Camp Connect Experience Uplifting for HHSA Nurses

Splish, Splash! Over one hundred local foster youth frolicked in the pool, rode horses, raced each other down the zip line and created memories with their brothers and sisters at the 10th annual Camp Connect, a program that provides experiences for siblings separated by their placement in the foster care system.

While the kids stay active with nature-filled activities, nurses are needed to tend to any bumps, scrapes, splinters or tummy aches and medications are provided throughout the day and night. And HHSA Public Health Services nurses volunteer every year to do those duties at camp. 

“I wasn’t sure what to expect at Camp Connect, but I am so glad I was there,” said Amaya Seastrand, a Central Region nurse supervisor who spent the four days at camp with the youth.

“These kids have been through so much and being part of something that brings them together with their siblings made my heart fill with joy.”

Some of the children may have diabetes or asthma and need increased attention and monitoring. Oftentimes, they have experienced challenges and trauma, and look forward to spending time with their siblings.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Paulina Bobenrieth, South Region Public Health Nurse Manager, an annual volunteer at Camp Connect. “Everything the nurses and social workers do is to give the kids the best experience of their lives.”

“The nurses go to where the kids are playing and provide what’s needed in the most gentle way. It’s inspiring.” 

In addition to this event, Camp Connect provides monthly opportunities for siblings to remain connected while in foster care. The camp is made possible through a partnership between HHSA and a local non-profit, Promises2Kids, along with dozens of volunteers from across the county.

2019 Open Enrollment Is Coming

Open Enrollment for County employees is coming Oct. 1 through Oct. 25. Visit the Open Enrollment website to learn more about the 2019 benefit plans and review the Open Enrollment Guide. 

There will be a series of Open Enrollment Fairs at County facilities. Provider representatives will be on hand to answer questions. See the schedule.

If you have any questions, reach out to your Benefits Ambassador.

Happy National Payroll Week!

National Payroll Week is Sept. 3-7 and is meant to recognize and celebrate the contributions of workers throughout the United States and the payroll professionals who make sure employees are paid timely and accurately.

Check this out—there are about 250 payroll professionals Countywide who work towards processing over 475,000 paychecks a year. That’s a lot of checks!

Our County payroll professionals were recognized Tuesday at the County Operations Center with a proclamation from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The proclamation commended our payroll professionals for their outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to payroll, and declared the Labor Day week to be “National Payroll Week” throughout San Diego County.

View a photo gallery of the event and see your payroll professionals here.

Score a Deal on USD Soccer Tickets

Huddle up for details on discounted University of San Diego men’s soccer tickets. County employees, family and friends can purchase $2 tickets for the men’s soccer game on Sept. 13 as part of San Diego County Employee Night. Tickets are normally $5.

The match against Cal State Fullerton kicks off at 7 p.m. at Torero Stadium on USD’s campus.

Purchase your tickets now.

It’s Time to Get Your Free Flu Shot!

Flu season is here. To help you stay healthy, the County is offering free flu shots to all County employees. No appointment is necessary; just show your County ID. See the schedule.

Walk the HEART Talk

Hard to believe, but we’re coming up on four years since we started our Customer Experience Initiative and spread the message of serving with HEART. Since it was rolled out, I’ve been delighted at how fired up people get about it, making decorations, coming up with departmental recognition, sharing Positive Experiences and so on.

That’s great. That’s how we keep the HEART spirit alive. 

I want us to build on that enthusiasm and really see HEART seep into every aspect of what we do. This effort has always been about building a culture. Making exceptional customer service simply the County way of life. Ingrained in how we work, so deeply that as years go by and new employees come on board, they immediately sense the expectation, see our actions and follow suit.

We can memorize what HEART stands for (you can rattle off the five qualities, right? Here's a refresher). But are we living it day to day, person to person?

One thing we’ve stressed with HEART is taking a really broad view of who our customers are and what customer service is. Traditionally, the picture that comes to mind is helping someone who comes to one of our counters somewhere. Without a doubt, that’s still a big part of it. Service with a smile means a lot.

