Have a Spirited Halloween at the County

Here are three ways to have a howling good time on Halloween at the County:

1. Enter the County Costume Contest. See rules and submit a picture.

2. Attend an '80s-themed party at the County Operations Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 31. There will be games, treats, a photo booth and the County's Got Talent competition.

3. Watch a livestream of the festivities here on InSite. The witching hour is a few minutes before noon on Halloween. The video will magically appear!

See the photo gallery of costumes.

CSDFEA Hosts Eventful Filipino American History Month

It was a big month for the County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees’ Association. The employee resource group hosted numerous events to commemorate Filipino American History Month, which marks the arrival of the first Filipinos in the U.S. in 1587.

CSDFEA gathered for a family picnic, held an art exhibit at Behavioral Health Services, screened the documentary “In No One’s Shadow: Filipinos in America,” hosted a book club discussion of “America is Not the Heart” by Filipino American writer Elaine Castillo, and held a food drive for and volunteered at Feeding San Diego. Plus, they awarded $3,000 to scholarship and art contest winners at their gala on Larry Itliong Day.

For more information about CSDFEA’s Filipino American History Month celebrations, visit their webpage or connect with them on Facebook. 

Maintain Don’t Gain

Excited for the holidays but wanting to keep your weight, physical and emotional health in check? Join Maintain Don’t Gain! This six-week online Employee Wellness challenge is designed to help you maintain and not gain by tracking six elements of health: weight, water intake, nutrition, mood, sleep and physical activity.

Maintain Don’t Gain runs Nov. 4 through Dec. 16. Sign up today through Nov. 8.

‘Stop the Bleed’ Trainings Coming Up

If a co-worker, patient or client suffered a serious injury and you had to help to stop serious bleeding, would you know what to do?

Depending on the location of the injury, bleeding control options vary. They include tourniquet application to arm or leg injuries. If tourniquet use is not applicable, other compression options include applying direct pressure to the site and packing the wound with gauze.

But how do you do it? 

The County Health and Human Services Agency is conducting hands-on trainings on how to properly identify and respond to life-threatening bleeding. The trainings are part of Stop the Bleed, a national awareness campaign that encourages members of the public to become trained and empowered to assist with lifesaving bleeding control techniques in emergencies involving traumatic injuries and rapid blood loss.

The goals of Stop the Bleed are:

1. Place bleeding control kits in County facilities.

2. Ensure County employees have access to training on the use of bleeding control kits as an added component of the County’s existing safety program.

 There are upcoming instructor-led trainings. Register on the Learning Management System.  

October 30

1:30-3 p.m.

Live Well Center at National City

401 Mile of Cars Way, Room 2086

National City, CA 91910

November 13

1:30-3 p.m.

North Inland Live Well Center

649 W. Mission Ave. Room D

Escondido CA, 92025

December 10

9-10:30 a.m. & 1-2:30 p.m.

County Operations Center

5560 Overland Ave., Room 171

San Diego CA, 92123                                                                                             

Last November, the Health and Human Services Agency implemented a pilot program for Stop the Bleed, which placed bleeding control kits and trained staff at the County Administration Center. A month later, the program was expanded to other County facilities.

To date, kits have been placed at the larger county worksites including the County Operations Center and County Health Services Complex (Rosecrans). The kits can be found with Automated External Defibrillators (AED) at each site. Eventually each one of the County’s 609 AEDs will have a bleeding control kit alongside it.

For more information please contact Ellen.Presente@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Friday Photo: Raising Breast Cancer Awareness

A team from Health and Human Services Agency’s Eligibility Operations, Document Processing Center marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink. Office Assistant Ken Andrew Miranda shared the group photo.

Share your fabulous photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it. Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. One image will be posted to InSite every Friday.

See the Friday Photo gallery.

A Very ‘80s Halloween Is Coming to the County!

Step back in time for this year’s big Halloween happening. The County is hosting an ‘80s-themed party at the County Operations Center on Oct. 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Activities include games, trivia, treats, a photo booth and the incredible County’s Got Talent – Star Search edition competition.

County’s Got Talent contestants are Felicia Daniel from Eligibility Operations, Amanda Joyner from the Northeast Family Resource Center, Shannon Logue from Behavioral Health Services, Rachelle Reyes from Eligibility Operations and the HHSA FSSD Glee Club.

Come out to cheer on the contestants and participate in the festivities. If you can’t make it, watch the event live on InSite.

In addition to the party at the COC, the County is holding a costume contest, open to all employees wherever you are. Entering is both easy and fun:

• Send one photo of yourself in costume to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov by 4 p.m., Oct. 31.

• Include your full name, title, department and who (or what) you are dressed as in the body of the email. Please type the information even if it is in your signature block.

• The photo should be taken between Friday, Oct. 25 and Thursday, Oct. 31—this ensures employees who wear a uniform or work an alternative schedule can participate.

• Please make sure your submission is work appropriate.

• One entry per employee. You can enter as an individual or as a group—but not both.

• If you enter as an individual, be the only person in the photo—we want to make sure we know who you are.

• If you enter as a group, have just one person email the photo.

Check back on InSite for a photo gallery of the costume contest contenders. Employees will be able to vote for their favorite on Friday, Nov. 1 via the InSite poll.

Pet of the Week – Otto

Meet Otto! An 8-year-old Rottweiler looking for his new forever home.

Otto is sweet and affectionate. He has a calm personality and enjoys meeting new people. Otto loves to go for walks and is easy to handle on a leash. So let’s get him adopted!

You can see Otto at the Department of Animal Services’ shelter in Bonita or visit sddac.com to give another animal their furever home.

Friday Photo: It's Hawktober

It’s not just October, it’s Hawktober in San Diego County. Three employees submitted photos of hawks this month.

Share your fabulous photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it. Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. One image will be posted to InSite every Friday.

See the Friday Photo gallery.

Supervising Inspector Austin Shepherd, with the Pest Exclusion Program, found this red-tailed hawk outside the Agriculture, Weights & Measures office in San Marcos.

Park Maintenance Worker Nate Pownell captured this image of a red-tailed hawk at Rios Canyon Little League Park in El Cajon.

ARCC Imaging Technician II Pete Jacovino snapped this picture of a hawk from the County Administration Center.

Attend County Employee Night at Aztec Football

Get ready to cheer for San Diego State! SDSU is hosting a County Employees Night at the Aztecs’ Nov. 9 football game against Nevada and you can score discounted tickets.

Plaza level tickets are $20 for employees and family members. This is 40% off the regular ticket price. You can purchase tickets online with promo code SDCOUNTY2 (there is a $5 fee per online order) or with cash at the County Operations Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 31 during the big Halloween celebration.

Don’t miss the pre-game festivities at SDCCU Stadium. A free, fun-filled fair will open 2.5 hours before kickoff in the parking lot. Plus, it’s homecoming! Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Parking is $10 (cash only).

County Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

The San Diego County Latino Association Employee Resource Group hosted a lively Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the County Operations Center on Tuesday with music, a cultural dance performance, sweet treats and resource booths.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to recognize the many contributions made by Americans of Indigenous, Spanish and African descent to history, education, science, music, literature, art, and civic and government service. 

“It's a time to honor our ancestors, our people, and community for their heart for life and work, said SDCLA President Oscar Talaro. “It's a time to gather as Latinos and celebrate our heritage and relationships.”

Learn more about the ERG, visit the San Diego County Latino Association on InSite.