Take A Joyride

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Come along for the joyride. Watch the award-winning short film “Joyride” that was recently featured in the D&I Digest.

The video is about two Latinx sisters who are enlisted by their abuelita Juana to break her out of her senior living facility for an adventure. On the journey, Juana reveals the painful family history. The film is written and directed by Edwin Alexis Gomez, a queer Nicaraguan-American multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker. Note: This films contains discussions about abuse.

What do you think of the film? Comment below.

Time Is Running Out to Use Your Flexible Spending Account Dollars

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The deadline to spend your Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) dollars is quickly approaching. You can spend your FSA or HRA funds on approved medical expenses including doctors’ office visits, prescription co-pays, eyeglasses, dental work and many other health expenditures.

You have until Dec. 31 to use your balance. If funds remain after Dec. 31, you may be able to rollover some of your unspent 2020 funds into 2021. Employees can carry over up to $550 into next year.

For a complete list of eligible purchases, please refer to ASI Flex.

If you are not sure how much you have left in your FSA or HRA, check your account balance through ASI Flex’s website.

Reminders:

  • Account(s) must be in active status at the end of the year to be eligible for rollover.

  • Dependent Care Flex Spending Account dollars do not roll over.

For more information on the Department of Human Resources’ Benefits division, visit their website on InSite.

Give Thanks for Online Shopping Deals

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Shop from your sofa this holiday season! Save money while shopping PerkSpot online for everything from groceries and décor to stocking stuffers and streaming services.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite. 

CAO Message: Thank You and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Holidays are all about traditions. Ones we share, and those specific to our individual families. We all find comfort in the routines.

It’s frustrating, even disorienting, to have that disrupted, as it will be this year as we continue to fight the pandemic.

I can’t sugarcoat it. The trends lately have been bad. Case numbers have skyrocketed, and just as the epidemiologists predict, we’re now seeing that turn into rising hospitalizations. We’re all thrilled by very promising news of vaccines, but they’re not here yet. For now, we’ve got to hang tough and use the measures we have available to minimize the virus’s impact. 

Since it spreads from person to person, that means staying apart as much as possible. The exact opposite of what we look forward to and treasure for holidays. But the best thing you can do for family or friends outside your household this year is to celebrate separately.

Even if we have to give up on crowding around tables or football games, we can double down on the essence of the holidays. For Thanksgiving, we can draw a sharper focus on the things we’re grateful for. Each person you miss getting together with – be so thankful you have that person in your life, that you have someone that means so much to you it hurts not to see them. Let them know!

I’m full of gratitude for everyone at the County. You see what people are really made of when they’re tested. We’ve now spent the better part of a year weathering a crisis. From those I interact with directly to every one of you rising to the challenge of serving our residents under these circumstances, I can’t imagine enduring this time without you. You know how your stomach feels at the end of Thanksgiving dinner? That’s how my heart feels, ready to burst with appreciation for everything you’re doing.   

I hope you share in the gratitude for such amazing colleagues and for work that gives us the opportunity to help people through an especially difficult time. And I hope even if your Thanksgiving celebration is scaled down that you still enjoy an overstuffed spirit of the day.

Thanks again so much for all you do,