Over the next few months, full-time employees will begin to receive important mailings from Saia, including information on the upcoming health assessment and biometric screening events, as well as open enrollment.

To update your address, please visit the Employee Information Center (EIC) and under the Payroll Information heading, click on the link, "Employee Information Inquiry and Paid Time Off Information," then the "Change Address" button.

Additionally, we encourage you to have a valid email address on file with us.  From the EIC, locate "Other Links," then click on "Update Notification Preferences." Here, you can add a personal email address.

In addition to following their doctor’s advice for regular checkups, people with high blood pressure should consider home blood pressure monitoring.

Though hypertension or high blood pressure can increase a person’s risk for heart and kidney disease, it can usually be controlled by exercise, diet, and medications, if needed. Home monitoring provides a more complete picture of how well blood pressure is being controlled.

For accuracy, follow these tips:

• Have your doctor check your monitor and show you how to use it
• Make sure the cuff fits properly. Wrist monitors are not recommended
• Sit down, with your upper arm supported, at heart level
• Take two or three readings at a time, one-minute intervals apart
• Take your blood pressure at the same time every day. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80, pre-hypertension is between 120/80 and 139/89, and hypertension is 140/90 or above

Additionally, Saia offers blood pressure machines at several of its facilities. Have you utilized them lately?

Source: American Heart Association

Are you saving for your future? If not, now is the time to act! Saia matches 50 percent of each pre-tax dollar you contribute on the first 6 percent of pay that you defer into your 401(k) retirement savings plan.  

Be sure to take advantage of this pre-tax benefit and consider increasing your contribution to 6 percent or more.  

Remember, investing in your future with a 50 percent match up to the first 6 percent is like getting “free” money!

You can access your account online through Fidelity NetBenefits® at www.401k.com or by calling, toll-free, 1-800-835-5095, Monday through Friday (excluding New York Stock Exchange holidays) between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to speak with a service center representative.

While some of us can grill year round, for others, firing up the barbecue is a summer ritual. Indeed, not only is barbecuing an American tradition, it is a great way great way to entertain. However, keep in mind that cooking outdoors does have some food safety concerns. The Department of Agriculture’s Food and Safety Inspection Service has a few recommendations to keep your weekend barbecue safe:

• Make meat the last item you pick up at the grocery…if you have a distance to drive home, bring a cooler to store it in
• Make sure meat is kept separate from other foods, thus preventing cross contamination, by placing it in plastic bags
• Drive straight home from the grocery store
• Place meat in a refrigerator and cook it within 24 hours
• If you plan to keep the meat any longer, freeze it
• Thaw frozen meat and marinate it in the refrigerator
• Clean your grill as leftover food residue and spoiled grease can cause serious illness
• Clean your outdoor utensils
• Use a clean platter for cooked meat…do not use the same one that held the raw meat
• Don’t forget to cover your food and do not leave it out for more than two hours
• Make sure that meat is cooked to the proper temperature - poultry should be cooked until its center reaches 165 degrees, beef should be cooked to between 145 and 160 degrees, and all pork products should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees

While most of these are commonsense, it never hurts to brush up on sensible safety tips. Barbecues are supposed to be fun — not an occasion to cause any individuals to get sick.