SilverSneakers Members Can Earn Tuition Rewards for Loved Ones
Posted on Feb 18th 2020 by Florida Blue
SilverSneakers® is well-known for helping older adults stay active by building their strength and energy. Now it can help them build college tuition savings for loved ones. Thanks to a partnership between SilverSneakers and SAGE Scholars, Florida Blue Medicare members can take part in the Tuition Rewards program. And it’s easy to do: You’ll get 1,000 Tuition Rewards points just for signing up. Then you’ll earn 250 points for every month that you make seven or more visits to SilverSneakers...
Spring Break Kicks Off Free Safety Around Water Lessons at the YMCA
Posted on Feb 14th 2020 by Florida Blue
The YMCAs of the Tampa Bay area and the Florida Blue Foundation are teaming up again to save lives ! Thanks to a generous $155,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation, Tampa Bay area children can receive free water safety and swim lessons at their local Y. Free Safety Around Water lessons start during the local school districts’ spring breaks. In 2019, the collaborative effort taught nearly 8,000 kids water safety and swim lessons. This year’s grant expands the Y’s Safety Around Water...
Healthy Slow Cooker Recipe: Cabbage, Apple and Chicken Sausage Stew
Posted on Feb 14th 2020 by Florida Blue
It’s time to fire up the slow cooker! This warm and hearty stew is made with healthy chicken sausage, apples and cabbage. Cabbage is in season during the winter, so pick some up at your local farmer’s market or at the store. Ingredients 1 medium head green cabbage 2 Granny Smith apples ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon smoked paprika ½ teaspoon black pepper 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil 1 (13 ounce) package smoked chicken sausage 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, plus extra for serving ¼ cup...
Many of us only think about our health coverage when we get sick. Don’t wait until you’re feeling under the weather to get started with your 2020 Medicare health plan. Here’s why: Your Medicare health plan includes many benefits that can help keep you from getting sick, like a flu shot or your Annual Wellness Visit with your doctor. These preventive services are no extra cost to you when you get them from a provider in your plan’s network. The more you get to know your plan now, the easier it...
Experiencing change as we get older is inevitable. Sometimes, even small events can throw us off course throughout our day-to-day lives. Major changes, such as retiring or the death of a spouse or friend, can ripple through all aspects of your life. Whether positive or negative, change can be hard. So, what are some ways to keep change from being a setback in our lives? Big or little, changes can throw you for a loop. Here are some tips to help you stay strong when dealing with change. A good...
Give Yourself Some Credit
Posted on Feb 14th 2020 by Florida Blue in partnership with New Directions
It’s February – the season for love notes, flowers and heart-shaped chocolates. Maybe that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or maybe it makes you want to fast-forward to March. Instead of putting pressure on your significant other or your relationship status, try treating yourself to some self-compassion this month. Be kind to yourself . Show yourself the same empathy and concern that you show for others. Connect with others. Spend time with people who make you feel understood and...
Early in my career, a coworker looked at me and said,” You are a very negative person.” My initial reaction was to feel a bit hurt, but something in me recognized some truth. Whenever I saw someone, I immediately and instinctively found something negative. There were things said about me and to me as a child that formed a negative frame of mind. I’m pretty sure that negativity started with self-talk that played in my head like an old tape recording. It became the filter through which I saw the...
Cindi Handley Goodeaux
Cindi Handley Goodeaux lives in Jacksonville with her husband and muse. She is a proud mom and rescue pup lover. The host of the WriteCute Podcast, Cindi is also a published author and member of both the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Cat Writers Association.
As the region’s leader in hunger relief, Feeding Tampa Bay has made a strong commitment to ending hunger by 2025, and Florida Blue has reaffirmed its support of that vision by investing $750,000 in three major initiatives to provide access to healthy food options directly in the pathways of our neighbors in need. This transformational and collaborative approach has already begun to uplift our communities in need and improve the health and well-being of residents experiencing high rates of food...
Christie DeNave
Christie Hyde DeNave is a Senior Media Relations Consultant for Florida Blue devoted to serving Central Florida, Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida. She has worked around the globe with local, national and international media for nearly 20 years representing organizations such as the U.S. Olympic Committee, NASCAR, AAA and the State of Florida. In her free time, you’ll spot Christie cheering on the Clemson Tigers and serving on the Clemson University Alumni Council.
You’ve probably heard a lot about the recent outbreak of a virus in China. About 20,700 cases and over 425 deaths have been reported in the five weeks since the first person was diagnosed there in late December. About 99 percent of the reported cases are in China and all but one of the deaths occurred there, as well. Click here for an updated map created by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Eleven people in the United States have been diagnosed in the first five weeks. (Click here for...
Florida Blue, the state’s leading health insurer, announced that it received a score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. Florida Blue joins the ranks of more than 680 major U.S. businesses that earned top marks this year. “Florida Blue has a robust approach toward LGBTQ inclusion,”...
Toni Woods
Toni Woods is a Senior Media Relations Consultant for Florida Blue. She has worked in communications for more than 20 years in the health care, energy and sports industries, working with media around the world. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.