Issue 01-9, September 2001

September 2001

Issue 01-9 September 2001

Making order out of disaster

It may seem a little strange to make a career out of disaster, but Paul Russell, RN of HCA Emergency Medical Services has done just that, helping others in Orange County and beyond prepare for the worst. Now the EMS Medical Disaster Management Coordinator, Paul's interest in healthcare grew from his own childhood medical problems. One entire school year was spent as a patient at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and hospitals became a "comfortable environment" for Paul, so much so that he worked as a hospital orderly while in college.

Like most young people, Paul's career plans took a dramatic turn from his interest in becoming a groundskeeper at Anaheim Stadium. He entered nursing school in 1972 and graduated from Mount San Antonio College in 1974, where he also met his wife. His nursing career included experience in the hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but his dream was working in a hospital Emergency Room (ER). "I had a Nursing Supervisor tell me to take the job in ICU because it would really help me later in the ER. She was right," said Russell, who worked for 22 years at Mission Hospital. He advanced from an ER Nurse to Nursing Supervisor, Paramedic Base Coordinator and Director of Safety and Security.

HCA became a part of Paul's life in April 1990, when then EMS Program Manager Betty O'Rourke told Paul she had a "special, secret project" for him. "That project was the development of a generic hospital disaster plan, which has gone from the initial pilot project to be used internationally," Paul proudly stated. Accepting the HCA position, Paul had just six months to

Continued on Page 4

Team HCA rolls on

A group of HCA staff members has been in training since August to prepare for their participation in an October fund-raising event that begins at Newport Dunes and ends at San Diego's Mission Bay. The idea to form Team HCA for the MS 150 Bike Tour, benefiting the Orange County Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, started with Senior Research Analyst Curtis Condon and now includes eight other team members from Quality

Management, Public Health and Environmental Health. Ac-cording to Condon, there's no one reason they chose to participate in the two-day cycling adventure. "We're aware of some HCA staff who have family members with Multiple Sclerosis, but we also saw this as a chance to do something for a good cause while doing a little team building." Weekends have been spent taking ever-lengthening rides to prepare team members for the

ride. The MS 150 was first conducted in 1983 and last year had almost 1,000 riders. Team HCA will be highly recognizable sporting t-shirts with a specially designed team logo identifying riders as representatives of the Health Care Agency. If you'd like more information about Team HCA's participation in the MS 150 Bike Tour, please contact Curtis Condon at (714) 834-2034. More information on the event is available by checking out the Multiple Sclerosis Society website at http:// www.nmssoc.org/

Team HCA is in training for the MS 150 Bike Tour schedule for October 6 & 7. Among those putting their best foot forward to represent the Agency are (l-r): Curtis Condon (with daughter Emily), Kerry Wilson, Maria Macias, Janel Alberts and David Samarin.

1 Page 2 3

2
Issue 01-9 September 2001

Interest high at HIPAA Forum By HCA Information Technology

Open chairs were a valuable commodity at the August 23 rd HIPAA Forum cosponsored by the Health Care Agency and staged at the Hall of Administration. An attentive audience received up-to-date information on HIPAA compliance from Margret Amatayakul, a nationally recognized HIPAA consultant.

From the size of the turnout for an August 23 rd forum, it's easy to see there's a high level of interest among healthcare providers about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. Over 200 people packed the Hall of Administration Board Hearing Room for the chance to learn more about HIPAA from nationally recognized expert Margret Amatayakul, who has more than 30 years of healthcare experience. Board of Super-

visors Chair Cynthia P. Coad and HCA Director Julie Poulson were among those who welcomed the audience of healthcare providers from throughout Orange County. Many HCA staff members were in attendance to take advantage of this unique educational opportunity.

Along with the Health Care Agency, sponsors for the forum included the Orange County Medical Association, the Health Care Council of Southern California and the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics.

Addressing and Locating E-mail Messages

Addressing an e-mail is a snap if you know a couple of easy shortcuts. One of the easiest ways is to enter the address in "free form" such as when you need to send an e-mail to a recipient "outside" the County of Orange. For example, JohnCrane@ county. com. Once you have selected the "NEW" button, these addresses can be typed right on the "To:" line. If the user is "inside" the county, you can use your address book. Our address book is listed under the "Health Care Agency" and is titled "HCA Recipients." Finding someone in this list is as easy as clicking the "To:" button and finding them in the pull-down list.

1st TIP!

Type the first letter of the person's last name to find it quicker, saving you from scrolling forever. There are other quick ways to find an address. Type a few letters of the recipients name on the "To:" line and then press the keys "Alt" and the letter "K" at the same time. This will either pull a list of matches or finish the address if it is unique.

