Ethics Hotline and Website Available to Employees

Doing the right thing has always been a priority at the County. It’s even reflected in our seal, “The noblest motive is the public good.”

Promoting an ethical workplace just got more convenient, too.

Employees who suspect fraud, waste, abuse or other questionable activity can report it anytime by calling the County’s Ethics Hotline (1-866-549-0004) or filling out a form online. Calls and complaints are confidential and can be made anonymously. Both the hotline and online forms are operated by independent, third party provider, The Network, and are back-up options if an employee either feels uncomfortable going to a supervisor, manager, Departmental Human Resources Officer or to the Office of Internal Affairs or their attempts to do so were unsuccessful. Existing Compliance and Office of Internal Affairs hotlines were recently combined to create an updated Ethics Hotline, which launched Sept. 18. The online reporting form is a new feature.

Both are part of the County’s Integrity in Action Program, which gives employees the tools and resources they need to conduct business ethically, honestly and in compliance with the law and County policies. Through the program, the County recently updated its Code of Ethics and created a Statement of Values.

So, what types of issues should be reported?

•   Accounting Irregularities
•   Theft of County resources
•   Record falsification
•   Intentional misuse of County equipment or property
•   Violations of the County’s Code of Ethics
•   Payroll fraud or time abuse
•   Contractor and procurement improprieties
•   Bribes and kickbacks
•   Inappropriate use of procurement credit cards
•   Gross mismanagement of resources
•   Conflict of interest
•   Other unethical or improper activities
•   Health and safety violations

For more information, visit the InSite’s Ethics Hotline website.

County Latino Association Honors Ekard’s ‘Dedication to Diversity’

CAO Walt Ekard accepts a new leadership award in his name from the San Diego County Latino Association Wednesday. The award was presented by Luis Monteagudo, a member of the association and Amber Tarrac, the association's president.

The San Diego County Latino Association praised CAO Walt Ekard Wednesday for his leadership and commitment to diversity with a new, annual award named after the well-respected top administrator.

The “Walt F. Ekard Leadership Award” will go each year to a County employee or a member of the association who “champions the cause of leadership and diversity.” Ekard, who plans to step down in December after 13 years as the County’s top administrator, said he was deeply honored by the recognition. He initially joked that he was “speechless—and that’s rare.” 

In accepting the award at the association’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Ekard said one of the great things he’d been able to do in his job was see what a diverse workforce looks like, the value of it and “how that helps us in our governance.”

“It’s been eye opening to some degree to see how much value that we should place in diversity of the workforce,” he said.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Ron Roberts and Vice Chairman Greg Cox also presented the association with a proclamation honoring Hispanic Heritage Month as Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

In presenting Ekard with his award, association member Luis Monteagudo, who serves as Cox’s Director of Communications, said diversity is sometimes used as a buzzword.

“Walt has not only talked the talk,” he said. "He has walked the walk.”

Monteagudo said Ekard had been a longtime member of the association, paying dues, attending events and supporting scholarship events.

“More importantly, he has taken his own time as head of the County, to meet with people, with employees, and encourage them to improve themselves,” Monteagudo said. “He really has championed diversity.”

Association President Amber Tarrac, who serves as a Policy Advisor for Supervisor Dianne Jacob, read aloud a quote by César E. Chávez engraved in the award: “If a leader cannot give it all, he cannot expect his people to give anything.”

Members also recognized numerous promotions within their ranks, national awards won by County departments and enjoyed food donated by Latino-owned businesses and supporters, as well as music and cultural exhibits in Bayside Rooms 1 and 2 of the County Administration Center.

Promoting Health Around the World

Most people go on vacation to take a break from work. Sheila Rinker went to the Dominican Republic to continue her work: keeping people healthy.

Rinker spent one week in the Caribbean island where she gave de-worming medication to about 350 children and some adults. Rinker went there with two other nurses and four nursing students from San Diego as a volunteer for Children of the Nations International, which works in “poverty-stricken areas of the world to provide care for orphaned and destitute children.”

While in the Dominican Republic, the group spent their time educating children on good hygiene practices and adults on how to obtain safe drinking water.

