Get Your Creative Juices Flowing...

The Work Safe/Stay Healthy (WSSH) program is now accepting submissions for the 4^th Annual WSSH poster contest. If you have an idea for a safety or healthy lifestyle poster, please review the attached document for complete poster specifications and entry rule information. We’d love to see your creative ideas to help make the County a safer place to work. You may enter as many times as you have ideas.

The winning poster will be displayed at all County sites and will represent the WSSH program for fiscal year 2011/2012.  An additional 12 posters will be selected for the WSSH calendar which will be distributed at various County events and will be posted on the WSSH web site.

If you have any questions, please contact Loss Prevention at (619) 578-5785.

Time to Tee Off!

Help support Volunteers in Probation (VIP) by participating in the 15^th annual VIP Golf Tournament on June 17, 2011 at the Doubletree Golf Course in San Diego. VIP is a non-profit organization which promotes and strengthens our communities by helping offenders and their families break the cycle of destruction imposed by the criminal life.

VIP provides goods and services that support the offenders (who are in compliance with their conditions of probation) transition to self-sufficiency.  Goods and services include clothing, food, housing assistance, dental, optometric, medical services, schoolbooks, fees for high school proficiency exams and vocational training, as well as transportation to work and school.

The cost is $115 per person with an early bird special offered through May 21^st good for $40 off for a registered and paid foursome. Registration includes: 18 holes, cart lunch, dinner, t-shirt and goodie bag.

If you do not golf you can participate in the dinner, raffle and auctions. For more information and registration information call (858) 514-3148 or visit http://www.volunteersinprobation.org/Golf_Tournament.html

Rain Can't Dampen Spirits

Luis Lopez is all smiles as he tools around on a hand bike during an event put on by one of the County Health and Human Services Agency's Medical Therapy Unit.Rain did not dampen the spirits of San Diego county's newest hand cyclists. The County of San Diego California Children Services’ Vista Medical Therapy unit hosted a hand cycling day at Mance Buchannan Park in Oceanside for the children and families that they serve recently.

Even though the weather was uncooperative, it did not hamper the children from experiencing the joys of riding a bicycle in the park. For some of these children, this was their first opportunity to ride a hand cycle and participate in a physical activity with their whole family.

Mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters all participated in an exciting and healthy outdoor activity. Inspired by the County’s Health Initiative, this event exposed clients and their families to new alternatives for healthy activities for the disabled.

Intrepid Equipment and San Diego Adaptive Sports Foundation loaned the children the hand cycles which are adapted to accommodate their physical impairments.  The children enjoyed riding around the park with new friends and their families as well as learning cycling skills, safety and etiquette. It was a perfect way to spend a not so perfect spring break day. The event was organized by senior physical therapist Sarah Barnes.

From left to right: Vista therapy staff: Jan Jewell -Brown, senior occupational therapist; Sarah Barnes, senior physical therapist ; Paul Katsaros, supervisor; Alisha Nash, physical therapist.

Utah Woman Travels to San Diego to Adopt Pup

How far would you go for the one you love?

For a Salt Lake City woman who was smitten last month by a small black-and-gray pup at County Animal Services, the answer was about 750 miles.

Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson said she can’t recall another County animal adoption that involved so much distance.

In mid-March, Thi-Ly Downing Hayes was looking at pictures of adoptable animals on the Petfinder.com iPhone app when she first saw the Italian Greyhound-Chihuahua blend with soulful eyes. A Registered Respiratory Technician who works at the University of Utah, Downing Hayes contacted County Animal Services to inquire and make the case that she could offer a stable and loving, albeit distant, home.

The 4-pound animal dubbed “Elvis” by shelter staff was one of 14 dogs that someone ditched in the backyard of one of Animal Services’ partner rescue groups, Danielson said. The abandoned dogs, considered “stray” by law, were taken in at the County shelter. The 13 other dogs are still looking for homes, Danielson said.

But Elvis has found a family to love him tender and true. Just one week after Downing Hayes first saw the 2-year-old pup on her phone’s screen, on the first day she could get free from work, she drove from Salt Lake City to the County shelter on Gaines Street.

Emails show County staff and Danielson responded quickly and completely to the potential adopter’s inquiries, which helped things happen quickly.

It’s unclear how the pup fared during the long trip home, but in an email to Danielson, Downing Hayes said the dog was at first shy and nervous in his new home, where his family now included Downing Hayes’s teenage son, her husband and two other Chihuahuas. But one week after his arrival, the little dog was playful and loving, with a new name, Leonardo, to go with his new life, according to Downing Hayes’s update.

“Has learned to potty outside with the other two pups and is feeling more confident every day,” she wrote Danielson. “He loves playing with squeaky stuffed toys and is eating like a champ. We love him!”

 

County Employee Shuttle Service Available

If you are traveling to the County Operations Center for meetings you now have another option available. There is a daily shuttle service with the first CAC departure at 9:05 am and the last CAC arrival at 2:55 pm.

A 24-passenger shuttle bus operated by Ampco is providing the service. The shuttle also has stops at the COC Annex and 9150 Chesapeake Dr. The CAC stop is located at the north entrance to 1600 Pacific Highway.

The shuttle will also pick up twice each morning at One America Plaza Trolley Station which serves as a hub for trolley, Coaster and other public transportation riders. It will deliver County employees directly to the COC campus without interim stops or transfers. In the afternoon the service will return riders to One America Plaza for their commute home.

Between the morning and afternoon commutes, the shuttle will make multiple trips between the COC and CAC.  On return trips the shuttle will stop at the Administration Center (CAC) at 1600 Pacific Highway.

The shuttle is FREE to County employees.

You can find the shuttle schedule by clicking here.

