Woman standing on the beach.

4 Tips to Protect Your Skin

The sun can damage unprotected skin in as little as 15 minutes. Follow these 4 tips from Premera Blue Cross to protect your skin:

  1. Make sure you’re covered. Wear clothing and a wide-brimmed hat to protect as much skin as possible. Protect your eyes with sunglasses that block UV light.
  2. Wear sunscreen. Apply a broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 every 2 hours and after you swim or sweat.
  3. Seek shade. Limit your sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun’s rays are strongest.
  4. Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps. Their UV rays can be stronger than those from the sun.

Online resources

For Business Health Trust members enrolled in medical benefits through Premera Blue Cross, sign in at premera.com for additional health information, support and educational resources.

Tip: Call Premera’s free 24-Hour NurseLine to find out how to perform a monthly skin cancer self-exam. The phone number is on your Premera ID card.

Event: Seattle Chamber’s Business After Hours Board Summer Social

Wild about networking? Join the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce at the Business After Hours Board Summer Social hosted by the Woodland Park Zoo! You can mix and mingle with other local business professionals as well as members of the Chamber’s Board of Trustees, and maybe even meet an animal or two.

  • Date: Thursday, June 27, 2019
  • Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
  • Location: Woodland Park Zoo, 750 N. 50th Street, Seattle, WA, 98103 (Get Directions)
  • Cost: $20 pre-paid ($30 as of 6/20) for members; $30 pre-paid ($60 as of 6/20) for non-members
  • Additional Information: Check out the Chamber’s Summer Networking Pass and save! This is a 21 and over event.
  • Questions: Contact Betsy Paige at (206) 389-7345

For more information, including the list of attending board members, please see the event listing on the Seattle Chamber’s website. The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is the plan sponsor of Business Health Trust; learn more about Business Health Trust’s partner associations on the Who We Are page.

Safeguard Your Smile

When it comes to keeping your smile healthy, your dental benefits are like a personal safety net for your mouth.

But unless you are taking advantage of things like preventive care cleanings, you might be putting your smile at risk.

The good news? For Business Health Trust members enrolled in dental coverage, everything you need to start using your dental benefits can be found online in your MySmile account. With your MySmile account, you’ll also be able to:

  • Monitor your benefits
  • Find a dentist near you
  • Get treatment estimates
  • Review your treatment history

For more tips like this, visit the oral health blog from Delta Dental of Washington.

Resources to Help Small Businesses Comply with Seattle’s New Commuter Benefits Ordinance

Another ordinance is on the horizon that could affect small businesses based in Seattle. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, businesses with more than 20 employees will be required under the city’s Commuter Benefits Ordinance to offer their employees the opportunity to make a monthly pre-tax payroll deduction for transit or vanpool expenses.

For Seattle employers not already providing a commuter benefit that meets this new criteria, Business Health Trust has resources available to help its members.

Through its partnership with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, companies enrolled in Business Health Trust have access to discounts through Chamber partners including Commute Seattle, which can work with you to develop a cost-effective commute program that satisfies regulatory requirements.

More than just a benefits solution, Business Health Trust advocates for small business insurance needs in Washington. We are vigilant about staying on top of changes in the small business health insurance market and advocating for changes that benefit small businesses — nationally, and at the state and local level.

For more information on the Commuter Benefits Ordinance, click the following links:

For more information about the discounts available through Seattle Chamber membership, check out the Member Savings Toolkit or email membership@seattlechamber.com.

For more information or to be connected with Business Health Trust’s resources at Archbright or Commute Seattle, email info@businesshealthtrust.com.

Barge and other maritime industry with Mount Rainier in background.

Event: What’s New for the PNW’s Iconic Maritime Industry?

Washington state flourishes in large part due to our thriving and powerful maritime industry. Statewide, our maritime sector contributes more than $21.4 billion in gross business income — and directly employs nearly 69,500 people.

Our regional maritime workforce, technology and priorities are evolving. Have you kept up?

On June 5, join the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to learn what has changed and what is coming next for this iconic sector of the Pacific Northwest economy during the Executive Speaker Series panel on What’s New for the PNW’s Iconic Maritime Industry.

  • Date: June 5, 2019
  • Time: Noon to 1:30 p.m.
  • Location: Microsoft Events Center at the Seattle Metro Chamber
  • Address: 1301 5th Ave, Ste 1500, Seattle, WA, 98101 (Get Directions)
  • Cost (includes lunch): $45 for members by May 28 ($55 as of May 29); $70 for non-members by May 28 ($110 as of May 29)
  • Questions: Contact Betsy Paige at (206) 389-7345

Leaders from the Port of Seattle, Vigor and Seattle Central College’s Maritime Academy will discuss the industry and answer your questions, including:

  • Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Managing Director, Maritime Division at the Port of Seattle
  • Art Parker, Business Development Manager at Vigor
  • Sarah Scherer, Director/Dean at the Seattle Maritime Academy at Seattle Central College

Moderated by: Molly Henry, Shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson, & Wyatt

The Seattle Chamber, the plan sponsor of Business Health Trust, offers the monthly Executive Speaker Series events to focus on a unique industry and feature top business leaders who discuss the successes, challenges, and opportunities facing their sector.

Family playing soccer in park.

Tips to Embrace a Healthier Lifestyle

May is peak time to embrace a healthier lifestyle, and this month’s edition of Healthy Living with Business Health Trust aims to help you do just, with tips on making fitness fun, traveling safely, unexpected foods that can help boost your mood, and much more!

