PAX Centurion - Spring 2019

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Spring 2019 • Page 45 First BPPA “Wellness Fair” a great success Possibly two skin cancer screenings detected early, another event planned for June? By PAX Staff O n Wednesday, February 6 th , the BPPA sponsored our very first “Wellness Fair,” along with the Superior Officers Federation (BPSOF), for the purpose of educating, informing and detecting health-related problems among our members before they become major issues. For a first-time event, the Wellness Fair was a great success, with an estimated 126 members visiting throughout the day to take part in blood-pressure, skin cancer screening, nutrition issues, proper dieting and a host of other testing for health-related matters that affect our members directly. BPPATreasurer and Health and Wellness Officer Bob Colburn coordinated the event with the City of Boston’s Human Resources and Public Employee Committee (PEC). Numerous advocates from several agencies, such as Harvard-Pilgrim Health Care, Massachusetts General Hospital and others, arrived at the BPPA union headquarters to offer information, testing and screenings (all confidential and not reported to the BPD in any way, shape or form) for BPD and EMS employees to use to empower themselves to take charge of their own health-related issues, hopefully, before any actual issues present themselves or worsen. It is believed (again, confidential information from the testing facilities but reporting generically for information only... ) that at least two cases of possible skin cancer concerns were detected, and those employees were referred to their respective PCP’s or other health-related facilities for more testing and treatment. Early detection saves lives, careers, families and a great deal of costs for both the City of Boston, the Insurance Companies, and our own employees, which ultimately helps to keep health insurance premiums as low as possible for everyone involved. Believe it or not , the Insurance companies take note of pro-active measures taken by municipalities and their employees to reduce health-care costs, before they set their annual premium rates. The City of Boston has taken these measures and several other City Unions are considering sponsoring their own Wellness events after the BPPA’s lead. Commissioner WilliamGross, Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long, Superintendent William Ridge, Superintendent Paul Donovan, BPDMedical Unit head Chanel Bryant-Alexander, BPD Nurse Practitioners Zelma Greenstein and Elaine Russo-Boucher, and a number of other BPD officials attended and were greatly impressed with the effort put forth by the BPPAduring this first-time event. Working with the City’s Human Resources Department, the BPPAand all of our other associated unions hope to sponsor another Wellness event sometime in June of this year. Certainly, a great success for a first-time event, and we look forward to another great event in June with even more members taking part. IF “only” two members were spared more serious concerns about skin cancer due to early detection, then that alone would make the event a life-saver and a success. Many, many more officers and EMT’s may have received important information about blood pressure issues, proper nutrition and other information that may have a huge impact we simply aren’t/ can’t possibly be aware of at this time. We’ll keep you informed of upcoming events, dates and times. to last-minute overtime shifts and special-event ordering. And so now we understand why “Police Burnout” is setting in after only two or three years on the job. It also explains why recruitment for new officers is at an all-time low. Where 25,000 used to take the police civil-service exam 20 years ago, now we’re lucky to get 2,500 qualified applicants. Police work has been described as “hours of tedium punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” It is a job almost tailor-made for the high-risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure and related ailments. So what can we do? Well, one thing is to take charge of your own health and wellness concerns. Through the City’s Human Resources and Public Employee Committee, you can log on to ​ bostonwellness. livehealthyignite.com . Information is available about all sorts of issues you should be concerned with, from weight reduction to skin- cancer screenings and simple ideas to help you improve some aspects of your health regimen. ​We know​that not everybody is going to join a yoga class or suddenly become interested in pilates, but maybe there’s a few things there that you didn’t know about, like some warning signs about heart issues that might save your life or your partner’s life someday. And we also know that your personal days, vacation days and sick days are limited and important. Keep that in mind the next time you think of giving up a family event, a barbeque or a child’s soccer game, instead of working another detail or overtime. You will never remember that extra overtime shift many years from now. So spend time with those you love, because one of these days you will say either… I wish I had or I am glad I did. Treasurer’s Report… From Treasurer on page 9