Preventive Care - A Simple Step Toward Better Health

Taking care of your health doesn’t have to wait until something feels wrong. One of the best ways to increase your chances of living a longer, healthier life is by taking a proactive approach through preventive care.

Preventive care is routine healthcare designed to help you stay healthy by looking for potential issues before they become serious or even life-threatening. It focuses on:

• Checking in on your health when you’re feeling fine
• Providing routine checkups and screenings
• Lowering the risk of developing health problems, even if you’re already in great shape

These regular visits matter because they can help identify possible health risks early, when they’re often easier to treat. In fact, many people only discover certain conditions through preventive screenings. For example, one employee’s routine wellness visit turned into a lifesaving moment when a routine screening found a lump – long before any symptoms appeared. Further testing and biopsy identified prostate cancer.

“I probably wouldn’t have found the lump until it was too late,” the employee explained. “I’m grateful to Olympic Steel for encouraging employees to get our yearly check-up. This one quite possibly saved my life.”

RECOMMENDED PREVENTIVE CARE

Preventive care looks a little different depending on your age. During your annual visit, you and your doctor work together to decide what care and screenings make the most sense for you.

Recommended preventive care services for adults may include:

• Cancer screenings at the appropriate age
• Diabetes screenings for adults ages 40-70
• Mammography, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy screenings
• Tobacco cessation screening and counseling for adults who smoke
• Well-woman visits, including routine prenatal care

For children, preventive care changes as they grow and may include:

• Age-appropriate well-child exams
• Developmental screenings for children under age three
• Fluoride applications for children under age six
• Vaccines and immunizations

Scheduling regular checkups and screenings is one of the simplest steps you can take to stay on top of your health. If you haven’t already, consider calling your doctor to schedule your annual wellness visit or visiting Anthem’s website to find an in-network provider near you.

INCENTIVES, PAID DAYS AND GIVEAWAYS

And while you’re planning your appointment, remember the WellPerks Wellness Incentive. Employees* (and their spouses, if enrolled) who complete their annual wellness exam by September 30 can receive a cash incentive. Once your appointment is set, you can also request time off using your Healthy Day Off, a paid day off when used on the same day as your wellness exam. Be sure to review the full requirements for the WellPerks Incentive and Healthy Day Off on SteelPerks.com.

In case you missed it, the 25 Days of Giveaways* is back for 2026! When you complete any of your recommended screenings by October 31, 2026, you’ll be entered into the 25 Days of Giveaways – one entry for each completed visit.

Each completed preventive screening (examples: annual wellness visit, mammogram, colonoscopy) will enter you into a daily drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. Each entry is another chance to win – so schedule your wellness visit and screenings to increase your chances! There aren’t any forms to fill out (for the 25 Days of Giveaways, but there is a completion form for your WellPerks Wellness Incentive.

When you complete your screenings, you’ll show up on the monthly report from Anthem and automatically receive an entry. And, don’t worry – no personal health information is shared, just that you completed a preventive screening. If you have any concerns with the content of the monthly report, please reach out to Brandi Kelley, Corporate Benefits Manager, at Brandi.Kelley@olysteel.com or 859.274.4778 (internal extension 15502).

*Only employees enrolled in Olympic Steel’s Anthem medical plan are eligible for the WellPerks Wellness Incentive, the Healthy Day Off and 25 Days of Giveaways.