Topics offered in May include:

• Serious Weight Loss: What does it Take to Succeed? –
  Thursday, May 23
  Whether you want to lose 5 pounds or 155 pounds, you need to get serious about weight loss if you want to be successful. There’s hardly anyone among us who hasn’t tried to lose weight at one point or another–a small number succeed……because they’re serious. Join Cheryl Miller for an inspiring and informational presentation to learn how to activate the serious “gene” within you.
• Self-Care:  It’s Not Just About Hot Tea & Spa Visits –
  Wednesday, May 29
  It’s the day-to-day activities and choices that make up a healthy lifestyle. When your daily choices are health enhancing, you build up a reserve for when life gets stressful. When you have positive self-care habits and rituals, you invest just minutes a day in building your wellness reserves. If you’re running on empty because you haven’t taken care of yourself lately, you may get sick, stressed, depressed or overwhelmed. It’s good to put a little self-care in your “wellness bank” every day so the reserves are there when you need them. If your life already feels overfull, find out how to make a little more room for self-care.
• Be Retirement Ready –
  Thursday, May 30
  Often people nearing retirement have spent time thinking about and preparing financially for this important event in their lives. But many haven’t spent any time preparing themselves emotionally for this big transition. Retirement, like any other major transition in a person’s life has emotional rewards and emotional hazards. It’s important as you approach retirement to ask yourself: “How will I live this next phase of my life?” This program will cover how to prepare yourself emotionally so you can take full advantage of this exciting step in your life adventure.

Get more information and register to participate at http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/eapteleclasses.htm.

• For details on all the options available to earn credits, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/rewards.html
• Track your credits earned through your personal, secure account on the wellness portal at www.KansasHealthQuest.com
• Don’t have an account yet?  Follow these instructions to get registered:
  http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/download/How_to_Register_an_Account.pdf
• The HealthQuest Help Desk is available at 1-888-275-1205 (option  9) for login and technical assistance

New Health Advisor Service Offered (Worth 5 Credits)

Once you have completed a Health Assessment Questionnaire, you can earn 5 credits by calling a Health Advisor.  The Health Advisor will review your Health Assessment
Questionnaire results, help you understand your personal health risks and suggest programs and activities from which you might benefit.  The average conversation with a Health Advisor lasts only 10 minutes and can leave you with a better understanding of how to use HealthQuest resources to make lifestyle changes.  To speak with a Health Advisor, call 1-888-275-1205 and select option 6.  Five credits will be awarded to your account automatically upon completion of the Health Advisor call.

1. Discuss your wishes and review your finances in detail with your trusted  loved ones. Make sure they are aware of where your assets and documents are  kept. Include your children in this review if any of the money matters involve  them. Make sure you have life insurance, and think about long-term care insurance.
2. If you have dependent  children, name a guardian to take care of them. If you have a disabled child,  you may also need to consult a professional who can guide you through the  labyrinth of Medicaid and Medicare rules.
3. Have an attorney help you prepare a will.  Other critical documents to have completed  include: an advance directive, power of attorney, living will, health care  proxy, and do-not-resuscitate orders.
4. Ease the trauma of your  death for survivors by preplanning your funeral. Leave instructions on how you  want your body to be disposed of, burial wishes, church arrangements, obituary,  etc. Be as specific as possible.
5. Set up a file in a designated safe place at home listing all your  records, certificates, names and phone numbers of helpful contacts and other  important information. Here is a checklist to get you started:
   • Personal documents — passport, birth certificate, Social Security  information, marriage certificate, divorce decree, military discharge papers,  naturalization papers, your will and that of your spouse or other loved ones,  adoption papers and burial instructions.
   • Retirement and death benefit information — copies of recent  Member or Retiree Annual Statements, estimates, service determinations,  deferred compensation, the name, number and address of the Retirement Plan Administrator, and documents for other pensions for which you may be  eligible.
   • Income tax information — copies of both state and federal income  tax returns for the last three years.
   • Property tax information — copies of tax bills, deeds, liens and  other related information.
   • Insurance policies — life, auto, homeowners, property, accident,  liability and hospitalization policies.
   • Bank accounts — include locations of all checking and savings  accounts, CDs, safe deposit boxes, savings bonds, stocks, bonds and any other  securities.
   • Credit cards — account numbers, phone numbers and addresses.
   • Contact information for friends and business associates who could  be helpful. Also include names and numbers of your attorney, accountant, stock  broker, financial planner, insurance agent and executor of your will.