2nd TIP!

What about sending mail to someone in another agency? Click the "To:" button, where a menu entitled "Select Names" will appear. You will notice there is a list on the top right. Just select the list of other groups to browse from such as "Clerk Recorder" or "Superior Court." From this list, select the name of the person you are trying to e-mail.

Special note:

Always verify the addresses to which the e-mail is being sent.
Double-check the address before sending because it is very easy to click or select the wrong name.

Finding an e-mail can be frustrating at times, but there is an easy way to find them using a feature called "Find," which is located under the Tools menu. By using the "Advanced Find" feature, you can narrow down the search by words found in the title, the subject field, the message, or even by the intended recipient's name. One word of caution— due to the ever-increasing virus attacks, please be sure to never, ever open any attachments that you are not expecting. If you are unsure, first call the helpdesk and ask them to check it out for you.

October Health Observances

Child Health Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Family Health Month
Healthy Lung Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Campaign for Healthier Babies Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Month

Child Health Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . October 2

Mental Illness Awareness Week . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . October 3-9

National Adult Immunization Awareness Week . . . . October 8-14

World Mental Health Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. October 10

National Health Education Week . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . October 15-21

National Hepatitis Awareness Week . . . . . . .. . . . . . October 15-21

National Infection Control Week . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . October 16-22

National Mammography Day . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . October 19

National Red Ribbon Celebration Week . . . . . . .. . . October 23-31

2 Page 3 4

Issue 01-9 September 2001

Compliance training underway

The arrival of Fall marks the return of football season, but this year, Fall will be known for the kickoff of an important team effort for the Health Care Agency. After months of preparation, HCA's Compliance Program is ready for its debut with training sessions scheduled to begin Friday, September 28. More than 75 of the two-hour training sessions have been scheduled in a variety of locations to make it convenient for HCA employees to attend the required training. In addition, trainers representing all areas of the agency have been selected for participation, making it possible to address specific compliance issues relating to each service area. The compliance training effort will highlight the Agency's Code of Conduct, entitled "Excellence In Action." An e-mail including the training schedule and more details about the training was sent out by Human Re-sources on September 5. If you did not receive the e-mail, or have encountered any difficulties with the enrollment process, please contact Ruth Zamora at 834-3154 or Jody Barrera at 834-7539.

Jury Duty—" Just the facts" by HCA Human Resources

Oh no! Jury duty" or "Yippee! Jury duty"— whatever your feelings are on the subject, there are certain facts about jury duty you need to know! The good news is— this is not a legal brief and you do not have to commit this to memory. HCA Human Resources is available to help you through as you perform your civic duty. A regular, limited-term or probationary employee will be paid at their regular rate of pay for the jury duty hours that fall during their regularly scheduled working hours for as long as they are serving jury duty (there is no length of time limitation). Extra Help employees are not covered under this provision and would not be paid.

If you work an evening, night or weekend shift, or are on a flex schedule, you may request a change in working hours to a Monday through Friday 8-5 shift for the time of your jury duty. If you work any hours for the County in addition to your jury duty hours that are beyond the regularly scheduled workday, those hours shall be subject to the workweek and overtime provisions and must be approved by your supervisor in advance. If you choose not to alter your schedule and perform jury duty outside your regular work schedule, you would be going on your own time and would be entitled to keep any pay received for jury duty.

Please notify your supervisor as soon as possible upon receipt of your jury summons so that they may plan accordingly. Each day that you report to the courthouse you will receive a document verifying that you served jury duty for that day. You will need to save those to attach to your timesheet! Keep in touch with your supervisor to keep them informed of your situation.

To fill in your timesheet you will use the code "JD" for the days you served on jury duty. Attach the verifying documents the court provided you for each day corresponding with that timesheet. You will receive a check from the Courts paying you for jury duty, which usually includes both jury duty service and mileage reimbursement. You are entitled to keep the mileage portion. You should cash or deposit the check to your own account as soon as possible and write a personal check, payable to the County of Orange, for the amount of the jury duty service. If the check you receive is for jury duty service only, you can choose to endorse the check directly over to the County of Orange Treasurer. In either case, it is very important to write the dates of your jury duty on the front of the check. Please send this reimbursement to Michelle Lewis, HCA Ac-counting, Bldg. #62-C by PONY mail or it can be attached to your timesheet.

A full house turned out for the Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Services Task Force Conference held Friday, August 10 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Deputy Agency Director/ Behavioral Health Services Doug Barton was among those who shared the platform for the opening session with Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Task Force Chair Patricia Lazalde, Ph. D., of Latino Psychological and Social Services.

