Since 1970, National Blood Donor Month has been celebrated in January. Historically, the winter season is one of the most difficult times of the year to collect enough blood products and donations to meet patient needs. While “whole blood” donations are the most common, individuals can also make platelet, power red and plasma donations.

Donated blood is used for blood transfusions. Common scenarios in which blood transfusions are needed include the following:

• • Patients suffering from severe trauma following disasters and accidents
• • Patients receiving surgical treatments and some medical treatments, including cancer patients and patients with sickle cell disease

Making the decision to donate blood can help save a life, but not everyone is eligible to donate blood. Visit the American Red Cross’ website to see if you meet the requirements to safely donate blood.

This Superfood May Help Prevent Diabetes

According to a four-year study, consuming legumes (e.g., beans, lentils and peas) may help you prevent diabetes. The study tracked the health of over 3,300 patients who were at-risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and found that those who consumed the most legumes were 35% less likely to develop diabetes.

The weekly legume serving average varied between 3.35 servings and less than half a serving. The study found that those who ate just one serving per week were 33% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who consumed less than one serving per week.

In addition to helping prevent Type 2 diabetes, legumes can help protect heart and brain health, promote a healthy weight and reduce the risk of cancer. For more information, contact your doctor.

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Historically, one of the top New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. Unfortunately, many people look to fad diets and weight loss products to achieve their goals quickly. While fad diets may prove effective initially, research shows that many people don’t find long-term success with these types of diets.

Lasting Lifestyle Changes vs. Quick Fixes

Instead of setting a goal to lose weight fast this New Year’s, set a goal to lead a healthier lifestyle. Common lifestyle New Year’s resolutions include the following:

• Exercise regularly—Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, and to do strength training exercises of major muscle groups at least twice a week.
• Maintain a well-balanced, healthy diet—Try to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein-rich foods and healthy fats. Make it a goal to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet.
  • Increase the amount of sleep you get—One of the best ways to become healthier is to get enough sleep. Try to get at least seven hours of sleep, the expert-recommended amount, per night.

Set Yourself Up for Success

• According to U.S. News & World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. That’s why it’s so important to set yourself up for success when you’re choosing a resolution.
• Regardless of what you choose as your New Year’s resolution, make sure it is a “SMART” goal—one that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely—to increase the odds that you will stick to it.

DOL Proposes Revisions to the Fluctuating Workweek Overtime Method

In November 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule to update the “fluctuating workweek” method for calculating employee overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The fluctuating workweek method provides employers a cost-saving option to compensate employees who are not exempt from the act’s overtime wage payment requirements.

Currently, the FLSA requires employers to compensate employees at a rate of one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for every hour they work over 40

during a workweek. However, FLSA regulations permit employers to compensate employees with only half (0.5) of their regular wage rate for overtime hours if certain conditions are met.

Under the proposed rule, employers could pay bonuses and shift differentials, and offer other incentive payments to employees who are paid under the fluctuating week method. The proposed changes were issued to clarify conflicting court rulings regarding this method.

Employer Takeaway

This is only a proposed rule, so it does not impose any new requirements on employers. Deutsch & Associates, LLC will keep you updated on new developments.

5 Performance Review Best Practices

Performance reviews are an annual ritual for many employers, but their usefulness has been debated for years. To make sure you—and your employees—get the most out of performance reviews, follow these five tips.

1. Perform formal evaluations at the same time for everyone each year. While this increases the workload of managers and supervisors during review time, it forces direct comparisons of employees and establishes a nonbiased system.

2. Have regular meetings with supervisory staff. Supervisors will learn from each other’s experiences. Provide adequate training and insist on candid observations.

3. Clearly communicate to employees what their duties are and what satisfactory performance is. Accomplish this through periodic reviews of job descriptions, training, and both formal and informal reviews.

4. Tell employees the criteria upon which their performance will be reviewed. Develop standards and establish reasonable goals for employees. Make sure that employees understand the consequences of their failure to improve.

5. Don’t wait until the annual evaluation to provide feedback; offer it throughout the year. Give both positive and negative feedback regularly or it becomes less useful.

Speak with us today for more workplace tips and tricks.

The charges listed would include “the gross charges, payer-specific negotiated charges, the amount the hospital is willing to accept in cash from a patient, and the minimum and maximum negotiated charges,” according to the release.

As part of the final rule, CMS was granted more authority over enforcement. Specifically, the department has greater capability to audit hospitals and issue fines of $300 per day to those who are noncompliant.

What’s next?

The rule won’t be effective until January 2021. In that time, hospitals will be working to make the applicable data available online, if it isn’t already.

On Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, the Trump administration released its final rule regarding hospital price transparency. This final rule will take effect Jan. 1, 2021, a year later than originally proposed.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had been listening to feedback on a proposed version of the rule for the past four months, culminating in this latest update.

What’s included in the final rule?

Hospitals will now be required to provide easily accessible billing information to patients. This means having all standard charges available online and in one single data file that can be “read by other computer systems,” according to a CMS press release.

Final Rule on Hospital Price Transparency Released