If you’re not already receiving our monthly e-newsletter, you can subscribe as well as see past issues by clicking here.

Five Action Steps for Helping Someone in Emotional Pain

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and other organizations and individuals across the U.S. focus on raising awareness of mental health. Each year they help fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families. Learn more about the resources and information available to help promote Mental Health Awareness by clicking here. 

In 2017, suicide claimed the lives of more than 47,000 people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Suicide affects people of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities.

Suicide is complicated and tragic, but it can be preventable. Knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get help can help save lives.

5 steps you can take to #BeThe1To help someone in emotional pain

ASK: “Are you thinking about killing yourself?” It’s not an easy question but studies show that asking at-risk individuals if they are suicidal does not increase suicides or suicidal thoughts.

KEEP THEM SAFE: Reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal items or places is an important part of suicide prevention. While this is not always easy, asking if the at-risk person has a plan and removing or disabling the lethal means can make a difference.

BE THERE: Listen carefully and learn what the individual is thinking and feeling. Research suggests acknowledging and talking about suicide may in fact reduce rather than increase suicidal thoughts.

HELP THEM CONNECT: Save the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s number in your phone so it’s there when you need it: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also help make a connection with a trusted individual like a family member, friend, spiritual advisor, or mental health professional.

STAY CONNECTED: Staying in touch after a crisis or after being discharged from care can make a difference. Studies have shown the number of suicide deaths goes down when someone follows up with the at-risk person.

For more information on suicide prevention: www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention.

Source: www.bethe1to.com

US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. OM 18-4315, Revised 2019

Business Health Trust members enrolled in medical through Premera Blue Cross have access to up to three in-person visits with a counselor through Wellspring EAP. For more information on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Business Health Trust, view the plan summary.

If you would like to access your Wellspring EAP benefits, go to WellspringEAP.org; or to purchase Wellspring EAP services, connect with us at BusinessHealthTrust.com/contact-us.

Event: Diversity & Inclusivity Lunch & Learn

Join the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber at its May Lunch & Learn on Inclusivity and Diversity in the Workplace. With an attendance size of 25-45 people, this lunch offers a great personal and social experience. Cost includes lunch.

  • Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2019
  • Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Location: West of the Waterway
  • Address: 1901 Dock Street, Tacoma, WA 98402
  • Members: $25
  • Non-Member: $30
  • Questions: Contact Alison Bryan, Events Planner, at 253.683.4881

This month’s speaker is Nic Townsend-Falck, who joined the Doty Group in 2016 after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in Business Administration. He founded a non-profit that mentors up-and-coming artists and currently serves as the Director of Community Leadership Workshops for Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership. Nic is an active member with the Ambassador Club of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. During this workshop, Nic will focus on:

  • Developing a working vocabulary of preferable language surrounding marginalized identities
  • Identify resources to better understand state and federal policies and laws designed to protect people with marginalized identities
  • Encourage an appreciation for diversity among coworkers and learn about efforts to create more inclusive workplaces
  • Recognize personal implicit/unintentional biases and the impact they could have in the workplace

Nic will reinforce all of these learnings with an activity titled, “Trusted Ten,” an exercise that will get us to think about our workplace and the diverse groups of people one works with.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is an association partner of the Business Health Trust.

Business Health Trust Introduces Access to Behavioral Telehealth Provider Talkspace

Business Health Trust is taking its virtual care offerings one step further with the addition of Talkspace, a new in-network behavioral telehealth provider for members enrolled in Premera Blue Cross.

This valuable new service, which provides access to professional therapy without the travel or waiting room, launches today with the start of Mental Health Month.

To gain access, Business Health Trust members should register via Premera’s Talkspace page, choose a therapist, then text to set up their first video session.

With more than a million users, Talkspace offers:

  • A comprehensive behavioral health solution including outpatient therapy and psychiatry
  • National network of approximately 4,000 behavioral health providers across all 50 states
  • Live video appointments with in-app scheduling
  • Personalized provider match with a dedicated therapist relationship
  • Text messaging with providers – anytime, anywhere
  • Offered as a core provider in the Premera Blue Cross network with standard network rates
  • Stands out for customer experience
  • Clinically proven outcomes

For more information, go to the Talkspace FAQ page.

Considering Cutting Down On Drinking?

The first step, of course, is to decide whether cutting down or quitting is best for you. See these considerations and discuss different options with a doctor, a friend, or someone else you trust.

Thinking about cutting back? Here are some tips to try, small changes that can make a big difference. Choose two or three to try in the next week or two. It may help to have reminders to reinforce your decision to make a change, such as automated smartphone alerts that you send yourself.

Thinking about quitting? One size doesn’t fit all, and it’s important to find options that appeal to you. Start by visiting the choose your approach page. Here you’ll find links to self-help strategies, a helpful publication about treatment options, and information about professional help and social support.

Changing habits such as smoking, overeating, or drinking too much can take a lot of effort, and you may not succeed with the first try. Setbacks are common, but you learn more each time. Each try brings you closer to your goal. Whatever course you choose, give it a fair trial.

Source: Rethinking Drinking, Alcohol & Your Health, Questions and Answers. Retrieved on April 17, 2019.

Business Health Trust (BHT) members enrolled in medical insurance through Premera Blue Cross have access to up to three in-person visits with a counselor through Wellspring EAP. For more information on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through BHT, view the plan summary.

If you would like to access your Wellspring EAP benefits, go to WellspringEAP.org; or to purchase Wellspring EAP services, connect with us at BusinessHealthTrust.com/contact-us.