UW Benefits for Working Mothers

Maternity Services

The Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) health plans have maternity programs that are designed with your special needs in mind. They offer a wide range of choices, from midwifery care to specialized obstetrical care and from home birth to hospital care in your community. Whether you want an unmedicated childbirth or an epidural as soon as possible, a lot of support or just a minimum of routine prenatal visits, our plans make it easy to choose the providers and support you want. Use the provider directory for your plan to help you find one.

Whomever you choose, you will also have access to a variety of support services, including childbirth, lactation, and parenting education. Your partner or support person can attend all classes with you, and individual teaching is available to those who cannot attend the scheduled group sessions. Some classes have a registration fee.

Lactation Stations

Breast-feeding is a unique experience for each woman and her baby. Today, many mothers return to work and school after their babies are born, and the breast-feeding routines must be quickly changed to accommodate a different schedule. At the UW, we want to ease the transition from home to work for return-to-work mothers by providing lactation stations and encouraging them to continue to breast-feed successfully. The Lactation Stations are located across campus—Hall Health, Harborview, Health Sciences, UW Medical Center, Roosevelt Clinic, Schmitz Hall, Sieg Hall and the UW Tower. All of the stations provide secure, private areas for expressing milk—some are equipped with hospital-grade lactation pumps. Find out the details about a UW Lactation Station nearest you.

Do you want additional information about breast-feeding? An excellent online resource to learn breast-feeding benefits and procedures is available through the UW faculty and staff assistance program, UW CareLink. Here's how you can get easy access to this valuable resource:

1. Log in at APS HelpLink, UW CareLink's online resource.
2. Under Company Code, enter "UW."
3. Click Health & Wellness ==> Infant/Toddler Health ==> Articles & Tips
4. Here you will find many articles and resources on breast-feeding and other popular topics.

Source: UW CareLink, the UW's faculty and staff assistance program

Reduce Your Child or Adult Care Expenses

Do you expect to incur child, elder, or other dependent care expenses next year? If so, you should consider enrolling in the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). Eligible employees who wish to take advantage of this excellent benefit in 2009 must enroll during the month of November, the Open Enrollment Period.

Here's how a DCAP account works: You pay for child, elder, or other dependent care expenses by setting aside a portion of your payroll dollars on a pre-tax basis and reducing your taxable salary. When you enroll in DCAP, you decide how much to contribute for the entire plan year (January 1 – December 31). The money is deducted from your paycheck pre-tax (before federal income taxes and FICA taxes are deducted) in equal amounts over the course of the plan year. After you incur qualified expenses, you submit a claim to ASIFlex requesting reimbursement from your DCAP account.

Eligible expenses include daycare, babysitting, registration fees, general purpose day camps, and pre-kindergarten expenses. Ineligible expenses include overnight camps, care provided by a dependent, your spouse, or your child under the age of 19, and care provided while you are not at work. Learn more.

Adding a Dependent to Your Coverage

Coverage for newborns and newly-adopted children can begin at the date of birth. It can also begin the date you assume legal responsibility for the child’s support in anticipation of adoption. There are important deadlines for adding dependents to your health insurance plan, so act promptly. You can add a dependent child to your health insurance plan as follows:

• Within 60 days of birth, adoption or assumption of the legal obligation to care for the child;
• Within 60 days of loss of other coverage, by providing proof of lost coverage; or,
• At the next open enrollment period, October 27 through November 30, 2008.

For more information, review Benefits Eligibility for Dependents of UW Employees.

Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast cancer is a malignant (cancer) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 35. While it is found mostly in women, men can get breast cancer, too. For every 100 cases of breast cancer, less than 1 is in men. The good news is that breast cancer death rates are going down, probably due to earlier detection and better treatment. Learn more about breast cancer.

Screenings & Risk Assessment

There is no sure way to prevent breast cancer. But there are things all women can do that might reduce their risk and help increase the odds that if cancer does occur, it is found at an early, more treatable stage.

• Risk Assessment - Some risk factors for breast cancer cannot be changed, such as age, race, family history of the disease, and reproductive history. However, lifestyle factors such as reducing alcohol use, getting regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and breast-feeding are all associated with lower risk. Read more.
• Mammograms are the best method to detect breast cancer early. PEBB plans allow mammogram screenings every 1 or 2 years, based on risk factors or personal choice, beginning at age 40. Because mammograms are considered part of a woman's routine preventive care screening, they are covered 100% so take advantage of your free mammogram!
• Breast self-exam (BSE)
  Beginning in their 20s, women should know about the benefits and limitations of BSE. View a step-by-step approach for doing the exam.

