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Try This!
Workplace Wellness Tip
Quick Stress Relief
Stressed out? Get some quick relief with these tricks that you can do at work.
Tune in. Plug in your ear buds and listen to your favorite music. If your job doesn't permit music while working, try it during a break. Music can transport your mind to a peaceful place.
Walk out. At lunch time, take a quick stroll around the building. Exercise and a change of scenery can do wonders for your mental state.
Meditate. Close your eyes, focus on taking deep breaths, and imagine your favorite place or loved ones. Just 10 minutes of meditation can plunge your stress level.
Laugh. Laughter helps cast off stress. Keep a book of jokes or favorite YouTube videos on hand, and chuckle up when you need a lift! |
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Well Connected
Join us for the next Well Connected webinar!
Maintaining Proper Nutrition in the Workplace
Wednesday, Aug. 24
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Presented by:
Affinity Wellness Account Specialists
Affinity Registered Dieticians
In this session, we'll update you on the latest nutrition information, cover the newest trends, and offer solutions you can implement immediately at your workplace. Directly from the nutrition experts at Affinity, you'll learn to identify what proper nutrition is, the latest risks nationwide and in our own community, and the new programs we offer to help keep you on track.
Agenda topics include:
--Identifying proper nutrition
--Nutrition risks
--Choose My Plate.gov
--Festival Food's NuVal System
--Affinity Wellness solutions for nutrition risks
--Affinity's On-Site Dietitian program
--Q & A and discussion
To register for this webinar, please send an email to Tammy Davis at tadavis@affinityhealth.org. An appointment with a link to the webinar will be sent upon registration.
Well Connected is free and open to anyone interested in worksite wellness. We invite and encourage you to attend the meetings, and to share this workplace wellness networking opportunity with your colleagues and friends. The goal of Well Connected is to provide employers an opportunity to network while sharing your company's success stories and challenges in creating and maintaining a healthy workplace.
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Get to Know
Our Providers
Chilton area patients have a new resource for behavioral health. Welcome Leah Diedrick-Williams, LCSW, to the Calumet Medical Center Clinic. Leah is the first on-site behavioral health counselor to join the Chilton Medical Home team, rounding out a comprehensive group of personalized care providers.
Leah is a busy working mom of two. She relates to her patients on a personal level and is committed to helping them make positive changes.
"Everyone has their own intrinsic power to make changes," Leah says, emphasizing that each person has redeeming qualities within, which they can tap to improve their mental health and circumstances. "I have seen people come back from the worst of the worst. Behavioral health starts one change at a time."
To make an appointment with Leah, call the Calumet Medical Center Clinic at (920) 849-3800.
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Welcome to your August issue of Health e-News! This month, we're talking all about EAP - Employee Assistance Programs.
Behavioral wellness is a key component in overall health. Our mental well-being affects our job performance, and EAP can help when challenges arise. In the features below, you'll meet Affinity's EAP team and learn more about how EAP can benefit you.
In good health,
Lisa Kogan-Praska
Director, Employer Solutions and Urgent Care |
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Why Choose Local?
Local EAPs offer many advantages
What's good for employees is good for business. EAPs offer proven benefits to workers and employers alike. National carriers have taken notice, swooping in to offer cheaper solutions. But is bigger better? No, say Affinity's EAP counselors. Here's why local EAP providers can give your company an advantage over larger, national firms.
Personalized care
Affinity's EAP providers are on-site, visible and available to their clients. "We make a point of getting to know your business, your community of employees, and the unique needs of your organization," says Donna Schmitz, Affinity EAP counselor. "We make ourselves available in a way that a national carrier simple cannot."
This personalized approach builds relationships - a key to successful counseling. "One of the most critical elements is the ability to gain rapport with a client," Donna says. "It's difficult to build a trusting, caring relationship with a voice [on the phone], which is what the national plans offer."
Higher utilization
The EAP utilization rate for local programs is about 6-10 percent, compared to 3 percent for a telephonic program. Donna describes one Fox Valley company that switched recently to Affinity's EAP from a national firm. In several years with the national EAP carrier, the company reported having no utilization. After just one week with Affinity's local EAP, an employee scheduled the company's first counseling appointment. "I think that speaks volumes," Donna says.
Better ROI
It's true - you get what you pay for. "There just isn't an apples-to-apples comparison between local and national EAPs," Donna says. Yes, a national EAP program is less costly up front. Many managed care programs add a national EAP plan free of charge as a selling point. However, after an initial telephonic screening, national EAP providers often refer employees directly to services through their medical benefits. "So you need to consider what the cost benefit really is," Donna explains.
For more information Affinity' EAP, click here:
http://bit.ly/q5b0vn
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Frequently Asked Questions About EAP
Not sure if EAP is right for you? Are you desperate for help but afraid to call? We're here for you. Read on.