But that’s just the start. We’re there to make it as easy as possible for them to get through a process. We need to be applying HEART to every step. Being pleasant, patient and Respectful when interacting with customers. Dedicated and demonstrating Expertise in helping them toward success.  

If we need to send them to another division or department, how are we making sure the handoff goes smoothly? That they’re not dropped in transition or sent in circles? Did we follow up to confirm they got what they needed? Creating a positive customer experience means not just getting our particular task done but making sure customers reach their goal.  

This is the wider view of HEART. It goes beyond the personal attention to the customer to things like looking at processes themselves. It might be as simple as rewriting a set of instructions so they’re easier to understand or as big as revamping a case management system. To borrow a business term, HEART can scale.

And if we look at improving efficiencies, are we always considering whether a change is better for the customer, not just easier for us? Ideally, a process improvement does both, but not necessarily. This is especially important to keep in mind any time we take advantage of technology. It can do wondrous things, but its ultimate success has to be measured in customer satisfaction.   

For many of our customers, a website is their County experience. Is yours Helpful and Attentive to your customers’ needs? Does it put the things people want most often front and center? Is it written as plainly and simply as you would talk to people in person? Is it organized how customers might think, not according to our bureaucracy? Those of you who work on websites may never interact with the public, but you’re directly involved with delivering an exceptional experience.

As we challenge ourselves on living out HEART principles in all things, I ask that you always consider your fellow County employees as customers as well. An essential feature of the culture we’re building is that our co-workers deserve the full HEART treatment.   

No one here operates independently. We depend on a whole chain of people for anything we do. And each of us is a link in the chain of our colleagues’ work. It all links back to the public, so we’ll only be as good for them as our support is for each other.

Our internal rules and processes can be complicated, and just because someone is an employee doesn’t  mean they’ll automatically understand them. Show the same care and offer the same guidance with your co-workers as you would with the public.

Speak their language. Every line of work here has terms and acronyms that mean nothing to others. You’ll build inclusion when you avoid tossing out words that other employees are unlikely to understand.

And just communicate overall. Give people updates or heads up on things so they can plan accordingly. Be Timely in replying to mails or calls. If you’re slammed, at least acknowledge you got the message and will get to it.

Researchers have found a close link between internal customer service and how external customers see the quality of our services. Show your fellow employees HEART, and it makes its way back to the public.

HEART is a byword, but it also evokes the center: putting the customer experience at the heart of everything we do. Truly living HEART, in all ways, with all customers, is how we’ll get there.

AAACE Skates Down Memory Lane

The African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) held an '80s-themed roller skating party at Skateworld San Diego on Sunday. Nearly 100 employees, family and friends of the Employee Resource Group attended the gathering. The fun social and fundraising event also promoted Live Well San Diego.

See the photos:

Learn more about the County’s 10 ERGs on InSite.

Virtually Hike Our Trails

The County has over a hundred parks and preserves and 360+ miles of trails across more than 55,000 acres! You can virtually hike nearly a dozen of our trails. Find your favorite and share with your hiking buddies.

Very Busy but Rewarding Day for County Animal Services

Employees at County Animal Services were up with the chickens for Clear the Shelters Day Saturday but by day’s end, it was all worth it. See the final tally and a gallery of adopted pets.

Nearly one thousand visitors showed up, and employees spent the day directing people into lines, handing out applications, conducting dozens of meetings between animals and potential adopters, completing paperwork and taking photos of happy families. Not to mention the regular care and feeding of the animals. Phew!