If Breast Cancer is Detected

In the past twenty years, great improvements have been made in the treatment of breast cancer. As a result, the number of breast cancer survivors continues to increase. In fact, there are over two million survivors alive today!

• Treatment
  Although each person’s treatment will be slightly different, it generally involves some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and/or targeted therapy. Deciding on a particular treatment is as much a personal matter as it is a medical one. Read more.
• Complementary and Alternative Therapies
  Many people turn to these therapies during and after their cancer care. These methods can include vitamins, herbs, and special diets, or methods such as acupuncture or massage—among many others. Read more.
• Special Nutrition
  Cancer treatment can greatly affect your nutritional needs. Whether you need help dealing with side effects or simply want to make sure you maintain your health, these resources will help.
• Emotional Support
  There are a number of organizations that offer support networks and educational materials. Please refer to the following organizations and their web sites for more information:
• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (www.komen.org)
• CancerCare (www.cancercare.org)
• American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)
• Additional Resources
• Financial Assistance
  The first place to turn for advice is your trusted health care provider. In addition, there are local, state and national organizations that may provide information about financial assistance and insurance. Read more.

Breast Cancer Sources: American Cancer Society, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), Center for Disease Control (CDC)

Get the Facts on Breast Health

True or False Quiz

1. Not all women are at risk for breast cancer.  True/ False

2. Most lumps that are found do turn out to be cancer.  True/ False

3. Breast cancer now causes more deaths among women than any other cancer except skin cancer.  True/ False

4. A mammogram can find cancers when they are very small, often several years before a lump or change can be felt.  True/ False

See quiz answers below.

Source: American Cancer Society, a UW wellness partner

Wellness Events & Activities

Tee Hee Hee Therapeutic Laughter Sessions

Welcome to the Harborview Laugh Club! For the past year, Harborview employees have been meeting briefly every Friday morning to laugh. The inventor of laugh clubs, Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian physician, discovered that just the act of laughing enhances overall health.

October 24 - November 7 | Fridays | 8 - 8:45 a.m. | Harborview | Patient & Family Resource Center | Room GEH-76 | See flyer

Now is the Time to Get a Flu Shot

• For Uniform Medical Plan enrollees, see UMP Network Vaccination Pharmacies
• For other plans, locate a flu clinic nearest you:
  • flucliniclocator.org
  • www.getaflushot.com

Free Lunchtime Blood Pressure Screenings

Thursdays | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Hall Health Center lobby | No appointment needed

As a service to the UW community, the Employee Health Center is offering free blood pressure screenings to faculty and staff. This service is being offered in the Hall Health Center lobby on Thursdays (except Thanksgiving) between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. For more information, contact 206-685-1026.

Managing Stress

November 17 | Monday | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Roosevelt Commons | Cost: $125 | Register here

Faced with difficult events and people? Find yourself worrying, overreacting, or tense? If so, this session offers a fresh approach. Learn tips and techniques to handle things that go wrong, and learn to manage upsetting situations more calmly. A new way of thinking may reawaken your ability to accept, appreciate, and enjoy your everyday life.

Seattle Marathon

November 30 | Sunday | Begins at 7:15 a.m. | 5th Avenue between Harrison & Mercer Streets, east of the Experience Music Project

The Seattle Marathon is the oldest marathon on the west coast, and one of the top ten in the country. Whether you are a new or returning participant, please join us for this popular event, which includes a marathon, marathon walk, half marathon, half marathon walk, and a kid's marathon. Registration & Information

Quiz Answers

1. Not all women are at risk for breast cancer.
False. All women are at risk for breast cancer. Women who have a close family member with the disease (mother, sister, or daughter) have a higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer themselves.

2. Most lumps that are found do turn out to be cancer.
False. Most breast lumps are not cancer, but it's important to get any lump checked by a doctor to be sure.

3. Breast cancer now causes more deaths among women than any other cancer except skin cancer.
False. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women. About 71,000 women will die of lung cancer in 2008, while about 40,000 will die from breast cancer. Skin cancer is more common than either breast or lung cancer, but it is less deadly.

4. A mammogram can find cancers when they are very small, often several years before a lump or change can be felt. True. Mammograms can find cancers when they are too small to be felt. However, mammograms are not perfect; they may miss some cancers. Any breast lump should be checked by your doctor, even if your mammogram is normal.

Source: American Cancer Society, a UW wellness partner