“Remember,”  Sabatino points out, “you are never too young to get started, and you should update  your records at least once a year.”  Download a sample Personal Affairs Organizer that you might find helpful in getting your  affairs in order. One problem survivors often have is  finding documents and valuable papers. You can do them a favor by filling out  this form. Give copies to your loved ones, executor, lawyer and anyone else who  will need this information.

The teleclass format makes participation quick and easy. Here’s how it works:

• Each class will begin at noon. Sessions are scheduled from 12:00 Noon to 1:00PM. Content will be presented from 12:00PM to 12:30PM, with questions and answers from 12:30PM to 1:00PM.
• Class size is limited; register early to secure your spot. When you register, you will need to print and save the confirmation screen that contains the call-in number and instructions on how to print out the class materials.
• Please note that the call-in number is not a toll-free line. If you will be calling from work, please be sure to get your supervisor’s approval.
• Participants can earn 2 credits for the HealthQuest Rewards Program by completing a self-report form for “Health & Fitness Activities” on the wellness portal at www.KansasHealthQuest.com.

Topics Offered in April Include:

Self-Care: It’s Not Just About Hot Tea & Spa Visits – Thursday, April 18

It’s the day-to-day activities and choices that make up a healthy lifestyle. When your daily choices are health enhancing, you build up a reserve for when life gets stressful. When you have positive self-care habits and rituals, you invest just minutes a day in building your wellness reserves. If you’re running on empty because you haven’t taken care of yourself lately, you may get sick, stressed, depressed or overwhelmed. It’s good to put a little self-care in your “wellness bank” every day so the reserves are there when you need them. If your life already feels overfull, find out how to make a little more room for self-care.

Managing Stress & Building Resiliency – Tuesday, April 30

This teleclass will explore the different causes of stress and how physical and emotional problems can develop when we don’t manage stress effectively. The class will discuss ways to improve your capabilities to become more resilient to stress so that the likelihood of developing symptoms decreases. Your instructor will offer hands-on tools and strategies that you can utilize every day to help you better manage stress.

Register Now to  Participate:  
http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/eapteleclasses.htm.

“Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of stress, adversity,  trauma or tragedy — it means bouncing back from difficult experiences,”  says Patricia O’Gorman, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in East  Chatham, N.Y., and a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association.  “We all share a special ability to take charge of our lives. This is what  resilience can give us — the ability to align ourselves with our strengths and  to recognize our personal power.”

Resilience is used to describe people who lead normal, fulfilling lives despite  having experienced stress, trauma or tragedy. These people are resilient  because they have the ability to recover from adversity and retain a positive  self-image and view of the world.  People  who are resilient accept that they have difficulties, but also know they have  inner resources and abilities they have drawn on in the past.  This gives them a starting place that’s  positive, a place where they can search for solutions to their problems.

Building Resilience

Resilience isn’t a trait people either have or don’t have — it involves  behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed.  Here are a few strategies Dr. O’Gorman suggests  for building resilience:

• Nurture a positive view of yourself.  Develop confidence in your ability to solve problems and trust your instincts.

• Avoid seeing crises as  insurmountable problems. “You can’t prevent stressful events from  happening, but you can change how you interpret and respond to these  events,” says Dr. O’Gorman. “Try keeping a long-term  perspective.”

• Accept that change is a part of  living. Certain goals no longer may be attainable as a result of adverse  situations. Accepting circumstances that can’t be changed can help you focus on  circumstances you can affect.

• Look for opportunities for  self-discovery. Many people who have experienced tragedies and hardship report  better relationships, a greater sense of strength, an increased sense of  self-worth and a greater appreciation for life.

• Make connections. Good relationships  with family, friends or others are important. Accept help and support from  those who care about you.

• Maintain a hopeful outlook. An  optimistic outlook enables you to expect good things to happen in your life.

• Take care of yourself. Pay attention  to your own needs and feelings. Engage in activities you enjoy and find  relaxing. Exercise regularly, get enough sleep, eat a healthful diet and limit  alcohol consumption.

