issue 02-07
July 2002

Instructing others is rewarding

Educating and providing new learning opportunities to others is a passion that lies within the heart of Casey Dorman, Clinical Psychologist II for Behavioral Health's Children and Youth Services (CYS) program.

Casey is responsible for coordinating and providing clinical training opportunities for CYS staff and keeping up to date with the latest information in the field of mental health. Since 1997, Casey has developed a comprehensive annual curriculum for CYS clinicians including more than 50 workshops and seminars, which offer training to nearly 2500 attendees.

"I enjoy providing CYS and HCA staff with new clinical learning opportunities to become further educated in their field," said Casey. "I try to coordinate seminars and workshops which bring the latest information in the mental health field so that students can receive this invaluable information as well as continuing education credits."

With his continued awareness of the

latest developments in the child mental health field, Casey has had the opportunity to present workshops to CYS clinical staff and the community on such varied topics as Brief Treatment, New Instruments for Assessing Children's Behavior, Assessment of Children with Developmental Disabilities and Infant-Toddler-Mental Health, just to name a few.

For more than 10 years, Casey has expanded the role of professional training within the CYS program to include coordination with community agencies and outside groups to provide conferences and workshops for the broader health care community. Not a newcomer to his current role at HCA, Casey was previously a full-time professor at Alliant International University in Irvine and was also the Branch Dean of Human Behavior at Alliant's main campus in San Diego.

A Ph.D. graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, Casey first

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Community conference is well-attended

The Children's Healthcare Access Initiative (CHAI) recently celebrated the release of their 2002 Strategic Directions Plan at a community conference held at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange.

More than 300 people joined Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad, HCA Director Julie Poulson and Public Health's Deputy Agency Director Dr. Mark Horton in celebrating the accomplishments of those involved in the planning and implementation process of the strategic plan. The conference included booths from a variety of healthcare and educational vendors, as well as break out sessions on topics including Best Practices with School Strategies and Enrollment, Dis-Enrollment and Retention.

Keynote presenters Peter Mackler and Angela Coron from the California Department of Health Services provided invaluable information to those in attendance. Awards of appreciation and participation were presented during the luncheon and all those attending received a copy of the 2002 Strategic Directions Plan in addition to a copy of the Spring 2002 Orange County Health Needs Assessment Report.

The successful and well-attended conference provided a celebratory event for the completion of the strategic plan as well as an opportunity for those attending to understand what was involved in the planning process. The conference also provided a means for attendees to learn ways they can help to build healthcare solutions for the children of Orange County.

Public Health Services' Deputy Agency Director Dr. Mark Horton presented Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad with an award of appreciation during the June 27^th CHAI Community Conference.

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BHS service providers offered expanded compliance training

Registry provides smoke-free rental information

Almost 1,000 clinical service providers associated with HCA Behavioral Health Services now have a better understanding of how Compliance applies to their everyday responsibilities.

Annual provider training sessions in May and June brought together clinicians, supervisors and contractors from all three Behavioral Health (BH) Divisions: Adult Mental Health, Children and Youth Services and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services. According to David Horner of BH Quality Improvement and Program Compliance, this training differed from Agency-wide Compliance training because it focused on the clinician's responsibility to ensure appropriate billing and understand potential liability issues.

Each service area had their own training teams and took unique approaches to the sessions. For example, Children and Youth Services trainers worked with a consultant to develop their speaking and presentation skills. This resulted in a lively, interactive training format that included game-show style competitions to facilitate learning.

The four-hour BH training sessions keyed on seven elements:

• Submitting accurate bills for services rendered

• The role of provider documentation in billing

• Policies and procedures for documentation of medical records

• Personal obligations of each individual in the documentation and billing process

• Reimbursement rules and statutes

• Legal sanctions for improper documentation and billing

• Examples of proper and improper patient file documentation

The recently formed HCA Medical Billing Unit also received a Compliance update as part of a twelve-hour training

program. The Medical Billing Unit (MBU) serves both Behavioral Health and Public Health Services, filing insurance claims to reimburse the Agency for client services. MBU staff learned how Compliance plays a role in documentation and billing as well as participating in a broader discussion of Compliance issues and potential penalties. Information about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, was also an important part of the program.

When you're searching for a new place to live, there's lots of items to check out: schools, neighborhoods, and now, thanks to HCA's Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP), the property's smoking status!

TUPP is working with the Smokefree Apartment House Registry to provide information to renters on available smoke-free properties in Orange County. Because Orange County has the lowest adult smoking rate of any major metropolitan area in the country, just 13%, many renters are looking for properties that are designated as smoke-free. In fact, a recent Field Poll in California showed that a majority of non-smokers, and even many smokers, believe that at least 50% of apartment units should be smoke-free.

If you'd like more information on the Smokefree Apartment House Registry or the benefits of smoke-free living, contact TUPP at (714) 541-1444.

