Even though summer is winding down, you can still find mosquitos—those pesky little blood sucking bugs—flying around well into the fall. That’s why when caregiver Scott Walker, a Human Resources manager at American Fork Hospital, noticed an itchy bump on the back of his hand last September, he didn’t think anything of it.
“We’re an outdoorsy family, so I dismissed it as a mosquito bite,” says Scott.
The ‘mosquito bite’ was still on Scott’s hand a week later. Most mosquito bites typically itch for three to four days, and then disappear.
“When the bump didn’t go away, I decided it was a wart and tossed the idea into the back of my mind, knowing someday I should probably get in to see a dermatologist,” Scott says.
Instead of scheduling with a dermatologist, Scott remembered he could earn a $50 LiVe Well reward for doing a preventative wellness exam with his physician. Scott made an appointment and headed in.
“I was surprised when I got a ‘two-for-one deal’ from that visit,” says Scott. “I got my $50 LiVe Well reward, and the bump wasn’t a wart or a long-lingering mosquito bite—it was cancer.”
Scott’s bump was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma, a mild form of skin cancer. The treatment was effective, and now Scott goes in often for check-ups—and tries to wear mosquito repellant more, too.
“I’m grateful for the LiVe Well program and the activities available designed to support our health and well-being,” Scott says. “Without the prompt, I’m not sure I would’ve been motivated to take such quick action, which could have been dire down the road.”
About the LiVe Well program
This year, you can earn up to $300 for completing LiVe Well activities. Activities vary from $10 express activities to $50 LiVe Well activities, like a preventative wellness exam. Caregivers who do not have Intermountain-sponsored medical insurance can now earn a $50 reward by completing a biometric screening. Activities are tracked in the LiVe Well Rewards portal, and reward dollars earned can be redeemed for electronic gift cards, experiences (i.e., concert tickets, sporting events, etc.), or donated to a charity. Activities are continually added throughout the year to the rewards tracker, like Stretch with a Leader or Take 10. While LiVe Well is only applicable to caregivers in the Canyons and Desert Regions at this time, we look forward to expanding the program to the Peaks Region in spring 2023.
If you have questions about LiVe Well, please email ilivewell@imail.org.