“It’s really rewarding to be able to go and work with children and families and just remind them, educate them on good practices to keep them safe and healthy,” said Rinker, a County public health nurse, explaining that she originally wanted to go to Haiti, but went to the Dominican Republic because the clinic there was more established.

“It’s quite a thing when you are able to see changes, even if they are small. It’s great to watch the kids show you how to wash your hands properly. They are sharing it with their parents and their siblings,” added Rinker, who did get to work with children in communities at the Haitian and Dominican Republic border.

Rinker, 35, worked as a County social worker and human services specialist for eight years before deciding to take a break to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. She got her degree from Cal State University San Marcos and returned to work as a social worker in February of this year.

In July, she transferred to Oceanside when a position with the County’s Nurse -Family Partnership became available. The Nurse-Family Partnership program pairs a first-time mom with a registered nurse, who makes regular home visits throughout the pregnancy and until the child’s second birthday.

“I always wanted to be a nurse, but circumstances in my life prevented that,” said Rinker, adding that “I really like the program that I work in right now. I think they are doing wonderful things and I am proud of it.”

This is not the first time Rinker has worked with children and communities in impoverished countries. On a trip to the tiny African nation of Lesotho, she worked with HIV and Tuberculosis patients, as well as pregnant women in community clinics and villages.

“I have always been interested in international nursing. Their methods and the way they carry out nursing is very different,” Rinker explained. “Sometimes they are not able to do things because of lack of supplies.”

Is another working vacation on the horizon?

“I would like to go back to Haiti,” Rinker said.  “It’s a great way to combine the two things I love which are nursing and travelling.”

You - Yes, You - are a Disaster Service Worker

As we get into peak fire season, here's a video reminder that all employees can be called on to perform special duties during an emergency - and that each of us needs to be prepared.

Caught - Wearing "I'm Committed to Safety" Wristbands

Have you been wearing your "I'm Committed...to Safety" wristband? A WSSH safety team spotted these employees sporting the accessory on Tuesday. In recognition of their efforts to help spread the safety message, the employees got gift cards for Subway sandwiches. That's on top of reaping the rewards of being more safety conscious.

Employees are encouraged to wear the wristband anytime, but especially on Tuesdays, because more workplace injuries occur on that day than any other.

Elinor Weed of Agriculture, Weights and Measures 

Bonnie Wheeler, Ian Hudson and Ruth "Tracy" Ellis of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.

Edith Heaton and Mazen Stevens of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.

AWM's Cameron Guyot, Charles Gross, Tim Breuninger, Colleen Carr, Linda Feeley and Vince Acosta.

Armando Belenzo and Belinda Rushton of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.

Saiqa Javed, Stasi Redding, Gemma Bilog, Suzanne Raymond, Jose Arriaga, Marco Mares, Nestor Silva, Nick Basinski and Abdel Amador, all from AWM.

 AWM's Ruth "Tracy" Ellis

Employees Can Enroll in HR Benefits Starting Monday

New health care options available during open enrollment Oct. 1-22

Employees will have some new health care benefits to choose from when open enrollment begins Monday.

In addition to the four health insurance plans now available, providers Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente are each offering a new “high-deductible” health plan. Under these new plans, monthly premiums will cost less, but employees will pay higher deductibles. A video summarizing the new plans is available on the Open Enrollment website.

Employees can use new Health Savings Accounts (HSA) with the high-deductible plans which will allow them put pre-taxable income in an account for health-related expenses. These accounts, which will be provided by Wells Fargo Bank, are similar to the Flexible Spending Accounts that have long been used, but with some additional benefits.

Account balances can roll over from one year to the next rather than clearing at the end of each calendar year. Employees can also earn interest on their account balances and deduct money for medical, dental, vision care and for prescriptions using a debit card.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) will still be available to employees, but with some changes. The IRS is now capping the amount employees can put into their FSA health care account at $2,500 out-of-pocket, which is half of the current $5,000 dollar maximum. Those with excess Flex Credits can contribute up to $5,000 to an FSA, again with a maximum of $2,500 out-of-pocket.  

Charts that compare all of the benefits are available for review here.

A new tool called a Medical Plan Cost Estimator is also available that allows employees to estimate how much they would pay annually under different scenarios.