Director Dan DeSousa knows it's a lot of work and he waxed poetic in a thank you note to his employees:

Twas Clear the Shelters Day in San Diego, and all through the land

People were lining up at dawn, ready to sit or to stand

In Bonita it started at 5:45 am in the dark

When the first adopters arrived and did park

Their plan they had finally

To add a dog to their family

They knew the dog that they wanted

And the wait left them undaunted

The shelter staff were all busy early that day

Posting signs directing people to every which way

The animals were in their shelters getting ready for the day

Hoping that their forever family would soon walk their way

The adopters were ready, they had scouted out their pet

And they even knew some would have to be seen by a vet

When 9:30 arrived, our doors opened wide

To let all of the wonderful people come running inside

The adopters stood in line after line

Understanding that this would all take time

They came looking for Spot, for Tiger, and Chance

And when they found their future pet, they all started to dance

Some paperwork here, some paperwork there

It did not matter as their hearts were full of love to share

The time would come when their name we did call

And the pet would soon be interacting with them all

Happy barks, delighted purrs and even a meow or two

Meant all of these animals had found their new “you know who”

Someone who saw the lines and was not scared

Someone who really, really cared

A new family member to love, a new pet to dote on

Come on new mom and dad, let’s get a move on!

For our visitors we counted nine hundred and ninety three

Throughout the day, 155 interactions did handle we

Out the doors the new families went

Knowing today had been well spent

For in their own special way

They had helped with Clear the Shelters Day!

At the start of the day of rabbits we had two

And they both got adopted so we say Woo Hoo!

We had Bruiser and Dora, a bonded pair

Combined they have no teeth but they did not care

Their last owner had passed and they ended up here

But their new owner filled them both with cheer

They came in together and we committed to adopting them as one

And in the middle of the day, we could mark that adoption as done

But what about our darling China Rose?

The chunky cat that could not see her toes

Last year it was Chanka who did not get adopted

Would China Rose be the one that nobody wanted

While we had shaved off most of her fur

From ten feet away you can still hear her purr

If she was not adopted, KNSD had invited her to the station

To allow us to say “Hey Public, You Forgot One!”

As the day came to a close and we were all really tired

A couple walked it and it was China Rose they desired!

Thank you to Dagmar, Guad, Heather and whole KNSD crew

And even David Hernandez of the Union Tribune showed up too!

At the end of the day our adoptions stood at seventy three

For that you have the most sincere appreciation from me

There was so much hard work from our great staff and volunteers

But the hardest part came when our favorite animal was adopted and we tried to fight back the tears

Rest assured that they were definitely tears of happiness

And one of the main reasons we are all in this “business”

To find them all homes be it a dog, cat, and sometimes even an emu

To all of our staff, volunteers and adopters, we truly say “Thank You”!!

Meet Well, San Diego County Employees!

Think about your last work meeting or training. Were there any snacks provided? Was it in-season fruits and veggies, or more processed items, like crackers, cookies, or chips? There’s a new voluntary practice making its way through the County that’s encouraging positive change in the way we eat while we meet. And you can be part of it.

It’s called Meet Well – a proud child of the Eat Well Practices, which are “rooted in nutrition and sustainability,” according to Food Systems Specialist Meghan Murphy.

Of course, Meet Well is more than just offering up healthy snacks at meetings (though that is a big part of it); it’s also supporting local agriculture by buying locally grown food, ensuring food safety, conducting green and zero-waste meetings (we’re looking at you, metal forks and reusable water bottles), being active, and even providing lactation accommodations at all-day trainings or conferences.

RELATED: Too Much On Your Plate? It's Food Waste Prevention Week

Sound like something you’re interested in? You can voluntarily pledge to create healthy meeting practices that support our commitment to “live well.”

Become a Meet Well ambassador – download the Meet Well Pledge template and work with your team to tailor it to your department or branch’s work culture.

“It’s an opportunity for different teams or groups to come together and collectively craft what their priorities are going to be to create healthier meetings and events,” Murphy said.

In fact, Public Health Services championed the implementation of the Meet Well Pledge by encouraging its adoption by all branches. Large County events like the Live Well San Diego Advance and other departments who have recently held all-staff meetings have decided to follow the Eat Well Practices and honor their Meet Well Pledge when organizing these events. You can join them in supporting the Eat Well Practices by crafting your own Meet Well Pledge and having healthy and sustainable events.

You can contact Meghan Murphy or Naomi Billups for more information on Eat Well Practices, including the Meet Well Pledge.

Do you try to practice more healthy and green options at work? Tell us about it in the comments!