The Glades County School Board a school dedicated to promoting academic excellence by focusing all students on academics, attendance, higher test scores, respect and values through positive student, parent and community involvement.

We realize we cannot provide the best education for our students without having healthy and satisfied employees. To promote a healthy workforce, The Glades County School Board is committed to providing resources to promote the physical, mental and emotional wellness of our employees and their families on a continual basis. We seek to improve individual well-being now, and to make health and wellness a permanent staple in our employees’ and their families’ lives. In turn, we envision an environment with more productive employees, lower health insurance premiums, decreased absenteeism and a greater overall sense of employee satisfaction.

Florida Blue’s Better You STRIDES is a voluntary wellness program available to all employees. This program is administered according to federal rules permitting employer-sponsored wellness programs that seek to improve employee health or prevent disease, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as applicable, among others.

We encourage all teachers and faculty staff to participate in the wellness program. Participants may be asked to complete a voluntary health risk assessment or "HRA" that asks a series of questions about your health-related activities and behaviors and whether you have or had certain medical conditions (e.g., cancer, diabetes, or heart disease). You may also be asked to complete a biometric screening, which will include a blood test. You are not required to complete the HRA or to participate in the blood test or other medical examinations.

The information from your HRA and the results from your biometric screening will be used to provide you with information to help you understand your current health and potential risks. You also are encouraged to share your results or concerns with your own doctor.

Protections from Disclosure of Medical Information

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your personally identifiable health information. Although the wellness program and The Glades County School Board may use aggregate information it collects to design a program based on identified health risks in the workplace, Florida Blue’s Better You STRIDES will never disclose any of your personal information either publicly or to the employer, except as necessary to respond to a request from you for a reasonable accommodation needed to participate in the wellness program, or as expressly permitted by law. Medical information that personally identifies you that is provided in connection with the wellness program will not be provided to your supervisors or managers and may never be used to make decisions regarding your employment.

Your health information will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or otherwise disclosed except to the extent permitted by law to carry out specific activities related to the wellness program, and you will not be asked or required to waive the confidentiality of your health information as a condition of participating in the wellness program or receiving an incentive. Anyone who receives your information for purposes of providing you services as part of the wellness program will abide by the same confidentiality requirements. The only individual(s) who will receive your personally identifiable health information are a registered nurse, a doctor, or a health coach from Florida Blue’s Benefits You in order to provide you with services under the wellness program.

In addition, all medical information obtained through the wellness program will be maintained separate from your personnel records, information stored electronically will be encrypted, and no information you provide as part of the wellness program will be used in making any employment decision. Appropriate precautions will be taken to avoid any data breach, and in the event a data breach occurs involving information you provide in connection with the wellness program, we will notify you immediately.

You may not be discriminated against in employment because of the medical information you provide as part of participating in the wellness program, nor may you be subjected to retaliation if you choose not to participate.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this notice, or about protections against discrimination and retaliation, please contact Lola Gomez @ 305-238-1000, Ext. 1202.