Health plus helps

staff and faculty stay fit through the holidays

Hold the stuffing details at the bottom of this page

Health Plus, the staff and faculty wellness program, is settled in its gleaming new home in the Stadium Club location atop the Kensington Garage, and is ready to help you have the fittest holiday ever.
Here are some highlights of this month’s calendar
(the full calendar is available at www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/wellness/hpevents.htm#LifePhasesSeries).

Health Plus Open House and Ribbon Cutting
(L to R) Lauren Briskey, Chancellor Gordon Gee, Kevin Myatt, Nim Chinnia,
and Harry Jacobson, M.D. cut the ribbon to open the new facility.

Nov. 30 is Go for the Gold deadline
Full-time active, benefits eligible staff and faculty can now complete the Gold Level of the Go for the Gold Incentives Program and receive $20/month in wellness credit in 2007. More than 12,500 faculty and staff participated in the program last year, and are being rewarded by Vanderbilt for engaging in healthy lifestyle practices.
Here are the steps:
Step 1
Do your yearly Health Risk Assessment to learn what your health risks are and what you can do to become as healthy as possible.
Step 2
Do your yearly Wellness Actions Sheet to focus on healthy actions that will help you maintain or improve your health.  
Step 3
View the 2006 Game Plan for Your Health, where you will learn ways to be an informed health care user. Game Plan for Your Health can be viewed on the Health Plus Web site, or if you’d like to view it on DVD, call Health Plus at 343-8943 for campus locations where you can pick up a DVD. The deadline for completion is Nov. 30.

Go for the Gold Help Sessions set
Health Plus staff will be available to answer questions and assist faculty and staff in completing the 2006 Go for the Gold Program, as well as offering blood pressure and weight checks, at the following times and locations:
Nov. 27 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
The Vanderbilt Clinic, Rooms 2702-2703
Nov. 29 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Health Plus, Kensington garage, 7th floor
Help is also available at Health Plus and the Occupational Health Clinic during hours of operation. Attendees should have their VU net ID and e-password to participate.

Life Phase Series arranges your life
The Life Phase series showcases speakers who have ideas to help staff and faculty balance work and home responsibilities. This month’s Life Phase series is titled Ready to Run, Part 2, and will be held Thursday, Nov. 16, in 419 Light Hall from noon to 1 p.m.
Training for any type of race can be a challenge. Johnny Pryor, personal trainer and running coach for Health Plus, will offer guidelines to prepare for your race. Learn the basics of training, nutrition recommendations, and stretching, among other key topics.

Faculty and Staff Swim Nights
The next Health Plus Staff and Faculty Swim Nights are scheduled for Nov. 3 and Dec. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Campus Recreation Center Pool. Participants should wear their bathing suit and bring a towel—and their staff ID. It’s OK to bring along the whole family or to invite a guest.

Dance the year away
Every Monday night at 6:15, Health Plus is the dancing place to be, for the Fitness through Dance class. The schedule for the rest of 2006 is:
November – Lindy Hop
December – Shim Sham
Dance partners can come along for this class only, but they are not required.

Lap it Up Club rewards swimmers
Lap swimmers can again sign up for the Lap it Up Club. Participants record the number of laps they swim at the Campus Recreation Pool (or any pool) and can set and achieve distance goals. Swimmers keep a training diary, swim at their own pace, and receive prizes for distance milestones. Each month’s top 10 swimmers are also posted on the Health Plus Web site.
Download LIUC materials and a registration form from the LIUC Web site at www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/wellness/hpaquatics.htm, or pick up materials and a registration form from the Health Plus drop box next to the CRC front desk or the Health Plus front desk.  For questions, contact the Health Plus Aquatics Director, Laurie Nygren, at 322-7946.
Health Plus members can swim laps at the Campus Recreation Center the following times:
• 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday
• 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
• 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday

Self Care classes offered
Most of the time when you get sick or injured, you’ll recover without special medical care. But how do you know when medical care is necessary?
  In the “Self Care Techniques” class, Occupational Health Clinic Nurse Practitioner Alice Warren will teach you:
• How to prevent and treat common health problems
• Step-by-step procedures that outline how to know when to seek medical attention
• How to identify the best health care provider for your condition
• Class attendees will receive a free copy of Healthy Life: Self-Care Guide, a manual published by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine.
The next class will be:
Wednesday, Nov. 22 12-1 p.m.
The Learning Center, Medical Center North
Pre-registration is not required.

Babies and You
Babies and You is a prenatal program offered to full-time faculty and staff and their dependents. Co-sponsored by Health Plus, the Benefits division of Human Resource Services, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Patient Care Services, and the March of Dimes, this program focuses on early prenatal care, the prevention of birth defects and low birth weight. Sign up for Babies and You within the first trimester of pregnancy and your baby will be eligible to receive a $100 savings bond (taxable) when he or she is born.
The upcoming Babies and You class is Nov. 16 and is titled Postpartum Care. It is being taught by Carol Huber, R.N., of the Women’s Education and Lactation Center.
All Babies and You classes meet from noon to 1 p.m. in 415 Light Hall. To get more information or to register for Babies and You classes, call Lisa Conner at 343-9623.

Hold the Stuffing and get a prize

Weigh-ins scheduled Nov. 13-18
Hold the Stuffing is an annual event at Health Plus to encourage staff and faculty to maintain their weight from Thanksgiving through the first week of January. The typical American gains weight over the holidays, but last year, as in years past, Hold the Stuffing participants lost weight.
Participants weigh in the week before Thanksgiving, and then again the first week in January. To participate in this year’s event, simply weigh in with Health Plus at any of the Hold The Stuffing stations the week of November 13-18. Those who maintain their weight, hold any gain to less than two pounds, or lose weight over the holidays win a prize from Health Plus. This year’s prizes are a choice of a Smoothie King gift card or a jump rope.
People who are trying to gain weight can participate, too; Health Plus can work your individual goals into this program. Here are the weigh-in sites and times. Contact Health Plus at 343-8943 for more information.

All Week (Nov. 13-18)
5 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday-Friday and
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday,
Health Plus Fitness Center,
Kensington Garage

Monday, Nov. 13
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Medical Center
North S-3407
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,
Chestnut Street Plant Operations,
Fitness Room

Tuesday, Nov. 14
10 a.m.- 2 p.m.,
Children’s Hospital Café
3:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.,
Divinity School, Tillett Lounge

Wednesday, Nov. 15
6 a.m.- 6 p.m.,
Courtyard Café

Thursday, Nov. 16
6 a.m.- 9 a.m.,  
Preston Research Building Lobby
11 a.m.- 1 p.m.,
3401 West End, Suite 560W

Friday, Nov. 17
10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Baker Building Lobby