BE ANTIBIOTICS AWARE: Don’t Add to the Problem
Imagine you or someone you love gets a bacterial infection—like a strain of MRSA, pneumonia, meningitis or food poisoning—that does not go away. Every year, 2 million people get infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the U.S.—and 23,000 of them die.
Certain antibiotics have been used so widely and for so long that some bacteria are now resistant to them and cannot be stopped by these powerful medications.
You can make a difference. Make sure you only take antibiotics to treat bacterial infections (although they are not effective on some cases of bronchitis, sinus infections or ear infections).
And please don’t ask your doctor for antibiotics to treat a virus, such as a cold or the flu. Antibiotics don’t work on viral infections…and taking them only contributes to creating antibiotic resistance.
- CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Viruses or Bacteria: What’s Got You Sick?
- KAISER PERMANENTE PARTICIPANTS: Using Antibiotics Wisely.
- PROVIDENCE PARTICIPANTS: Use Antibiotics Appropriately.
- REGENCE PARTICIPANTS: Overusing Antibiotics: What Are The Consequences.
START TO STOP ON DAY ONE: Join the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 21
If you’re a smoker, let the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 21, be the day you start your journey toward a smoke-free life. You’ll be joining thousands of smokers across the country in taking a step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk.
Quitting smoking immediately begins to improve your health, no matter what age you are when you quit.
Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world causing nearly half a million deaths every year for smokers and non-smokers who breathe second-hand smoke.
Quitting smoking isn’t easy but getting help through coaching and medications doubles or even triples your chances of quitting successfully. Help is right here:
- AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Quitting Starts Here. Or call 1-800-227-2345.
- KAISER PERMANENTE PARTICIPANTS: Tools to Kick the Habit.
- PROVIDENCE PARTICIPANTS: Free Resources to Help You Quit Tobacco.
- REGENCE PARTICIPANTS: You Have a Coach in Your Court.
BENEFIT QUESTIONS? Online Answers for This Year’s & Next Year’s Coverage
For Active Employees and Early Retirees, the next Plan Year begins on January 1, 2020. Look on the Health Trust website (sdtrust.com) for the current year’s (2019) and next year’s (2020) benefits information. Click Menu then Health Benefits, choose your group and status, then click on a document:
- Benefit Guide: View an overview of your benefits
- Rate Sheet: See 2019 and 2020 contribution rates
Want to check your 2020 benefit choices? Easy. Active Employees can log in to selfservice.pps.net. Early Retirees and Substitutes, use the edge.zenith-american.com.
If you’re enrolled in the Trust Dental Plan (currently through Regence) for 2020, you’ll be prepared for the New Year when you find a Delta Dental in-network dentist now.
And if you’re enrolled in the Trust Prescription Drug Plan (currently through CVS/caremark), locate an Express-Scripts in-network pharmacy now, so you’ll be ready when the network changes on January 1.