Emergency Medical Services Program Manager Darlene Isbell, RN, was formally introduced to the Orange County healthcare community and HCA staff at a special reception held in August. The Deputy Agency Director for Medical and Institutional Health Services, Herb Rosenzweig, introduced Darlene to guests at the reception and said her hiring culminated a lengthy effort to bring her expertise to Orange County EMS.

If we learn how to forgive ourselves, to forgive others, and to live with thanksgiving, we need not seek happiness— it will seek us.

3 Page 4

Issue 01-9 September 2001

Making order out of disaster...Cont'd

develop the program and six months to put it in place. "We started with six hospital disaster planners invited to a meeting after Betty had sold the hospital administrators on giving it a try. The six hospitals took the plan, taught it, adapted it and made it successful." The program was so successful that the State of California provided an additional two-year grant to expand the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS) to six additional hospitals in Los Angeles County. The proof of the program's potential came soon after.

"We did a large scale disaster drill with all twelve hospitals in Orange and Los Angeles Counties participating. After the drill, we surveyed the managers who participated and found it to be quite successful," remembered Paul. HEICS is now used extensively, not only in California, but also throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, Paul says hardly a week goes by without receiving a request for a copy of the program. As of four years ago, almost 40% of California hospitals had implemented the HEICS system developed here in Orange County. Paul gives the credit for making HEICS a success to those who make it work at the hospital level.

"We have a great health community in Orange County. Without their participation, HEICS would have gone nowhere." His involvement with the health community continues as Paul works to develop a new emergency preparedness program called the Metropolitan Medical Response System, or MMRS. Working with the cities of Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana, Emergency Medical Services is helping to develop an operational area response plan for use should a Weapon of Mass Destruction be used in Orange County. Other HCA programs, including Public Health and Behavioral Health, are assisting EMS in the development of the MMRS plan.

According to Paul, the achievements of the past eleven years are more due to the contributions of others than to his own hard work. "If it wasn't for people like Betty O'Rourke and Eve Marsh at Mission Hospital and many others, we would have never been able to move forward." Paul also noted the contributions of individuals like Lorna Avanzado of Emergency Medical Services, who typed and re-typed the HEICS plan many times. Russell said the current effort to develop an effective MMRS plan has reminded him of the importance of his job. "The HCA people working on MMRS are in touch with the Orange County healthcare community. I appreciate our management emphasizing who we work for, that we are here to partner with the community and make a difference."

Gold Star

continued from page 1

The recipient of the Cultural Competency Program's "Spotlight on Excellence" Award for August is Carmen Franklin, who received the honor at the monthly Mental Health Board meeting. Among those participating in the presentation were (l-r): Veronica Kelley, Cultural Competency Program; Carmen Franklin; Mary Morris, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services (ADAS) Service Chief; and Sandra Fair, ADAS Division Manager.

HCA participates in YFRC event

The programs of the Health Care Agency were highlighted at an August 31 Family Fiesta celebration for clients of the Central Youth and Family Re-source Center (YFRC) held at Santa Ana's Cabrillo Park. Central YFRC is the only facility with Public Health Field Nursing staff on-site to provide assistance to clients and their families. Public Health Nurse Cindy Lamonica staffed the HCA booth at the Family Fiesta, leading participants through the healthcare version of the Jeopardy game. A wide variety of health information for children, adolescents and adults was avail-able at the HCA table. HCA was joined by health promoters from the City of Santa Ana who are associated with the Corbin Community Center. Other health organizations represented at the Family Fiesta included Latino Health Access and KidShape, a new program to address childhood obesity. The Family Fiesta, sponsored by Orange County Probation, provided an opportunity for YFRC participants to enjoy food, fun and organized recreation while building relationships with center staff and community organizations.

Health information was on the menu for the Family Fiesta conducted for clients of the Central Youth and Family Resource Center. The stars of the HCA Health Jeopardy game included (l-r): Rosa Hernandez and Maricela Guerrero of the City of Santa Ana and Cindy Lamonica of Public Health Field Nursing.

"We're on-line!" You can check out the latest issues of the Health Care Agency's newsletters by using this URL: http://www.ochealthinfo.com/newslett.htm We will keep current issues on line for a year. Let us know how you like the convenience!

"What's UP!" is a newsletter for employees of the County of Orange, CA, Health Care Agency.

Editors . . . . . .

Howard Sutter

Pat Markley

Anne Fialcowitz

Your Input

Phone . (714) 834-5109

Fax.. . . (714) 834-7644

E-mail: HSutter@ hca.co.orange.ca.us

Pony . . Bldg. 38-S, 4th Floor

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

—Thomas Alva Edison

Page Navigation Panel

1 2 3 4

HCA Home | Accessibility | Directory | Newsletters