• Does It Hurt To Have a Temperature?

• Benefits Corner

• Holiday Cooking:
  Keeping it Safe!

• Fitness Center Discounts
  for MISD Staff

• Mammogram Screenings

• Water Aerobics

• Winter Safety

Clean: Wash hands and food-contact surfaces often. Bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, knives, sponges, and counter tops.

Separate: Don't cross-contaminate--don't let bacteria spread from one food product to another. This is especially true for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods.

Cook: Cook to proper temperatures. Foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

Chill: Refrigerate promptly. Refrigerate foods quickly keeps most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Refrigerators should be set at 40 F and the freezer at 0 F, and the accuracy of the settings should be checked occasionally with a thermometer.
 

Copyright © 2004 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Mammogram Screenings scheduled for McAllen ISD employees.

September 26 through December 16, 2004

Location:
Rio Grande Imaging Center
101- B East Ridge Road
McAllen, TX 78501

Call Tonie for an appointment at 632-3275.

Wellness...a way of life!

Water Aerobics

Winter Safety

During the holidays, you should be extra vigilant to keep your children safe. There are many extra factors that put your children more at risk for injury during the holiday season, including gatherings at the homes of friends and family that may not be childproof, home decorations such as Christmas trees and lights, and outdoor activities such as sledding and skiing. Here are some tips to keep your child safe this winter:

• Be careful with high risk foods and holiday treats that can pose a choking hazard to children under age four. This includes nuts, hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, popcorn, and apples.

• If decorating your house for the holidays with a Christmas tree or lights, be mindful of your child's age. Younger children are likely to play with ornaments and lights on trees. Only place unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches and make sure the tree is stable. Keep the tree's stand full of water to prevent it from drying out so that it doesn't become a fire hazard and keep lights and extension cords out of reach.

• Don't overload electrical outlets.

• Do not leave lights or candles on when you are not at home and keep them out of younger children's reach.

• When visiting others during the holidays, supervise your child extra-vigilantly until you can assure yourself that the house is childproof.

• Buy and accept as gifts, only toys that are appropriate for your child's age. If older siblings receive as gifts toys with small parts, keep them away from younger children in the house.

• If your child has food allergies, be sure to keep this in mind when visiting others and having holiday meals. Be certain that the host knows of your child's allergies and does not offer foods to your child that he is allergic to. They should also be careful to not reuse dishes or serving utensils that come in contact with the allergic foods.

Copyright © 1999 - 2004 Keep Kids Healthy

Sneezing, scratchy throat, runny nose – everyone knows the first signs of a cold, probably the most common illness known.

What is a cold?

The common cold is caused by any one of more than 200 viruses that infect the upper respiratory system.  These viruses affect the mucous membranes of the nose and throat and cause a variety of symptoms, such as:

• Nasal Congestion

• Sneezing

• Sore throat

• Runny nose

• Headache

• Watery eyes

• Coughing

• Sinus inflammation and congestion

• Slight fever

How is a cold spread?

When you cough or sneeze, the viruses that cause the common cold can be spread by:

• Touching infected secretions on skin or surfaces and then touching the eyes or nose

• Inhaling larger particles of respiratory secretions that linger briefly in the air

• Inhaling smaller droplets that remain suspended in the air for longer periods of time

How can I prevent the spread of a cold?

Common cold viruses can survive up to 3 hours outside the body

Disinfecting contaminated surfaces helps prevent the spread of infection

In addition to traditional hand washing with soap and water, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the use of alcohol-based hand rubs

How do I treat a cold?

Although both microorganisms cause disease, viruses differ from bacteria in that bacteria generally respond to antibiotics whereas as viruses do not.  Antibiotics do not treat viral infections.  To treat symptoms of the common cold, doctors generally prescribe antihistamines and decongestants.  For coughs, doctors generally prescribe cough suppressants and expectorants.
 

Copyright © 2004 Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

HEALTH/DENTAL PLAN

The transition to Mutual of Omaha effective October 1 as the District’s the new Health/Dental plan administrator is continuing.  If you are experiencing a service disruption or have questions regarding your benefits, contact Mutual of Omaha Customer Service at 1-888-225-0046 or the Employee Benefits Office at 618-6007.

It is important that you are aware that all health/dental claims incurred prior to September 30, 2004 should continue to be submitted to P.O. Box 250089, Plano, Texas 75025.  In order for a claim to be considered eligible for benefits, notice and proof of claim must be given no later than December 31, 2004 (three (3) months following the incurred date of charges for service or supply for which the claim is being made).  Claims not received timely (90 days) will not be considered.

Claims incurred on or after October 1, 2004 should be submitted to the address on the back of your new MUTUAL of OMAHA ID card, similarly within three (3) months following the incurred date. 

A schedule is being developed to be effective in the month of January for a Mutual of Omaha claims examiner to be available to assist with health/dental plan claims. Employees with questions about their claims will have an opportunity to meet with the claims examiner at a District site(s) yet to be determined.  The schedule will be announced as soon as it is available.

LONG TERM DISABILITY

The District’s group long-term disability carrier, Highmark Life Insurance, is discontinuing the Payroll Protection Insurance for Educator’s disability product.  All coverage under this group disability policy will terminate on January 1, 2005.

Through a competitive bid process, the District has selected UNUM Life Insurance Company to continue offering a long-term disability product to MISD employees.  An enrollment period will be scheduled exclusively for long-term disability in the month of December.  The schedule will be announced as soon as it is available.

Although employees with group disability coverage with Highmark Life Insurance will automatically be transferred to the new UNUM plan effective January 1, 2005, all current participants in Highmark’s program are encouraged to make contact with the UNUM representative during the December enrollment period.  This is the opportunity to ask questions about the new plan, cancel coverage or make changes in your plan. This is also the opportunity to make benefit election changes resulting from a salary increase that will qualify for an increased amount of disability benefit.

Although benefit plans are structured similarly, UNUM plan will not include certain benefits currently available with the Highmark Plan and rates are noticeably higher in comparison for all plans.
 

Mr. Andres Silva is the Director of Employee Benefits/Risk Management

Statistics prove regular exercise can help reduce, stress, depression, insomnia, high blood pressure and heart disease. It can also improve circulation, weight management, muscle tone, self - esteem, and osteoporosis, so what are we waiting for, lets get started.

There are two fitness centers that give group discounts for MISD employees.

Have a great workout!