized in small group sales and renewals. While at Shenandoah Life Insurance, Holliday was the Team Leader, Group Claims/ Group Marketing Retention Specialist. At Carilion Health Plan, Inc. Holliday was the Sales and Service Representative/Claims Manager and while working in this position she maintained retention rates above 95% and was responsible for sales and service of a $2 million dollar book of business. Holliday holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Emory & Henry College in Emory, VA.

Traci Scales

Scales will serve as a field coordinator for Optima Family Care, Optima Health’s Medicaid product. In this role she will conduct member outreach and educate members in an effort to reduce medical expenses and improve their health.

In her most recent position, Scales served as Program Director at A New Inspiration in Martinsville, VA, a program that provides services to individuals with mental health, behavioral health, and developmental disabilities. Additionally, she served as a Social Worker for DePaul Community Resources in Danville, VA and as a HIV/AIDS Case Manager at Piedmont Access to Health Services also in Danville.  Scales holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from DeVry University in Decatur, GA.

Both Holliday and Scales will work from the Roanoke office of Optima Health at 129 East Campbell Ave in downtown Roanoke.

Optima Health Donates $75K to VA Beach Police Foundation

Donation supports memorial that honors fallen officers

Optima Health recently donated $75K to the Virginia Beach Police Foundation to support a city memorial that honors fallen Virginia Beach law enforcement officers.

“On behalf of the members of our team at Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare, many of whom are the grateful recipients of the services of Virginia Beach’s police officers and safety professionals, we are pleased to contribute to the Virginia Beach Police Foundation’s memorial tribute.  The park will be a source of comfort to the officers’ families and cause all citizens to pause, reflect and thank our fallen officers for their sacrifice.  We are also mindful of the needs of the families of the lost officers and acknowledge them with a contribution intended to provide some assistance to them at their time of grief.”

The police memorial is a symbol of the bravery and trust that law enforcement officers represent to the community. The memorial features a 13’ tall granite base with laser-etched police and sheriff’s badge, topped with three officers representing the Virginia Beach Police Department—the Sheriff’s Department, state, and federal agencies that protect the citizens of Virginia Beach. Interlocking hands symbolize the support they provide each other and their reach to the citizens. Inscribed on the base will be names of fallen officers. The memorial is scheduled to be unveiled on the Virginia Beach boardwalk at 35th Street on May 12, 2012. 

The Virginia Beach Police Foundation is a charitable, non-profit, private organization distinct and separate from the Virginia Beach Police Department and the City of Virginia Beach whose mission is to provide financial support to the families of future fallen officers and to the Virginia Beach Police Department, along with building this memorial.

Workplace Wellness Programs Work

Sherrie Harris is healthier than ever because of Sentara's workplace wellness program.

As an organization, Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare do workplace wellness right. Across the country, companies of all sizes are implementing workplace wellness programs. They’re doing so because they save money for both employers and employees and they improve employee health.

Sherrie Harris works as a patient advocate at Sentara Obici Hospital and she takes her health seriously. She hasn’t always, but now she does because of Sentara’s wellness program, Mission: Health. Today Sherrie is healthier than ever before because she participates and benefits from the wellness program offered by Sentara.

It makes sense that healthier employees tend to be happier, more productive and less likely to take sick days. Companies with well-run programs, in turn, may see significant decreases in medical and workers’ compensation claims: an average return of $3 for every $1 spent on wellness initiatives, with a high of $15 per dollar, according to the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. Theoretically, savings should continue long-term if employees can avoid or better manage high-cost chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Read more about how Sherrie Harris learned to put her health first and why Mission: Health has achieved such great success.