Why should I call the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?
All of us face problems in our lives from time to time. Sometimes these problems are easy to deal with, but other times problems are more serious and can dramatically affect our lives. Your employer offers an EAP because it knows its employees are its most valuable resource. The EAP is offered to help employees find solutions to personal problems, big or small, that may have the potential to become overwhelming.
How can EAP help?
The EAP is a free, confidential counseling and referral service designed to help employees and anyone living in the employee's household with personal problems.
How do I access the EAP?
Accessing the EAP is as easy as picking up the phone. Our professional staff is trained to answer questions regarding the EAP, provide information for community resources, respond to crisis situations, and schedule appointments with EAP clinicians.
Appointments are generally scheduled between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday - Friday.
Clients can access our services toll-free by calling 1-800-894-9327. Sign language and translating services are also available upon request.
Where is the EAP located?The EAP has four convenient, confidential locations in the Fox Cities. Menasha: 1550 Midway Place (lower level of the Affinity Midway Place Specialty Clinic and Surgery Center) 1-800-894-9327
Oshkosh: 2700 W. Ninth Avenue (in the Mercy Oakwood Medical Building, adjacent to Mercy Medical Center) 1-800-894-9327
Chilton: 451 E. Brooklyn Street, 1-800-894-9327
Affinity's EAP also has affiliate provider locations available throughout Wisconsin and the United States. For more information on a location near you, please call 1-800-894-9327. |
 What's Happening at Affinity?
Affinity Medical Home Earns National Recognition
Affinity's new model for primary care, Affinity Medical Home, is designed to put patients at the center of their care. Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician, and the physician leads a team that takes collective responsibility for patient care.
Several Affinity clinics have earned the highest National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation, with more anticipated to follow. Clinics receiving Level 3 Physician Practice Connections ® - Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition (PPC-PCMH™) thus far include:
- Affinity Medical Group - Kaukauna
- Affinity Medical Group - Koeller Street, Oshkosh - Family Medicine
- Affinity Medical Group - Jackson Street, Oshkosh - Family Medicine
- Affinity Medical Group - Jackson Street/Parkway - Internal Medicine
- Affinity Medical Group - Winneconne - Family Medicine
- Mercy Medical Center - Oakwood Internal Medicine
- Affinity Medical Group - Deerwood Avenue, Neenah - Pediatrics
- Affinity Medical Group - Airport Road, Menasha - Family Medicine
- Affinity Medical Group - Greenville - Family Medicine
- Calumet Medical Center Clinic - Chilton
"Affinity's Medical Home model allows us to consistently deliver our promise of personalized care as we partner with patients to customize their health care experiences. Our Medical Home model helps us focus on quality health care and improve health outcomes for our patients," says Christine Griger, MD, MBA, president of Affinity Medical Group.
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 Online Resources Affinity's EAP provides a list of online resources for your behavioral health concerns. For information and resources on anxiety, addiction, depression, and more, visit us online at:
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| Meet Our EAP Team
Experience and compassion
Affinity's Employee Assistance Program team offers the depth of experience and breadth of expertise your employees need.
 Patrick Hauer - With 30 years of counseling experience, Patrick is an expert guide to resolving conflict in relationships. He has a special interest in helping people struggling with substance abuse. Having raised three grown children, Patrick enjoys making the most of his empty nest by indulging his passion for motorcycles, hunting and fishing.
 Bob Carroll - Bob has nearly 30 years of experience as a counselor in inpatient and outpatient settings. An 11-year veteran of Affinity's EAP, his special interests include marriage and parenting issues, and work-related challenges (stress, anger management and communication). An avid golfer and father of two, Bob is known as the EAP team's anchor, keeping them on an even keel.
 Donna Schmitz - Donna has compassionate insight for counseling couples and families in crisis, including relationship and parenting struggles. She also has special interests in helping people cope with grief, anxiety, depression, and work-related stress or conflict. Donna is Mom to two grown children, and loves to spend time tending her perennial garden.
Trisha Hummel and Tina Suttner -Affinity EAP customer account/marketing representatives Trisha and Tina share more than a job; they share a passion for promoting the healing work of the EAP. When you call the EAP office, Trisha or Tina will respond to guide you. Both are moms of grown kids in or past college. Trisha enjoys gardening, photography, and creating new recipes. Tina is an extreme outdoor enthusiast - hunting, fishing, four-wheeling and more.
We invite you to get to know us. Affinity's EAP team can develop solutions tailored to your employees' needs.
If your company utilizes Affinity EAP services, please call (920) 720-1090 for more information or to schedule an appointment. We can help overcome personal and corporate obstacles to achieving your maximum potential.
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