For more information on open enrollment and the County’s benefits, visit the Open Enrollment website.

Updating the Flu Fighters

Are there any new types of influenza? What viruses are included in this year’s flu vaccine? How is influenza activity monitored?

These are some of the many issues County Senior Epidemiologist Jeff Johnson addresses  at the Kick the Flu Summit, an annual event for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers—the flu fighters.

Organized by the San Diego Immunization Coalition for the past eight years, the summit takes place one week before the County officially kicks off its flu vaccination campaign, which began today.

“I am very excited to give an update heading into the flu season,” said Johnson, who has worked with the County Health and Human Services Agency for the past 14 years.

Johnson and two other epidemiologists monitor influenza activity throughout the year and provide weekly reports during flu season. How do they do it?

The County has a network of dozens of sentinel sites where doctors voluntarily report positive influenza cases. That’s how Pandemic H1N1 was discovered in San Diego in April 2009.

Johnson and his team also look at emergency room activity related to influenza, as well as severe cases of flu in people who were hospitalized or died because of the flu.

What flu activity is being seen at the moment? Through last week, there had been a total of 28 influenza cases and no deaths since July 1. That is considered normal for this time of year. More than half of those cases were Influenza A, one of the major types expected to be seen this flu season. The other flu viruses expected are Pandemic H1N1 and Influenza B. This year’s vaccine offers protection against all three flu strains.

A new type of swine flu (H3N2v) that was detected in the United States this summer and received extensive media attention is not expected in the region. While there have been more than 300 cases in other states, the virus has not been detected in California. H3N2v is acquired from direct exposure to infected pigs or swine.

“Surveillance is a very important tool we use,” said Johnson, who has already gotten his flu shot. “We must remain vigilant for emergent strains of flu.”

The ROV Wants You!

Yes, that would be you! Here’s your chance to deck yourself out in red, white and blue and work the polls for the presidential general election on Tuesday, Nov. 6. 

The Registrar of Voters (ROV) is recruiting poll workers now and says County employees stand out amongst all their volunteers. That’s because they already do a great job serving the public on a daily basis and naturally that carries over to working the polls. 

While Election Day is still weeks away, keep in mind that the ROV needs 5,000 poll workers for up to 1,650 polling places in the County.  

If you’re pretty good with gadgets and computers, you could become a touch screen inspector. If you speak Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino or Spanish, you could help voters with any questions they may have about the voting process in their own language.    

Other positions range from clerk to assistant inspector to precinct inspector.   

Poll workers receive a stipend ranging from $75 to $175 depending on the assignment and if you’re bilingual, you’ll receive an additional $15 if you’re assigned to give language assistance to voters. Poll workers can be assigned to neighborhoods other than their own.

Interested poll workers must be U.S. citizens, registered or eligible to be registered voters in the state of California and have transportation to the assigned polling location. Depending on the job assignment, you may need access to the Internet for online training and attend a two-hour class. The training schedule will go out October 3.

It’s easy to apply, and if you have any questions, you can read these FAQs or call 858-694-3419 or email: Jean.Vukotich@sdcounty.ca.gov.

As the ROV says, the future is now… be a part of it!

Language assistance is need in these locations:

Del Dios – Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino

Oceanside – Vietnamese, Filipino

Encinitas – Chinese

San Marcos – Vietnamese

Vista – Vietnamese

Chula Vista – Filipino, Vietnamese

Rolando Redwood – Vietnamese

City Heights – Vietnamese

Nestor – Vietnamese

San Ysidro – Vietnamese

South Park – Vietnamese

Clairemont – Spanish, Vietnamese

Linda Vista – Vietnamese

Pacific Beach – English

Rancho Peñasquitos – Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese

Mira Mesa – Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese

Pomerado –Vietnamese, English

University North (UTC, UCSD area) - English

University South (University City) – English

Del Mar – English

Encanto – Vietnamese, Filipino, Spanish

Paradise Hills – Filipino, Spanish

Poway – Chinese

Lemon Grove – Vietnamese, Spanish

Spring Valley – Filipino, Spanish

Ramona – Spanish

Jamul – Spanish

Campo – Spanish

Potrero – Spanish

El Cajon – Vietnamese, Filipino, Spanish

La Mesa – Vietnamese, Spanish

Lakeside – Filipino

Santee – Spanish

Driving to Work on Auto-Pilot?

