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UC Human Resources officials relayed word from Blue Shield last Friday (Jan. 30) that the medical insurance plan had reached an agreement on a new contract with Sutter Health, effective Feb. 1.

“This means that Sutter-contracted hospitals and doctors will continue to be participating providers in the Blue Shield network,” UC officials said in a notice.

Blue Shield and Sutter terminated their contract on Dec. 31, 2014, leaving more than 200,000 Californians — including UC faculty and staff enrolled in UC Care, Blue Shield Health Savings Plan and Core — caught in the middle and uncertain about their future relationship with their Sutter doctors. More information about the agreement is available .

UC’s statement continued: “UC understands the importance of our employees’ relationships with their doctors and the uncertainty these negotiations have caused. Contracts between plans and providers expire and renew frequently — usually with little or no impact to employer or employees and retirees.

“This situation was clearly different, and UC shared its collective displeasure with the parties involved. To prevent surprises in the future, the benefits department and UC Care management are asking Blue Shield and other medical plan providers for more detailed information about the expiration dates of their contracts with care-provider networks, so that the university can anticipate the potential for any future impacts."

Live chat with space station crew

�ٺ���Ƶ engineering students and others this week are getting a rare chance to chat with crew on the International Space Station. Professor (and former astronaut) Steve Robinson arranged the “Inflight Education Downlink” for this Thursday (Feb. 5).

The program in 1065 is set to begin at 9 a.m. Robinson will give an introduction, and the live chat itself will begin at 9.45 a.m. and last about 20 minutes with prescreened questions.

The event is free and open to the public; admission is on a first-come, first-in basis.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center organizes around a dozen such educational downlinks a year to encourage school and college students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Focus groups on campuswide communications

The Davis campus is taking applications from staff members who wish to participate in focus groups on campuswide communications.

The focus groups are an outgrowth of a 2014 Staff Assembly survey that identified issues regarding how “top-down” and “bottom-up” communications are handled across campus.

“The purpose of the focus groups is to start a dialogue with staff and generate recommendations that the chancellor and other campus administrators can consider to improve communications at �ٺ���Ƶ,” Staff Assembly Chair Lina Layiktez wrote in her column in last week’s Staff Voice.

Focus groups are being formed on the Davis and Sacramento campuses but applications are being handled separately. is for Davis campus and field station staff members; the deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.

Fifty people are needed for five focus groups; each will meet two hours with independent, third-party facilitators. 

Layiktez’s column included a statement from Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi: “I’m looking forward to receiving the recommendations from the focus groups and hearing staff perspectives on communications on campus and at the health system.

“I encourage staff to apply to attend a session and share their valuable insights, and I encourage supervisors to grant their team members the time and flexibility to participate.”


‘Together, we do save lives’

Here are the totals from last week’s blood drive on the Quad: 644 pints of blood and 32 units of platelets.

“Thank you on behalf of BloodSource and the patients we serve,” said Felicia Roper of Sacramento-based BloodSource. “Together, we do save lives.”

Altogether, 880 people — including 259 first-timers — turned out (not everyone can complete the process, for a variety of reasons).

Additionally, 31 people signed up to be on the Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry.

The next blood drive is scheduled for Tuesday-Wednesday, April 21-22.