John DeGruttola, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales

Where are you going? That’s the question I ask myself at the start of every New Year. It helps me to identify my course of action throughout the year. Just as you use a map to identify where you are physically going when you travel, I use my sales strategy as my GPS to help me identify my future course. For me, my goal every year is to grow the Optima Health membership.

As a small business, I suspect you plan your year in a similar way. Your number one goal is to grow your business. That’s a given. When you review your health insurance offering it may seem like a daunting task.  Are you getting everything you need from Optima Health? Is there something we could be offering you to assist you in making your decision?

As much as we want to grow our business, we want to ensure that our clients are being treated well. We value your business and want to ensure that you have great customer experiences when you interact with us. Additionally, we’re always looking for ways that we can enhance your experiences with us. Would you like a web series on health reform or are you interested in simple employee wellness programs you can implement? Share your thoughts with us, as our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience.

In 2012, Optima Health is making a significant leap into a new market, Roanoke and the New River Valley. We feel good that we are able to grow despite the downturn economy. Additionally, the small businesses in our Healthy at Work program are enjoying reductions in premium by partnering with us to improve the health of their employees.

Late last year we launched a new Emergency Travel Assistance Program to all Commercial and Individual members that provide an array of medical services for members while traveling 100 miles or more away from home.  I’m eager to hear if you’re employees have utilized this service. We’d like to tell your story through our blog, so please share.

Our new partnership with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) has enabled us to complete our network in Richmond offering more options for small businesses in that community as well.

As you follow your road map for 2012, I encourage you to share any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve or enhance our relationship. Your feedback is invaluable. Safe travels!

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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)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Optima Health launched in Roanoke and the New River Valley in October of last year with its Commercial product, later offering its Individual and Medicaid products. We are thrilled to share the news that in just three short months, we have signed 35 employer groups and have approximately 1,000 Commercial members. Additionally, we have 5,600 Medicaid members.

Join Four Chambers

In an effort to connect with local businesses and to become involved in the communities we will serve, Optima Health has become members in four Chambers of Commerce. We are proud to be a member of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce, and the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to developing these relationships in the future. Many thanks to the staff at each of the Chambers that assisted us through our application process.

New Office Open House

We are thrilled to have a new office in downtown Roanoke. Over the course of the past two months construction has been taking place to transform the first floor space of the Dr. Pepper building on Campbell Street into Optima Health’s new office. We will be holding an open house on Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 3-5 p.m. to celebrate. Our senior leadership staff will be on hand, along with newly hired staff, neighbors, business leaders and our new clients to celebrate this milestone in Optima Health’s history.

Janet Kennon, Health Coach

Optima Health employs more than 40 health coaches. This is an emerging role at health plans, physician offices, hospitals and employers across the country. The tools of their trade—a phone, a goal, a positive attitude, lots of great tips and compassion.

Optima Health was featured in an article in The Virginian-Pilot newspaper on December 25, 2011 about health coaching.

Health coaches can come from all walks of life. Most are nurses, some are dietitians, licensed clinical social workers, and some are even pharmacists. Their role is to work with individuals to educate, provide resources, set goals and answer questions that relate to improving their health or avoiding a chronic health condition.

At Optima Health, health coach is their title, but their job descriptions reflect the title, case managers. Both are synonymous. Their role is to help members avoid expensive hospital stays and to help control and/or prevent them from developing diseases such as diabetes, asthma and chronic heart failure.

Health coaches work in concert with the physician office, the hospital and the member to offer advice and guidance during a particular period of time. The idea is to make people more proactive about their health and lead them to become more self-sufficient.
Janet Kennon is one of the health coaches at Optima Health. She says that members feel more accountable just knowing that someone is going to call to ask about their weekly action plan, therefore more likely to stick to their goals.

A Kaiser Family Foundation survey of employer health benefits in 2011 found that 27 percent of companies are offering employees access to health coaches, with some giving financial incentives for working with one.

“Most people appreciate the calls,” Kennon said. “But sometimes I do sense people are overwhelmed with life at the moment, so I’ll be brief and just tell them I’m here when they need me. We are not all ready to change. And if it’s not self-motivated, it’s not going to happen.”