Welcome from Leadership

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Employee Spotlight

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Operation Wellness

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Talent Acquisition

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People & Culture

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Leadership Spotlight

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Table of Contents

What is DEI?

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Sharepoint Updates

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Remote Patient Monitoring

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Health & Wellness

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Employee Anniversaries

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Word from Leadership

The Executive Leadership team welcomes you to read the first Valor Voice employee newsletter.

Watch this video to view their welcome message.

Employee spotlight

Name: Nicholas Pfleghaar, D.O.

Position: Physician

Location: Toledo,OH Machining Plant

What excites you about the service you provide?

The best part of my job at the Toledo Machining Plant (TMP) is supporting the employees so that they can safely perform their jobs every day.  This involves collaboration with different teams including Health and Safety, Ergonomics, Local Response Team, Employee Assistance Program Rep, HR, and the Labor Union.  This creates a better understanding and awareness of the needs of the employees at TMP. I believe creating these relationships throughout the plant allows the medical department to provide superior care and services for everyone who works here.  At the end of the day, I can go home knowing I helped someone.  

Tell us about yourself.

I am a physician who wears many hats personally and professionally.  Some of which include Father, Husband, Traveler, Medical Director, Entrepreneur. There is one hat that is somewhat new to me and provides such professional satisfaction and that is my position on a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).

DMAT, part of the Department of Health and Human Service’s National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), recently deployed to support the State of the Union Address in Washington, D.C.

NDMS typically helps communities respond to and recover from public health emergencies and disasters, but also supports national security events like this at the U.S. Capitol.My team deployed to provide medical care if any was needed. NDMS collaborates with other federal and local partners to provide short-term medical support for those attending the State of the Union.

In addition to myself, NDMS providers from across the country were deployed to help with this event.  These providers include physicians, advanced healthcare practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, paramedics, pharmacists, and safety and security specialists. 

It was a true honor to serve as a DMAT physician supporting the State of the Union at the U.S. Capitol this year.

INTRODUCING

We are pleased to announce the new Valor Healthcare Wellness Program for colleagues.

This new program is designed to raise awareness of the importance of physical, emotional and financial wellness.

Operation Wellness is available to all Valor colleagues. Components of the program include:

• Monthly wellness-related articles and other information will be made available via email and on SharePoint.
• Fun wellness challenges.
• Pre-recorded Lunch & Learn sessions on various topics.

Questions?

Email benefits@valorhealthcare.com

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?

All colleagues need to do is participate. Be sure to check your email to avoid missing out on great information and tips on getting and staying healthy! We plan to make this program a fun addition to your workday.  You work hard to care for veterans – let’s make sure that you’re taking good care of yourself too!

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Introducing Valor Healthcare’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through BHS

• Smoking Cessation Program through BCBS TX
  
• (for colleagues participating in the medical plan)
  
• Benefits of Budgeting
  

TALENT ACQUISITION

Since the addition of CRAssociates in August, the Valor Talent Acquisition team has been working on creating a more effective and efficient department.  We are merging systems and processes to provide hiring managers with the highest quality of candidates available.  We now have 8 team members and will be soon adding a 9th. 

We are excited to introduce Christina Harding, our new Government Healthcare Recruiter!  Christina comes to us with many years of experience and is based in sunny Florida.  She will be focusing her skills on new government opportunities and positioning the talent acquisition function to be successful upon contract award.  Please join us in welcoming her to the team!

Did you know Valor has a robust Colleague Referral Program?

Simply refer a friend to us for one of our openings and, once they work for a certain number of days, you receive a monetary bonus of up to $15,000!  Specific details and the request form can be located on SharePoint. 

The Valor Talent Acquisition team will be exhibiting at the following conferences in the coming months:

COLLEAGUE REFERRAL POLICY

by Kari Shelton

Valor Healthcare is excited to announce our Colleague Referral Policy!  The purpose of the Colleague Referral Program is to provide an incentive award to current Valor Healthcare colleagues who bring new talent to the company.

Sample Bonus Amounts *

*will be paid in two installments; refer to policy for details

Additional Information

The policy with all of the details and requirements, as well as the request form for submission, can be found on Sharepoint. Please email careers@valorhealthcare.com with questions.

Valor Healthcare Benefits and Wellness

Valor Healthcare cares about you! You take care of patients and clients every day and we want to make sure that you are taking care of YOU too! That’s why Valor offers colleagues a comprehensive benefits package and a dedicated wellness component.  In the coming months, you will receive important information about the plan provisions and programs available to you as a Valor Healthcare colleague.  Information includes plan design information such as preventative care and disease management programs for those colleagues who are enrolled in the programs. 

In addition, Valor is committed to providing you with wellness-related information and activities through a new program called – OPERATION WELLNESS!  This program is designed to raise awareness of the importance of physical, emotional, and financial wellness. Operation Wellness is an interactive program offering you monthly wellness-related articles and information via email and on the SharePoint site.  You’ll be able to participate in wellness challenges, as well as pre-recorded lunch & learn sessions on various topics.  Please watch your email for upcoming information and activities!

Corporate Resource Sheet

Did you know that Valor has a centralized list of information for everyday resources?  Colleagues can access the Corporate Resource Sheet on Valor’s SharePoint home page (Home - Valor Team Site (sharepoint.com) to find out information related to key corporate departments, contacts, and areas of responsibility.  It also contains instructions to access Valor’s Policies & Procedures.

New Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Introduced

Valor Healthcare has engaged with BHS to provide colleagues with a new and robust Employee Assistance Program – EAP.  This comprehensive EAP is free to colleagues and their household members!  It’s comforting to know that when we need help, Valor’s EAP is here to provide free, confidential, in-the-moment support to help with personal or professional problems that may interfere with work or family responsibilities. What’s even better, EAP services are available to you 24 hours/day – 7 days/week by calling or texting 800.327.2251.

All calls are completely confidential and taken by a care coordinator who is a master’s level clinician. You can also go online to portal.BHSonline.com – username: VALOR to access valuable information.

In the coming months, you will hear more about EAP services and other programs and services available to you.  We are committed to helping you help others.  If you have questions regarding wellness, please send an email to benefits@valorhealthcare.com.  As a reminder, if you have a question regarding your current benefit coverage, you may view in Paylocity or reach out to SCR-support@alliant.com.

Dr. Lawson is a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 15 years of behavioral care experience, specializing in healthcare integration and operations. She has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Siena Heights University and a PhD in Business Administration from Northcentral University.  Dr. Lawson is a native Michigander and lives in the Metropolitan Detroit area with her husband and two daughters.

Dr. Lawson is leading our Behavioral Healthcare practice and is working closely with our Executive Leadership team in identifying and executing strategic initiatives to drive business growth in the Federal Government Behavioral Healthcare space.  She has been instrumental in assembling industry teaming partnerships with well-respected behavioral health companies and technology companies. Dr. Lawson is leading our technical proposal responses to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) contract opportunity and the Department of Homeland Security’s  Young Adult Case Management contract opportunity.  She is visiting many of our regions and is looking forward to meeting the teams.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Try out the 5-4-3-2-1 technique with this 3-minute guided video:

Simply put, Valor is committed to embracing a culture that is acknowledging and accepting of all differentiators that exist among its colleagues and will strive to be inclusive of each. Valor aims to give more attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s what’s best for each colleague and the company as a whole.

DEI is not just a hiring issue, or an issue for management; rather, it goes to the heart of the organization through its processes and culture. Effectively improving DEI within Valor Healthcare involves more than just writing up policies or hiring a diverse group of individuals. It includes making DEI a part of the culture by actively engaging colleagues in understanding the company values and goals and putting them into action while feeling supported by leaders.

Allowing colleagues to speak to and participate in the corporate strategy not only engages the colleague to feel included as a part of the organization, but it also solidifies their place among their peers. In other words, they will feel a part of the Valor family.

A great way that each Valor colleague can participate in practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their everyday work is to embrace the various backgrounds and cultures, not only among their immediate colleagues, but also welcoming those differences among VA partners, vendors, and corporate colleagues. Sure, having routine “celebrations” of various cultures adds value and awareness to the practice of DEI; but engaging with and including all individuals on a personal level will create an ongoing culture within Valor, that will have a longer-term benefit.  With that in mind, respecting the values and differences of our various colleagues, encouraging them to discuss their thoughts, and acknowledging the value they add to the organization are all ways to become involved in and practice the principles of DEI.

SHAREPOINT UPDATE

by Troy Barth

New SharePoint Site Design

I am excited to announce that we have partnered with DataBridge to redesign our company SharePoint site. DataBridge are experts in design, development of SharePoint sites.

With DataBridge’s help, we will be able to take full advantage of SharePoint’s information sharing, document management, streamline business processes, and help bring remote teams together. This project kicks off at the end of March and a redesign site deployed by mid- summer.

Education on Benefits of RPM

RPM can help with chronic conditions, pregnancy complications, and short-term illness and provide series of benefits:  reduced hospitalizations and shorter hospital stays with RPM device to use at home; fewer visits to the emergency room, better health outcomes for patients in rural areas, better preventative management for chronic conditions and reduced risk of COVID-19 exposure, to name few.

Valor Healthcare and RPM / TeleHealth

We are actively collaborating with our Federal Government clients on identifying and leveraging TeleHealth and RPM solutions across the federal healthcare space.  We have identified several RPM and TeleHealth opportunities to pursue, established teaming partnerships with an impressive set of highly skilled TeleHealth and RPM technology firms and have already submitted our first of many proposals to the government for evaluation. 

We have all heard the adage, an apple a day keeps the doctor away

Is it true?

Well, in a sense, yes, but how? As we go through life our bodies are exposed to various toxins that cause the formation of free radicals.  The insults include controllable ones such as too much sunlight and cigarette smoke and others that are harder to control such as the basic aging of our cells. Free radicals are unstable atoms that are lacking in electrons. They cause damage from stealing electrons from other molecules which then causes damage to the once healthy molecules. These damaged molecules then cause health issues.  Some of the health issues are obvious like skin changes, but others are more insidious and dangerous such as the formation of cancer.

What can we do to fight back? Use sunblock, stop smoking and eat a healthy diet consisting of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  These actions all contribute to a reduction in free radicals. The fresh fruits and vegetables have antioxidants which neutralize free radicals. One fresh apple has the antioxidant benefit of 1,500 mg of Vitamin C. There are other health benefits of apples as well to include the fiber helping to prevent cholesterol buildup, increase in fiber for colon health and the addition of potassium to your body. But don’t peel the apple, because the apple skin has most of the antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. 

Apple a day

by Hope Jordan

Chief Medical Officer

Employee Anniversaries

Congratulations to our colleagues celebrating a work anniversary. We appreciate your service.

suggestions or questions?

Reach out via email: communications@valorhealthcare.com