“Becoming conscious of your strengths makes you stronger,” says Dr. O’Gorman. “Resilience increases as you recognize the magnitude of what  you’ve already accomplished and survived in your life and helps you believe you  can meet the challenges that lie ahead.”

HealthQuest  Understands Resilience

The HealthQuest Employee Assistance Program has been helping employees deal  with stress and build resiliency for more than 25 years.  Chances are if you have a question about the  stress in your life they can help.   Please call confidentially at 1-888-275-1205, option 7.

Participate in this challenge to virtually climb Mt. Everest!   Reach Your Peak by staying active and eating well. This six-week challenge helps you focus on both nutrition and physical activity to help you to achieve a balanced lifestyle. Participants track their physical activity and consumption of fruits/vegetable that translate into feet climbed.  And with the new Mya^TM app, you can even participate right from your mobile phone!

To summit Mt. Everest, the goal is to climb 29,000 total feet.  You can earn up to 1,400 feet per day.  You will earn 700 feet for each healthy behavior you practice daily:

• Exercising 30 minutes or more
• Eating 3 or more servings of fruits and/or vegetables

How to Participate:

• Track your activity at www.KansasHealthQuest.com (click on “Challenges” from the left menu and select “Current Challenge”)
• For convenience, you may download the paper tracking form and enter your ”feet” online later
• Record all of your activity online by May 22, 2013
• 5 credits will be awarded to your HealthQuest account automatically when you complete the challenge

NEW MOBILE PHONE APP!
You can also track your activity using the Mya^TM mobile phone app and your portal account will be automatically updated. The app can be used with iPhone, iPad, iTouch and Android devices.  Download the free Mya^TM app through the App Store or Google Play.  Login with the same User ID and Password that you use on www.KansasHealthQuest.com.  For more detailed instructions on how to get and use the mobile app, go to http://www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/download/MyaAppGuide.pdf

Enrolling in the cessation program will give you access to a Quit Coach, someone who will help you map out an individualized plan based on what will make you successful. You’ll have access to a number of tools, including Web Coach, an interactive website filled with videos and information to help you succeed. Along with unlimited access to your Quit Coach, you may even qualify for free nicotine replacements, such as patch or gum.

Don’t drop the ball. Call 1-888-275-1205, option 3, to get started today.  Or enroll online  at www.KansasHealthQuest.com (click on “Tobacco Cessation” from the left menu).

Participants who complete a total of five telephonic discussions with a Quit Coach by July 31, 2013, will earn 10 credits for the HealthQuest Rewards Program!

“An effective time manager knows exactly where his or her time goes,”  says Marc Corsini, President of the Corsini Consulting Group in Birmingham, AL.  “And anyone can become more effective at managing time. It’s a matter of  pinpointing how you spend your day, overcoming time-wasting hurdles and  concentrating on making the most of the time you have.”   Dr. Corsini offers the following suggestions  about how to get more done each day:

• Try to accomplish as much as you can in the shortest amount  of time. Work expands to fill the time  available for its completion, so instead of setting aside a day to write a report, give  yourself a morning or afternoon. Chances are you’ll knock it out in the time  you allow.

• Prioritize. You only have enough time in your day to do the important things. A day  consists of three kinds of activities: Have to do, need to do and nice to do. Forget  the nice to dos. Start with the have to dos and work your way down. Spend your  first hour at work on your most important activity for the day, then pick the  next most important and so on.

• Focus on outcomes, not activities. Nobody cares how hard you’re working.  They only care about what  you’re accomplishing.

• Be a planner. Set aside the last 15 minutes of each business day to evaluate what you have  done that day and plan to do the next. Establish and prioritize your  objectives, to dos and appointments for the coming day. Avoid the “planning  paradox” of failing to plan because it takes time.

• Plan a quarterly vacation. Most people are the most productive  right before they go on a vacation. They have a sense of urgency. They focus.  They work on the most important projects and forget the other stuff.  Pick one day a quarter and act like you’re  about to go on vacation for a month. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll  accomplish.

