Meet our new Healthy Boiler … Bill Bell, vice president for Human Resources

As the Healthy Boiler Wellness Program heads into its second year on campus, a new Boilermaker has joined the Healthy Boiler movement. Effective Oct. 1, Purdue University welcomed Bill Bell as the vice president for Human Resources, and one of his goals for 2019 is to make the Healthy Boiler Program, specifically the portal, more user friendly and intuitive.  

“I tend to have a broad and holistic viewpoint when it comes to overall health and wellness, which to me encompasses aspects such as physical, emotional/mental and financial,” Bell said. “The good news is that Purdue offers many benefits and resources across all of those different aspects for our faculty and staff to take advantage of – all of which can fall under the “Healthy Boiler” umbrella.

In 2019, the Healthy Boiler Program will see enhancements and provide new and relevant content to the Healthy Boiler portal throughout the year. Portal users will see a January refresh of the home page that will more clearly identify if an individual has met his or her requirements for earning 2019 incentives. Additionally, the portal will see intuitive updates to the content within the “Earn” tab. The goal, according to Bell, is to keep the information fresh and relevant for everyone.

“We want to make access to all resources as frictionless as possible for everyone,” Bell said.

By changing up the requirements to earn incentives in 2019, the program sets the stage and offers incentive ($325 per employee, $325 per spouse if applicable) to have your annual physical and biometrics screening done, that’s it!

“My hope is that more people get their annual physical and biometric screenings next year,” Bell said. “In 2017, only 39 percent of our benefits-eligible co-workers got their annual physicals. Research shows that having an annual physical with biometric screenings is the best thing that an individual can do when it comes to their health. Having an annual physical and biometric screening allows you and your physician to build a personal trend line on key metrics – allowing you to chart progress over time.”

Third quarter reports for 2018 (as of Sept. 30) show an increase to 47 percent for those who got their physicals and biometric screenings; this can be attributed to the launch of the Healthy Boiler Program in January 2018.

Additionally, Bell hopes that  more of the Purdue population start taking advantage of the resources that they have available as part of the Healthy Boiler program, such as new and enhanced wellness programming at the Center for Healthy Living and the Healthy Boiler portal.

The portal serves as a one-stop shop for health and wellness information as well as where employees will log their information related to the 2019 wellness incentive. In addition, a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on the program is available via the portal along with many other wellness resources. Don’t forget, the provider form needed for the biometrics screening can be downloaded from the portal as well.

Once your physical and biometrics screening are complete, you can upload the completed provider form, enter your biometrics and select that you have completed this activity on the Healthy Boiler portal to earn your 2019 incentive.

“I would encourage everyone on our benefits plan to participate in the Healthy Boiler Program,” said Bell. “Not only can it help you improve your health and well-being, but it can also earn you additional monetary contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).”

To learn more about Bell, see the November 2018 Provost Newsletter’s feature, “Q&A with new VP for Human Resources.”