HEALTH SERVICES STAFF NEWSLETTER

healthservices@basd.k12.wi.us

Sarah is the dedicated Health Aide at Dyer Elementary, where she uses her previous medical background to care for students and ensure their well-being. A proud mom of three children—two of whom are students in the district—Sarah understands the importance of supporting both the kids and their families. She has been a valued team member at Adrian's Custard for 20 years! Outside of work, Sarah enjoys creative crafts and DIY projects, often shopping at Hobby Lobby for her latest projects. Her combination of professional experience, community ties, and caring nature makes her an essential part of the Dyer Elementary staff, and we’re lucky to have her on our team.

When faced with a challenge of adversity, like a storm, it is better to actively confront it head on, just like a buffalo would charge directly into a storm, rather than trying to run away or avoid it. This direct approach often leads to a quicker and more efficient resolution to the problem; essentially, embracing challenges instead of shying away from them.

Work Health Life is an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) that provides you and your family with immediate and confidential support to help resolve work, health, and life challenges to improve your life. Let us help you find solutions so you can reach your goals at any age or stage of life. We help millions of people worldwide live healthy, happy, and productive lives. This is available to all staff on the district insurance plan.

Cultivating a sense of resiliency is about keeping your personal tank full so you are able to adapt and manage the stressors life throws your way. The greatest sense of wellbeing will happen when you practice regularly. Explore the links, apps, and tools below as outlets and practices for when life gets challenging.

If you are on BASD insurance you can check out more links from wellspace on the bwell app, where there are multiple activities and tools to utilize.

All Information in this section is taken from HealthSource Solutions - Copyright 2020

As part of the United Health Care insurance benefit, anyone on the districts health insurance is able to access the calm health resources included with your policy. In the UHC portal go under the mental health section, then the self care coaching area will include the calm health link. You can also download the Calm Health app!

Join evidence-based programs developed by psychologists designed to support a variety of health and life experiences, all through a personalized plan. De-stress and improve focus with popular Calm content including Sleep Stories, meditations, music and more.

BASD believes that good health should be a priority for each of us and is encouraging each employee, on the districts health insurance plan, to take part in one of two dates for Biometric Screening this year.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025 from 3-6pm at Dyer

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 from 6:30am -12:30pm at BHS

Emails have gone out with the sign ups and more information. Reminder, biometric screening is a requirement for the health insurance reduction and is an opportunity for you to identify areas in your lifestyle that may be impacting your health as well as receive more information on how to begin to change them. The screening requires a finger prick, which requires just a few drops of blood.

Your 10-minute health screening includes:
Total Cholesterol
HDL Cholesterol
Glucose
Blood Pressure
BMI (Height & Weight)

NOTE: You DO NOT need to fast for this screening. Please drink plenty of water before your scheduled appointment. A HealthSource Solutions professional will immediately provide you with your screening results and help you with next steps.

The Farmer’s Almanac, which provides annual weather forecasts among a collection of other useful information, says people who live in colder climates are more acclimated to walking on icy surfaces because they have learned to walk like a penguin.

To walk like a penguin, do the following:

• Bend slightly and walk flat footed
• Keep your center of gravity over your feet as much as possible
• Point your feet out slightly – well, like a penguin
• Shuffle your feet and take short steps
• Watch where you are stepping
• Concentrate on keeping your balance
• Keep your arms at your sides and hands out of your pockets
• Go slow

The Farmer’s Almanac also recommends treating your feet by having good winter boots with a large tread or you can wear ice cleats that attach to your shoes and provides gripping power on ice.

Read the full article at OSF Healthcare.

The MERT (Medical Emergency Response Teams) have completed their first meetings of the year at each building. Every team member was provided a Stop the Bleed (STB) kit, and the department has begun training any staff who have not been previously trained in STB techniques to ensure preparedness in case of emergencies.

If you need to speak with someone in our department, please start with the building health aide and then follow the flow chart below.

In the case of an accident or injury please be sure to use the correct form. There will be a green binder in the each health office with paper copies and at the district office front desk. The form is also located in class link in the staff forms folder. If you have any questions please reach out to Bridget Savaglia or Claire Sullivan.

This month's family newsletter highlights the importance of physical activity in children's development. It also includes video links to keeps students active at home and details about the Burlington United Soccer Club. Additionally, you'll find information on upcoming events like Seal-A-Smile and Vision testing, as well as reminders about head lice and toileting expectations.

As part of the Health Services Department Improvement Plan for 2024/2025, one of our key goals is enhancing the support we provide for health needs during field trips. This includes ensuring staff receive proper training, establishing clear protocols for managing medications, and improving the guidelines for scheduling field trips. See the field trip timeline guidelines.

This month, we would like to emphasize the importance of returning all medications and emergency bags to the health aide as soon as you return to the building. This is not a task to delay until the next morning or several days later—medications must be returned immediately. In the event of a medical emergency, the health aide needs immediate access to emergency medications in order to respond effectively to the situation. Please be sure to add this to your field trip lists as a reminder of what needs to be completed upon return.