Points to consider:

• For the Plan year of May 2006 through March 2007, Carespring funded $1.6 million towards team member’s insurance claims.  Carespring’s administrative costs were $456,000.  That’s a total of over $2 million!
• Carespring’s projected cost per month:
• Single  - $247.64
• Employee/Spouse - $520.04
• Employee/Child(ren) - $445.75
• Family - $792.45
• The National Average increase in health insurance costs is 10%.  Your increase is 0%.

Keeping Your Resolution
by John Muller

Spring is in full effect & bathing suit season is right around the corner.  Blake please put the speedo’s back on the shelf & go for a nice baggy pair of trunks – plaid of course!  How can you re-capture that initiative you felt with your New Year’s Resolution?

1. Choose an attainable goal – the secret to success is giving yourself positive feedback, set small reachable goals on your journey.
2. If you have made a resolution you’ve been unsuccessful achieving before, try altering it – again give yourself a chance to succeed.
3. Create a realistic game plan – write it out & check it off.  The weakest ink is better than the strongest mind.
4. Break it down and make it less intimidating.  Piece by piece to reach your goal.
5. Ask friends and family members to help you.
6. Reward yourself with each milestone – this is a great aspect, be smart with the reward.
7. Don’t go it alone – get the right help along the way.
8. Limit your number of promises – we are all stretched thin.  Don’t have yourself so committed that you are unable to take care of yourself.

Have a happy & healthy Spring & Summer.  Stay hydrated.  Pick a winner in the Kentucky Derby.

By David Eppers

Can I invest a little?  YES!

If you only have a small amount of money, where should you invest?

Carespring employees should first invest in the 401(k) plan.  It has the double benefit of allowing you to earn money BEFORE taxes are deducted, and being matched at up to 25% for the first 4% of your contribution.  It is the best investment out there.

If you want to do something with your money after your taxes have already been deducted try a no load mutual fund.  If that’s still too intimidating, just ask your bank.  They may have some short term flexible options for you.  The important thing is you do not need to be an expert; you just need to be willing.   

Tacos al Carbon
by Jim Gehler

• Cooking spray
  1 ½ cups thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
  1 ½ cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)
  1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
  1 tablespoon chili powder
  1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  2 ½ teaspoons olive oil
  ¾ teaspoon salt
  8 garlic cloves, minced
  8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  6 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add bell pepper to pan, and cook 4 minutes. Add onion to pan and sauté 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Place pepper mixture in a large bowl, cover and keep warm.

Add beef to pan; cook 7 minutes or until desire degree of doneness. Add to pepper mixture. Add chili powder, juice oil, salt and garlic to bowl; toss to coat.

Heat Tortillas according to package directions. Spoon steak mixture evenly over 8 tortillas. Top each taco with about 1 teaspoon cilantro and 2 ¼ teaspoons sour cream.

Serve with
Spicy Cabbage salad
Combine 6 cups thinly sliced cabbage, ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 seeded and minced jalapeno pepper, toss well.

Risk of Falls
by Dr. Art Gendelman

Recent studies looking at reduction in falls in high risk residents that live at home showed no improvement with intensive interventions compared to no intervention.  This was surprising to all!
It just goes to show you that all our efforts to prevent falls may not always help. We do the best we can, but there are limits to a population that is declining. Keep up the great efforts.

Trusting your friend's email
by Craig Ray

Even though they may be your friends or co-workers, don't always trust email
that comes from people you know.  It's easy to assume that if it has their
name then it's legitimate email.  Unfortunately, that may not always be true. There are some computer viruses and email spammers that can fake who the message is from.  For example, my computer has a virus and this virus goes
through my address list looking for people to email.  It finds Bob Smith and Jane Doe in my list.  The virus can send an email to Bob Smith and make it appear to come from Jane Doe.

So, if you get an email from a friend or co-worker where the subject or body just seems strange, don't open any attachment to that email.  If in doubt, you can always ask them if they actually sent that or not.  Of course,
if it's something you're expecting, then feel free to open it.

Adding Email to your "Blacklist"
If you would like flag all future email from a specific sender as junk, it's very easy to do in Outlook.  Highlight the email and right-click it, and go down to Junk Email. When the sub-menu comes up, click on "Add Sender to Blocked Senders List", and any futuer email from that address will go into your Junk Email folder.

Spring Cleaning Your Refrigerator

by Beth Lind, R.D., L.D.

If you are planning to give your home a thorough cleaning this spring, include a “refrigerator make-over” on your to-do list.  Not only will you fridge be spotless, cleaning will improve the safety and quality of your food.  For the best cleaning results, always refer to your owner’s manual, but here are a few tips.

• Scrub down the inside of your refrigerator (including shelves and drawers) using a clean sponge and warm soapy water.  Rinse with clean water, then dry with paper towels or a clean cloth.  Avoid using cleaners that may pass their taste onto food or cause damage to surfaces.
• Eliminate odors between cleaning by placing an opened box of baking soda in the back of the fridge.  Change the box every three months at the time of your next make-over.
• Make it a habit to wipe up spills immediately, especially from raw meat juices.  Defrost meat on the bottom shelf in a covered container to reduce the chance of a spill and cross-contamination.
• Throw out foods that have been “hibernating” in the fridge. As a rule of thumb, go through your fridge once a week, and check expiration dates to help determine when to dispose of foods. When in doubt, throw it out.
• “Use by” or “best if used by” dates are not safety-related. They represent the last recommended date for using the product at its top quality.
• On the other hand, “expiration date” means don’t consume the product after this date.

Taken from the American Dietetic Association
www.eatright.org