If you’re heading to the County Administration Center (CAC) Monday, watch out or you may suddenly see a fence at your front bumper! That’s right, if you stick to the same old parking routine you’re used to, you may have to throw your car into reverse, whip out that new parking pass and find your new space.

And that’s all to the good. The new fencing going up in the north and south parking lots this weekend and the re-striping on the north lot are all signs that the long awaited Waterfront Park is finally becoming a reality. In fact, the groundbreaking for the historic event takes place Tuesday, but that’s another story. (Stay tuned!)

One of the first steps toward this 11-acre bay front civic treasure is building a 250-space public underground parking garage on the CAC’s south side. The current lot will be closed Monday and all of the public and disabled parking spaces will move to the north lot. Some employees will move their cars to different spaces in the north lot, but most of us will be checking out our new parking digs off site at either the Cedar Street/Kettner Blvd. lot or at Lane Field located south of the CAC at 900 W. Broadway. 

Shuttles will run between Lane Field and the CAC Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shuttle stops are marked on a map contained in the waterfront project update here. The CAC’s East Plaza entrance will reopen after several upgrades in the area. Meantime, the current entrances on the north and south side of the building will remain open.   

In addition to the fencing, re-striping and shuttle stops, you may also see some parking pay stations at the north lot. You’ll know them by the solar panels they’re sporting. Don’t worry about the pay stations, they don’t affect employees. The CAC lot will be used after 6 p.m., weekends and holidays for paid public parking. ABM Parking/Five Star will manage the lot at those times.

If you work on the weekends, you can use a special area in the north lot marked as assigned staff 24-hour parking not to be confused with reserved parking set aside for County officials.

If you will be working late, you can bring your vehicle over from the Cedar/Kettner or the Lane Field lot after 5 p.m. and use any open space in the staff 24-hour parking area.

So what if you don’t work at the CAC, but you occasionally have business here? You can park your County car at a meter on the city street. County vehicles are exempt from paying meters. Personal cars are not. Another option is to park in the public parking areas if the meeting will be less than 3 hours. 

For more information about the CAC parking plans and the waterfront park project itself, visit General Service’s website.     

Top ‘Thrive Across America’ Performers Recognized with Awards

County Wellness Coordinator William Erese recognizes Yvette Maclean as a top female performer in the Thrive Across America program. She received an insulated lunch bag. Maclean has lost more than 60 pounds since last year by working out at the gym everyday and eating healthier foods. She hopes to lose another 50 pounds.

They’re running, swimming and dancing. A lot. 

The goal was to get moving and County employees participating in Thrive Across America have logged more than 2.2 million minutes of exercise since the activity program began in mid-July. Employees can exercise in a long list of different ways under the program rules and then log in their activity time online. 

Last week, the Department of Human Resources gave awards to top performing teams and individuals for the first six weeks of the program. A total of 28 teams and 20 individuals were recognized and awarded with Thrive Across America themed T-shirts and insulated lunch bags. Both were light green colored and decorated with the wording, “Thrive,” in white. The program runs through September and is offered in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, one of the County’s health care providers.

To view a complete list of the top performers, click here.

Another round of awards will go to the overall top performers after the program comes to an end, said William Erese, wellness coordinator in the Department of Human Resources. Erese is coordinating the Thrive Across America program and also participating in it himself.

A total of 1,455 County employees are participating in Thrive Across America, with the vast majority actively engaged, logging in their times three or four times a week, Erese said. As of Thursday, participants had logged a total of 2,245,232 minutes of activity, which Erese said is the equivalent of walking around the earth almost two times. Among the activities that count towards exercise time: aerobics, badminton, bouldering, kickboxing, fencing, fly fishing, figure skating, jogging, horseback riding, running, kayaking, mountain biking, yoga, zumba, swimming, surfing and tai chi.

Individuals can still join the program, but the deadline has passed for teams to join. Erese said the County expects to offer the program again next year.

For more information, visit www.thriveacrossamerica.com or look at the “Employee Wellness Program” section on InSite.