Benefits
Corporate Wellness Challenge Results Are In!
In a unique interdepartmental effort to promote wellness, the Benefits Department and the Department of Health and Physical Activity, working in partnership with the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health (PBGH), launched the Move It & Lose It Corporate Wellness Challenge on March 2. This was an eight-week competition based on step tracking.
The PBGH Corporate Wellness Challenge is associated with the American Heart Association’s Walking Program, a physical activity initiative to fight heart disease and stroke by reaching people through workplace walking programs. A kickoff event was held on March 3 in the William Pitt Union Kurtzman Room with University interns presenting health and nutrition information related to healthy food shopping and the myths of exercise. Additionally, various physical activities were performed; there also was a door prize raffle.
The challenge enabled faculty and staff to compete with each other, on teams and with other local corporations’ employees. With the goal of health and wellness, the competition tracked each participant’s physical activity and turned it into miles for individuals or their team.
Physical activity was not limited to walking; employees were encouraged to track activities such as gardening, golfing, biking, cleaning and more! The Department of Health and Physical Activity’s graduate students played a key part in making the PBGH Corporate Wellness Challenge a success.
The challenge ended on April 26 and we are proud to report that we had over 19 different departments participating regularly each week! As a whole, the University walked a total of 17,275 miles; that is an average of 135 miles per active participant!
The top participants are listed below:
Top Women Walkers
- Lissa Wettick – 594.3895 miles
- Emily Kieffer – 478.1755 miles
- Vanessa Guenther – 398.7895 miles
Top Male Walkers
- Brock Sizer – 359.6585 miles
- Jason Hare – 340.6025 miles
- Tod Treganowan – 299.2905 miles
Top Teams
- Student Health – 279.90 miles/active participant
- Prancers – 272.59 miles/active participant
- Student Health 2 – 271.83 miles/active participant
The University ranked 11th out of 13 for regional corporation participation.
The Department of Health and Physical Activity supplemented this initiative by way of its workplace activity program, Be Fit Pitt, a subscription-based text or email reminder to get up and get moving during the work day.
You can still subscribe to Be Fit Pitt text messages or emails by taking the following five steps:
- Go to my.pitt.edu.
- In the far upper right-hand corner, click on “Profile.”
- Click on “Pitt Text Message Updates” on the left hand side of the page.
- Check the box “Contact Me By.”
- Check “Health and Fitness Program” from the menu.
Remember that brisk walking for as little as 30 minutes a day can bring heart-health benefits and reduce your risk for stroke by lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and high blood pressure.
Important Vendor Contact Information
Benefits Department
Office hours: 8 am-5 pm EST, 320 Craig Hall
412-624-8160 (Main Line) • 412-624-3485 (Fax)
Please visit our web site, www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits, for FAQs, downloadable forms and other benefits information.
Medical
UPMC Health Plan
1-888-499-6885 • www.upmchealthplan.com
Dental
United Concordia 1-877-215-3616 • www.ucci.com
Vision
Davis Vision 1-800-999-5431 • www.davisvision.com
Retirement Savings
TIAA-CREF 1-800-682-9139 • www.tiaa-cref.org/pitt
Vanguard 1-800-523-1188 • www.vanguard.com
Flexible Spending Accounts
UPMC
1-888-499-6885
www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits/health-and-wellness/flexible-spending
LifeSolutions
1-866-647-3432
www.hr.pitt.edu/lifesolutions
Payroll
412-624-8070 • www.bc.pitt.edu/payroll/index.html
Faculty Records
412-624-4232
Benefits Department Contacts
Feel free to call us if you ever have any questions. We are here to serve you. The Benefits Department can be reached at:
412/624-8160 • www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits
John Kozar, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Human Resources.
Responsible for overall function, strategic initiatives, compliance, contracts and renewals.
412/624-4845 • jkozar@pitt.edu
Darae Calloway, Administrative Assistant.
Responsible for administrative support for John Kozar.
412/624-8068 • dmc146@pitt.edu
Lori Carnvale, Director of Benefits.
Responsible for day-to-day operations of Benefits Department.
412/624-8050 • carnvale@pitt.edu
Aynsley Jimenez, Benefits Supervisor.
Responsible for retirement, retirement savings, life insurance, FMLA, disabilities.
412/624-8047 • pauad5@pitt.edu
Stan Charie, Benefits Analyst.
Responsible for day-to-day activity for retirement, retirement savings, retirement counseling.
412/624-8057 • pause5@pitt.edu
Amelia Conte, Benefits Representative.
Responsible for day-to-day activity surrounding FMLA, disability and life insurance.
412/324-8059 • amc237@pitt.edu
Melissa Kluchurosky, Benefits Supervisor.
Responsible for medical, dental and vision coverage, customer service, flex spending, tuition.
412/624-8067 • mmk35@pitt.edu
Meghan Tintera, PT Benefits Analyst
Responsible for day-to-day activity surrounding medical, dental, vision, flex spending, bill payments, surveys, open enrollments
412/624-8054 • mferris@pitt.edu
Kate Young, PT Benefits Analyst.
Responsible for day-to-day activity surrounding medical, dental, vision, flex spending, bill payments, surveys, open enrollments.
412/624-8054 • pauko5@pitt.edu
Ryan Arrington, Benefits Representative.
Responsible for tuition program, quality controls and special projects.
412/624-8040 • ryana@pitt.edu
Kim Phillips, Benefits Representative.
Responsible for customer Service Desk, fielding calls and handling walk-in customers.
412/624-8160 • kdp19@pitt.edu
LaKeisha Gray, Benefits Representative.
Responsible for customer Service Desk, fielding calls and handling walk-in customers.
412/624-8160 • lkgray@pitt.edu