• Minimize phone tag. To  do so, focus on making calls when you’re most likely to reach people. Develop  additional contacts within an organization. Get to know your contacts’  assistants. Leave careful, creative messages defining exactly what you need and  your time frame. Establish regular “in-office” hours so people know  when they can reach you.

• Make appointments with yourself. When you have an important project you need to finish,  schedule time on your calendar to complete it.

• Look out for time robbers. People can, and do, rob you of your time.  Robbers include co-workers, friends, vendors  and some customers.  Avoid, neglect and  manage those who rob you of your time when you’re at work.

• Give yourself some slack. Schedule slack time in your day so you can handle unexpected activities and  issues.

• Develop a sense of urgency. The best cure for  procrastination is to develop a strong sense of urgency.

• Remember the  HealthQuest EAP. All mental health professionals agree that if your stress-coping  strategies don’t seem to work, you should seek out help from a trusted  professional. The HealthQuest EAP has been trusted by State of Kansas employees  and their family members since 1988.   Call  confidentially at 1-888-275-1205 ( option 7).

ORDER YOUR FREE CALENDAR
To request your free calendar, please go to: https://khap.kdhe.state.ks.us/winterfit/

• Building mail saves us postage, so if you work in Topeka and your State agency uses building mail, select the radio button on the web order form for “Topeka.”
• If you work outside of Topeka or your agency does not use building mail (some Judicial offices), select the radio button for “All Other Locations.”

We’ll bundle orders when mailing calendars, so it may take a week or so to receive it.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG
If you have not yet subscribed to our wellness blog, sign up today at http://www.healthquestkansas.com/. Simply enter your email and click the “Subscribe” button in the top right column. When we post a new topic, subscribers receive a short email with a link to the post.

Money isn’t everyone’s number one worry, but if it’s yours, why not consider  the following New Year’s resolutions to improve your financial life?

Track your spending. If you haven’t purchased financial accounting  software or set up a reliable accounting method of your own, this is the year  to do it. Diligent budgeting and expense tracking is the first critical step to  getting personal finances in order.

Cut your credit  card debt. If you can’t ever seem to get yourself  completely out of credit card debt, make this the year to do it. Take inventory  of your balances, figure out if you can consolidate them under your lowest rate  card, and resolve to pay off an amount that exceeds the minimum — on time,  every month. Pay cash from now on.

Save more. If you haven’t signed up for your employer’s  401(k) plan, this is the year. And resolve to save at least five to 10 percent  of your take-home pay as you’re able to afford, and place the maximum in  whatever retirement savings plans you qualify for.

Cook  more. Even if you can’t boil water, eating out is  one of the biggest drains on the American household budget. Start small,  resolve to cook at least two meals a week you like that will be cheaper at  home.

Consider advice on taxes and  planning. Maybe you’ve always  winged it with your taxes and considered your company 401(k) the ticket to your  financial future. If you are like most Americans, chances are your planning could  use a few suggestions. Start getting references on good tax professionals and  consider sitting down with a financial planning professional to discuss your  current retirement  savings picture and what you can do to  improve it.

Attack that  miscellaneous column. Do  you really need deluxe cable? How much are you paying for your Internet  service? Can you wear a sweater around the house and lower the thermostat? In  every budget, there are items that can be cut – or at least trimmed. Take a  hard look at all your “essentials” to see how essential they really  are. Aim for a target of at least 10 percent and start setting that money aside  on a regular basis.

Get ahead on your mortgage. This advice isn’t for everybody, but if you’ve paid off  your credit cards by paying more than the minimum, apply the same principle to  your mortgage  payment. Every dollar you prepay will  potentially save thousands in interest over the life of the loan if you plan to  stay in your home long-term.  However, don’t  short your investment plans to do it.

The HealthQuest EAP has resources  that can help. The current financial climate has  many of us in an uneasy state of worry and anxiety.   The HealthQuest Employee Assistance Program,  at 1-888-275-1205, option 7, understands your concerns and offers free resources that can help you successfully improve  your financial position.

• Personal Money Management Advice – Assistance with  home mortgage questions, suggestions on  getting out of debt, and help with creating a workable home budget.
• Confidential Personal Counseling - Call 24/7 for an  appointment with a caring EAP counselor in your  community.
• Visit  Us Online – Go to www.kdheks.gov/hcf/healthquest/eap.html for more information.