Value Your Health: Center for Healthy Living offers vital preventive care
April 4, 2014
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Getting healthy, staying healthy and proactively managing chronic conditions are perhaps the best tips for being a responsible health care consumer.
Through the Center for Healthy Living, Purdue offers myriad options for employees and dependents covered on a Purdue medical plan to obtain preventive care at no charge. Non-preventive services, including those to help covered employees and their dependents manage chronic conditions, cost only a modest fee.
Here, Dr. Carolyn Cooper, physician at the Center for Healthy Living, discusses services available to help employees prevent disease and manage chronic conditions. The center is at the State Street end of Purdue West at 1400 W. State St., Building B, Suite C. Parking and bus routes are available.
What preventive care services does the Center for Healthy Living offer?
The Center for Healthy Living offers yearly physical examinations, which include well-woman and well-man checks when needed. We also offer allergy shots and flu, shingles, tetanus and other immunizations. All preventive care at the center is covered at 100 percent for anyone 18 and older who is covered on a Purdue medical plan. Anthem provides a list that shows what care is considered preventive under the plans.
We also offer sports physicals for dependents for $30, regardless of which Purdue medical plan you’re covered on.
In addition to preventive care, what services are provided at no charge?
All of our health coaching, medication therapy management, and counseling services are provided at no charge to all benefits-eligible employees, even those who are not covered on a Purdue medical plan. The center has four health coaches who are all registered nurses. Our health coaches can serve as confidential, supportive partners who will motivate and encourage behavior change to help employees meet their wellness goals. Our coaches will help employees with management of chronic conditions, weight management and/or tobacco cessation. (More information about health coaching is available here.)
Medication therapy management involves our staff pharmacist. She works with employees to review their medications in terms of how they work and their potential side effects. She can even help find the most affordable options for employees' medications.
Our Employee Assistance Program offers confidential, on-site counseling and referral services related to mental health. Our counselor can help employees address a wide range of issues that might be affecting their personal lives or their jobs. (More information about the Employee Assistance Program is here.)
Nutrition counseling, offered by a registered dietitian (RD) certified health coach, is also available at no charge for all benefits-eligible employees. The RD is also a certified diabetes educator and can assist those who have been diagnosed with diabetes or are considered at risk for the disease.
Are referrals necessary for any of these services?
No. Eligible patients can simply make an appointment with the center online, by phone or in person. We work hard to keep our schedule flexible, including offering a limited number of same-day appointments to those who need them. Additionally, anyone who takes advantage of any services at the center can do so while keeping their primary provider, if they choose.
What services does the center offer to help manage chronic conditions?
We offer screenings for chronic diseases, including diabetes, anemia, thyroid abnormalities and high cholesterol levels. Our care providers can order any necessary lab work, write prescriptions for medication refills and give referrals to providers in the community, if necessary.
For employees covered on a Purdue plan, those services cost $10 or $45, depending on the plan. That's far less expensive than costs at many other places in the community, so it's a real value for people who take advantage of these services.
The center also houses a Tier 1 lab, which provides great pricing, plus the best lab benefit under all of Purdue’s medical plans. The lab begins accepting walk-ins at 7 a.m. every weekday.
Why is it important to receive preventive care and manage chronic conditions?
If people can keep up with their yearly examinations and other preventive services, it's much easier to detect diseases early. Preventive care also helps identify when a patient is at risk for a disease so specific preventive steps can be taken.
The bottom line is that getting and staying healthy is the best way to prevent diseases that could become chronic. We want to encourage everyone to take advantage of the services offered to them at the Center for Healthy Living -- ours costs are very low, we’re conveniently located and our providers are very knowledgeable and helpful.
CHS Health Services manages the center and keeps all patient information strictly confidential, in keeping with HIPAA. The center is an all-around great resource. (More information about the center is available here.)
Writer: Amanda Hamon, 49-61325, ahamon@purdue.edu