HHSA Departments Team Up To Help Children

Physical fitness plays a key role in overall wellness, and playgrounds can be a fun and inspiring place for kids to get fit without even realizing. But, for some children, a day at the park can be a real challenge. Some kids with serious emotional disturbances have trouble using their bodies, or may have extreme sensory issues, where they get overwhelmed with their five senses and have trouble dealing with a seemingly simple situation.

A San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Mental Health Services (MHS) program took the lead and has just help build a new park with creative equipment specifically geared toward physical work with these children. This should help them gain comfort in the world around them as they learn how to develop healthy bodies. 

The Fred Finch program is for children who are dually-diagnosed with mental health and developmental issues. The day treatment program brings together several HHSA departments - Mental Health Services, Child Welfare Services, and a Regional Center - to serve this special population.

The new playground in Spring Valley will enable counselors to work with the children to develop both fitness and sensory integration.

County Operations Center So Green, It’s Gold

The two new 150,000-square-foot office buildings at the County Operations Center were recently awarded LEED Gold certification, making them the latest County structures to be recognized under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy Design rating system for sustainable building.

The four-story buildings where about 1,100 County employees work boast numerous green features.

Instead of depending solely on electrical lighting, the buildings have large windows that flood the workspace with natural light. Energy-efficient roofing reflects the sun, reducing the need for air conditioning. The buildings’ parking garage hosts the largest solar-electric array on County property. The San Diego Gas & Electric-owned system supplies the community with about 627,216 kilowatt-hours of clean energy each year, enough to power about 103 single-family homes in the region.

The buildings are designed to conserve water as well as energy. The plumbing system uses about 40 percent less water than most similar office buildings would. Outside, drought resistant plants and a drip irrigation system conserve water too.

The project also recycled 90 percent of its construction debris.

The next phase of the County Operations Center, with two more 150,000-square-foot office buildings and a 15,000-square-foot conference planned, are also designed to meet LEED Gold certification.

These days, when the County plans a new building, conserving natural resources is as much a part of the design as windows and walls.  

Indeed, the County’s 2009 Strategic Energy Plan requires every new County building be designed to meet LEED certification standards.

The new Fallbrook Library is expected to be awarded LEED Silver, while the Ramona Library is expected to become the first library in the region to meet LEED Gold requirements. The San Elijo Nature Center, whose sustainable touches include recycled blue jeans for insulation, is one of only two LEED Platinum buildings in the region.

Rady Children Hospital's FACES for the Future Program Partners with Central Region Public Health Clinic

HHSA Central Region Public Health Center Public Health Nurse Shala Abtahi-Sepah (center, back row in red shirt) and Manager Bonnie Copland (second from right in light blue shirt) worked with FACES program students at the Public Health Center.The Faces for the Future Program, a joint project between Hoover High School and Rady Children's Hospital, provides 44 qualifying high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations at the hospital and another rotation with a partnering organization in City Heights. 

The County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA) Central Region Public Health Center is one of those partnering organizations. Along with our community partners City Heights Wellness Center, Champions for Change, La Maestra Clinic, Feeding America, the City Heights Farmers’ Market, Mid-City Community Advocacy Network, and Sports Injury Prevention at Hoover, students are given the opportunity to learn about patient advocacy, and access to healthcare resources and careers as well as community advocacy.

Central Region Public Health Center staff has been providing the learning experience to two different groups of Faces students since December, 2010.  These students participated in a variety of clinical activities, learned about the clinic flow, observed the immunization clinic and gained insight into the HHSA’s organization and activities. They also learned about chronic illnesses and had the opportunity to meet with community professionals and medical students.  A public health nurse working with the students described them as “extremely polite, respectful and willing to learn”.

When asked to describe her experience at the Central Region Public Health Center, one of the participating students replied that it was a “positive” experience and that the staff was “friendly".

County's new ITIQ Knowledge Center is There to Help

Got a question about Office 2007? Perhaps you’re having trouble accessing your voicemail or email on your Blackberry. Or you’re about to do your first audio conference and need some pointers on setting it up.

You now have a handy County resource to help you with your questions. The County recently unveiled a new ITIQ Knowledge Center that is all about improving your exposure and knowledge of information technology.

The IT Knowledge Center was created out of an enterprise-wide initiative called ITIQ, which was forged to help develop materials, resources and information County employees can use to become more proficient with IT tools and to learn what new IT tools that are available to improve productivity and service to our customers.  The results of an enterprise-wide ITIQ survey showed overwhelmingly that employees desired a central place to visit to learn tips and tricks regarding how to use existing technology resources, to learn about what new technologies are available, and to connect with other County colleagues to share technology success stories.

ITIQ is also a tool to help the County assess where we are as an organization in terms of our technology knowledge, what our strengths and challenges are and to help build a strategy for our technology use in the future.

You can find out all you need to know on the ITIQ website, including an ITIQ introduction video that gives a good overview of the ITIQ initiative.

 Make sure you utilize the ITIQ Knowledge Center to help answer tech questions you may have and help you stay on top of future trends.

County Employees Make a Difference

In this economy, it couldn’t have come at a better time - a welcome donation from County and court employees to 80 charities in San Diego County.

San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization, also known as CECO, awarded more than $217,000 in grant awards to local charities ranging from the Palomar Family YMCA to Rebuilding Together San Diego.  Checks were distributed during an annual awards breakfast in National City.  County Supervisor Greg Cox gave the keynote speech. 

All the money was donated by County and San Diego Superior Court employees and retirees.  The grant awards will ultimately benefit 89 programs representing 80 local non-profit organizations.  An additional $50,000 will go into a fund to help County employees and retirees in crisis.

CECO was established in 1956 and over the years has donated millions of dollars to the local community.