What is the number one most used drug in the world? The drug that is used by 90% of people every day in many different forms? Whether it is found in coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, caffeine is a natural stimulant of the central nervous system. This stimulant causes mental alertness, shorter reaction time, and improved short-term memory. … Read More
Change of Season Health Strategies
With the holidays fast approaching and the weather gearing up for a change, now is the perfect time to jot down health strategies for staying active and reducing stress. It doesn’t have to be complicated – a one page bulleted list of the top 5 strategies on the bathroom mirror, or, utilizing your wellness tracking app to set the pace … Read More
Importance of Plan Performance Reviews
Most public sector employers cover partial, if not the full, premium rate of one or more of the medical and pharmacy plans offered to employees. While it is a significant cost for employers to cover premium rates, subsiding your medicals plans is a critical tool to attract and retain quality employees. More importantly, it allows employers to ensure employees and … Read More
Engaging Your Benefits Committee
Have you ever considered starting a benefits committee to help assess and provide feedback from an employee level? It can be a tremendous asset to an employer to give employees a voice in their healthcare options. In most cases, benefits committees are not the final decision makers, but they make recommendations. A committee’s primary roles are to provide the decision-makers … Read More
Sleeping Over Sickness
Did you know that humans are the only mammals that deprive themselves of sleep? Lack of it has become an accepted part of our everyday experience, but serious health issues are associated with not getting the recommended hours, and an extra cup coffee is not sufficient to offset the symptoms and risks. Fatigue, depression, anxiety, lowered immune system, impaired memory, … Read More
Arizona’s Latest Healthcare Trends
At Valley Schools, we stay updated on the latest healthcare news so we can better serve you and your employees. The healthcare industry is such a complex system, sometimes it lags behind current technology trends because of its intricate details. However, the industry is slowly starting to catch up and utilize more of the latest technology available to streamline customer … Read More
Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
Improving our lives begins with improving our health. Valley Schools provides employees with ways to cultivate healthy change every day by providing a platform to track daily improvements and tools and resources to support change. For example, water intake, healthy eating, sleep, steps and much more can be tracked on the Wellstyles™ platform and mobile app. Valley Schools celebrates every … Read More
Gearing up for a Great School Year
It’s that time of year again, summer is over and the school year is in full force. Students are returning to classes and the weather is cooling off, so your school district employees are at a high risk of getting sick. The best way you can take care of your school’s employees is by providing them with the best healthcare … Read More
The Macronutrient with the Bad Reputation
Lose weight, cut carbs. Carbs are harmful to health. Carbs make you fat. Only certain carbs are okay. With so much negativity surrounding carbohydrates, what’s the real scoop on carbs and how they affect your health and daily eating plan? Most all the negative stigma comes from the carbohydrate’s impact on insulin levels in the body. Insulin is a hormone … Read More
Medical Renewals Already?
It feels as though open enrollments ended yesterday and we are already starting medical renewals. As budget challenges and competition for attracting and retaining quality staff continues, the need to forecast next year’s medical costs and begin the process of reviewing medical and pharmacy options is on our doorstep. Many public entity medical renewals run on the fiscal year, which … Read More