Briefing: News for UC Faculty and Staff

< June 2007

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Guerren Solbach: Health Care Facilitator

Guerren Solbach loves his job — and the employees and retirees he meets.

He is the Health Care Facilitator at UC Davis. He almost didn't apply for the position, but now he is so glad that he did.

Each UC campus and laboratory has a health care facilitator (HCF). The HCFs, who work out of the Benefits Offices, are knowledgeable counselors who provide employees, retirees, survivors, and their family members with free, confidential

one-on-one assistance in resolving health plan issues. They also present programs on health related topics and are some of the most knowledgeable people at UC regarding the UC medical plans. More>>

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UC People

Los Angeles
Pictures Tell Their Story
Mae Respicio Koerner, manager of the Creative Writing Department in UCLA Extension who is a second-generation Filipina, has pulled together from books, old academic papers and documents a pictorial history that brings nearly invisible generations of Filipinos into sharp black-and-white focus in a book, Images of America: Filipinos in America.When Koerner's search in the community led her to strangers, many graciously gave her their oral histories and family pictures.

"There was always some hesitation about giving a piece of yourself away to others, but people were also so proud to share their culture," she said.

San Diego
Floating at Zero Gravity
Erik Viirre, MD, PhD from UC San Diego Medical Center took on a heavy responsibility even as he and 30 other passengers — including renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking — enjoyed several periods of weightlessness during a recent two-hour flight over the Atlantic.

When Hawking, decided to fly zero gravity, Viirre was asked to provide medical oversight of the highly publicized trip.

Virre, Adjunct Associate Professor of Surgery/Otolaryngology and Cognitive Science, serves as volunteer chief medical officer for Zero Gravity Corporation, the only U.S. company to offer FAA-approved weightless flights for the general public.

He also serves on the board of the San Diego Air and Space Museum and believes that the experience of weightlessness should be available to science teachers. He is currently involved in an initiative to help hundreds of school teachers access zero gravity flights at no cost.

San Francisco
Brain Matters
UCSF Neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., has been a popular speaker. Since the publication of her best-selling book, The Female Brain, she has been asked numerous times to discuss her research, which sheds light on differences between girls and boys and men and women.

She calls her book an “owner’s manual” for women because it describes how specific hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, affect thoughts, behavior and a woman’s perception of the world.

By providing a greater awareness of the chemistry guiding women’s impulses, Brizendine hopes that the book will help women understand why they are feeling a certain way during specific times in their lives, so they can make more cognizant choices and have more control over their behavior. She believes that this greater understanding will improve emotional and social IQ, and lead to improved relationships and better communication between the sexes.

The Female Brain was published last August and has received considerable media attention, including making the Washington Post’s Best Non-Fiction list in 2006. The book is now being translated into 19 languages.

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Benefits Q & A

Vision Plan Benefits
Q. If I get new corrective lenses using my vision plan, do I have to wait a full 12 months to be able to use plan benefits to buy another pair?

A. No. VSP's plan benefits cover one set of corrective lenses (or contact lenses) per calendar year. This means that you could purchase one set in December of 2007, and another set in January of 2008, for example. The same is true of vision examinations: The plan covers one exam per calendar year. (Frames are covered every other calendar year.) See the At Your Service website or VSP's Evidence of Coverage booklet for plan details.

Briefs

UCRP Contributions Postponed
As previously announced, contributions from both UC and employees were scheduled to start July 1, 2007, subject to several factors including State funding. Because UC will not receive State support for this purpose in its 2007-08 budget, the restart of UCRP contributions will need to be rescheduled.

UCRS Advisory Board Election under Way through June 22
Active UC Retirement Plan (UCRP) members who are not members of the Academic Senate have until June 22 to vote in the election of two new UCRS Board members. There are 11 candidates running. Go to the election website for details about the Board and the election, the candidates’ statements, and a link to the At Your Service Online voting tool.

Retirement Readiness Workshops Now Online
For those who are unable to attend the retirement readiness workshops being conducted at each location as part of UC’s ongoing financial education program, FITSCo now offers prerecorded versions of several of their workshops online. More>>

Look for Information on Medical Plan Bid Process on At Your Service
The bid process for all UC medical plans, which was featured in the last issue of Briefing, continues, with selection of plan vendors anticipated by the end of July. At Your Service offers the most current news about the 2008 UC medical plans bid process as well as information that will help you make decisions in this year's November Open Enrollment. Plan to visit the site regularly and frequently because you will have a number of decisions to make about your medical plan coverage for 2008 during Open Enrollment.

Reducing Emergency Care Expenses
Did you know that for a medical emergency, UC medical plans allow treatment at medical facilities other than those affiliated with your health plan? It is important to note, however, that you must notify your medical group and health plan as soon as possible after you receive emergency treatment. Failure to notify your plan of an emergency treatment or emergency hospitalization can result in potentially expensive out-of-pocket costs for you. For additional information, contact your health plan.

Security Changes Continue for At Your Service
At Your Service Online has undergone two changes to further protect your personal information. As part of continuing efforts to promote security on At Your service Online, a number of steps are being taken to further safeguard UC employees personal information. More>>

Dental Newsletters Now Available
If you are enrolled in the Delta Dental plan, you may sign up to receive the Dental Wire newsletter on the Delta Dental website. The newsletter offers tips on how to maintain proper dental hygiene and other useful information. After logging on to Delta Dental's website, look for the link to the newsletters.

Retirement Update Well Received
More than 85 percent of UC faculty and staff who returned the feedback card found the UCRP Retirement Update and Readiness Guide to be a useful tool. The personalized Update, which mailed in February, was rated high for increasing awareness of the retirement savings opportunities available through UC and for helping people understand their progress toward their personal retirement savings goals. As a result of receiving the Update, 44% of those responding said that they intend to increase their retirement savings and 34% intend to change their asset allocation. Of the more than 3500 surveys received, 74% were from staff, 19% from faculty, and 7 percent from other.

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