Wellscreens extended one more day

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Wellness screeningsFree employee health screenings will be offered in locations in the hospital and across campus Feb. 21-April 14. Free employee health screenings, provided by UAB’s HealthSmart and courtesy of Employee Wellness, will be offered in locations in the hospital and across campus Feb. 21-April 14. Registration is open to all full-time and part-time regular UAB and UAB Medicine employees.

Most employees want to make healthy choices, said Employee Wellness Director Anna Threadcraft — “they’re just too busy to do it.”

Wellscreens provide participants a snapshot of their health status. The 15-minute screening measures glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, blood pressure, height, weight and BMI, among other indicators, and participants receive a health-risk profile based on the results.

“We want to empower employees to do what they need to do to get healthy, and this is a really good way to start,” Threadcraft said.

Benefit-eligible employees of the university, UA Health Services Foundation, UAB Health System and UAB Hospital may qualify for a one-time insurance premium reduction up to $150 for health measurements that fall within the healthy range at the time of screening or for health measurements that show improvement when compared with the 2016 screening results. Participants who cannot meet the standards outlined by the program for medical reasons may qualify for a reasonable alternative to eligible for the reward.

More than 800 participants qualified for savings to offset the cost of insurance premiums in 2016.

New to the initiative this year is a series of Employee Wellness events focusing on diabetes, heart health and weight-management.

“We are offering follow-up opportunities so that employees know what to do once they get their numbers and feel supported to set realistic long-term health goals,” Threadcraft said.

The classes will be offered in Medical Towers starting in May.

Learn more or register for Wellscreens at uab.edu/wellscreens.

An additional day is being added April 17 to compensate for the cancellation caused by the campus closing due to inclement weather. A final screening will be available 7 a.m.-3 p.m April 17 in UAB Hospital West Pavilion Atrium. Register online or drop by as a walk-in.