Health Insurance Renewal

In the last edition of Coop Connection, I shared some initial insights into our health insurance renewal for next year. Unfortunately, our projected increase for next year is 36.1%. This is not what we expected or hoped for. Frankly, this increase is simply not affordable for you or the agency.

As a result, we will need to make some changes in our insurance program. To make our health insurance more affordable, we are looking at several options, from having fewer plans to choose from, to adding co-insurance, to increasing contributions. In addition, we are looking at other ways to encourage staff to use primary care, instead of the emergency room or urgent care, getting an annual health check, and using virtual care when possible.

With some significant changes, we won’t see a 36% increase, but even with significant changes, we will see a significant increase in our premiums. It is important to make difficult decisions today, so that we can impact affordability in future renewals. There are no easy answers to this issue, but failing to make the necessary changes today is not a good strategy for addressing future costs.

We have had one meeting with group representatives and will be scheduling another meeting soon. This group will help advise and inform the decisions around our health insurance offering for next year. It is our intention to continue to monitor and adjust to ensure affordability and participation in our health insurance program. These are key challenges to ensuring a health insurance program. More information will be provided in the next few weeks.

The bottom line is we have seen a significant increase in utilization of our health insurance, and we want to make sure we are being good consumers of our healthcare spending. This is a very important and challenging issue for us as we work to find a solution that will be workable for our staff and the agency.

KUDOS

There are very special things going on in our programs every single day and I wanted to highlight one of them that happened last week. Wendy Dineson, EBD/SLD Upper Elementary Teacher at ELC - Windom shared a great story of student surprise in her classroom. Right before spring break, Wendy’s fifth grade student was notified that her response to a weekly question was chosen as a part of the Kentucky Educational Television (KET) News Quiz. The KET current events News Quiz is viewed by upper elementary and middle school students across the country. The clip below is set to start right before Wendy’s student's response.

What a great representation of the work being done in Wendy’s classroom and at our learning centers! Wendy and her student put ELC - Windom on the map and in the national spotlight! Congratulations!

Why Does SWWC Exist?

Do you ever wonder why SWWC exists? What’s the SWWC purpose? How does the SWWC purpose impact me, in my job, every day?

You don’t have to go very far to see what we say is the SWWC purpose. It is right in our vision statement! The purpose of SWWC is to create a future where children, families, schools, and communities learn, succeed, and thrive.

So, how does your work create this future that SWWC envisions? That is a personal question we all need to reflect on, but I believe all of us, no matter what our role, can help to create such a future.

One very specific thing we can do is to support the SWWC Foundation for Innovation in Education. At our last Virtual Town Hall meeting, Shelly Maes, Executive Director of the SWWC Foundation, shared the work she is doing to support SWWC programs through Foundation giving. The Foundation page on the website shares how a donation of any size can make an impact! A five-dollar donation will cover the Creative Writing Contest entry fee, and a $25 donation will cover the cost of rockets and engines for several students to build during the Rocket Blast Off session at the Science and Nature Contest!

Find the SWWC purpose in your work, or support SWWC programs through a donation to our Foundation are both ways to demonstrate your commitment to the SWWC vision to create a future where children, families, schools, and communities learn, succeed, and thrive.

SWWC Facilities

I am happy to announce that the ELC - Marshall project that was put on hold due to an asbestos issue is back on schedule. The SWWC Board approved the asbestos clean up plan at the board meeting last week. This will allow the project to move forward. Once the asbestos is cleaned up, renovations will continue. Although this has been an unforeseen challenge with this project, the expectations are that the work will be completed so students can attend this fall.

No new updates on ELC - New London or the Marshall administrative office. Both projects continue to move forward as planned.

Highlighting SWWC Programs

Did you know April is Occupational Therapy Month? If you check out the SWWC website, you will see this definition: Occupational Therapy – Advancing Health, Well-Being, and Quality of Life! SWWC has 21 Occupational Therapists and 4 Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants currently on staff serving the children in our schools and communities. These staff conduct evaluation and screening of students, help in developing educational programming, facilitate optimum functioning, and enhance a child’s ability to learn and develop. SWWC OTs and COTAs are GREAT people doing GREAT things!

April is also World Autism Month! Check out more information in the Coop Connection about autism awareness and acceptance.