The HCA Compliance Program offers a confidential telephone hotline to voice your concerns about any situation that may conflict with Compliance Program principles. You may call the hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at:
(866) 260-5636

PIP Parade Team honored

Congratulations
to the HCA PIP Parade Team members! They were recognized at the June 18^thOrange County Board of Supervisors meeting for their commitment, leadership and success in helping HCA employees find unique and interesting ways to showcase their PIP goals and objectives. The PIP Parade Team helped employees create a colorful "parade" of storyboards, displays and posters that visually highlighted their PIP goals. Special thanks to PIP Team members Susan Sullivan, Mai Linh Nguyen, Karen Schneider, Deborah Morton and Anna Dang for their contributions in illustrating the important role that all employees play in improving processes and quality of service.

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/newsletters/

We will keep current issues on line for a year. Let us know how you like the convenience!

Congratulations to the PIP Parade Team Members who were recently acknowledged and presented with certificates by Supervisor Wilson at an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting. Pictured (alphabetically) are Deborah Morton, Mai Linh Nguyen, Karen Schneider and Susan Sullivan. (Not pictured) Anna Dang.

Gold Star
continued from page 1

Career rich in people, opportunities

became interested in working with HCA through the recommendations of some of his students and through Dr. Bernard Rappaport, former Deputy Director, CYS, who had first asked Casey to evaluate the success of CYS programs. From that moment, Casey became quite interested in working with CYS and saw the opportunity to utilize his 30 years of experience as a licensed children and families clinical psychologist to assist the program and provide them with further knowledge in his field of specialty, neuropsychology.

"I find that HCA provides many opportunities to do innovative and educational things, more so than at a University," Casey stated. "The support and enthusiasm I receive here further adds to the pleasure I have in providing staff with new learning opportunities to enhance their background and skills."

Casey's busy schedule still allows him to teach psychology part-time at Alliant University, where he is also Director of Clinical Training for their Orange County Clinical Psychology Program. Casey has been particularly active in mentoring and encouraging minority students to enter the field of psychology and has been the advisor and thesis chairperson for students from all over the Country.

Casey actively contributes to his field through the publication of scientific articles. In addition, he has presented papers all over the United States as well as Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Casey also authored a book on brain injury in children which was published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Retirement is a big change for most people, but Ken Hohla, HCA's Chief Information Officer, has become accustomed to change during his 28-year career with the County of Orange, a career that will draw to a close on August 8^th.

Ken actually helped to change our world even before coming to HCA through his work on the Saturn space program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Florida and spent ten years as a senior systems engineer in the aerospace industry. While working with McDonnell-Douglas, Ken relocated to the West Coast and received his Master of Science Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

After completing his Master's Degree program, Ken started to look for something different. He joined the Public Administrator/ Public Guardian Office as an administrative analyst in 1974, working his way up to Chief Deputy and later Administrative Officer. During the 1980's, rotations were common in county government, and Ken became Manager of Employment Services for Central Human Resources, a position he held until joining HCA in 1983 as Information Systems Manager. "I've had three separate careers with the county, without having to change employers," Ken noted. "It's been a really nice experience and the opportunities for career growth are one of the unique things about working with the county."

In the early 1980's, Information Systems was part of an area called Data Services,

which included the Agency's planning and research staff. "When I first started, everything was on mainframe or mini-computers. The growth and change in the last ten years has been really exciting! Today, we have over 3,500 personal computers in the agency. Just four years ago, we didn't have e-mail or an Agency-wide network. Now, we have a network that include 83 sites and almost 3,000 HCA staff have e-mail and Internet access," Ken explained. He has also witnessed the creation of a Chief Information Officer's position, which is a part of HCA's management team. "The Agency's emphasis on teamwork and the collaborative, cooperative environment that exists on the Agency's Executive Team has allowed Information Technology (IT) to get things done."

One of Ken's greatest pleasures has been to watch the growth and development of many individuals within HCA. "The most important thing as a manager is to recruit, help develop and retain high quality people," Ken stated. "I'm proud of the people we've hired in IT, their accomplishments and development. HCA has an incredible number of dedicated people and I'm impressed with the commitment, dedication and hard work demonstrated by county employees. We need to brag about how good the county workforce really is."

After all of the major projects accomplished by IT since 1983, Ken is ready for the changes that retirement will bring, saying he has no major plans. He wants to spend more time fishing, traveling and getting in shape. His wife is a teacher who plans to continue her career in the classroom and they will remain in the Orange County home they enjoy so much. After all, as Ken put it, "Who would want to go anywhere else but Orange County?"

Participating in the celebration of the release of the 2002 CHAI Strategic Directions Plan are Agency Director Julie Poulson, Office of Quality Management Chief Ron LaPorte, and HCA Planning Analyst Stacy Dyer.

Health Conference educates Latina women

Leap Into the OC Fair

The first ever all Spanish-language women's health con-
ference for Orange County Latina women recently took place at Santa Ana College. Hosted by the Latina Breast Health Task Force of the Orange County Cancer Detection Partnership, the event entitled "Celebrando la Mujer" (Celebrating Womanhood) was designed to educate attendees about breast and cervical cancer, the importance of early detection and programs available to assist uninsured women.

More than 60 attendees participated in interactive workshops on breast and gynecological health and learned first-hand from speakers about cancer detection and prevention as a means to leading a healthy lifestyle. Guest speaker Dr. América Bracho, a nationally recognized expert on Latina Health, set the tone for the day with an inspirational address on

the importance of health and preventive screening behaviors.

The conference was designed to attract mono-lingual Latina Spanish speakers who, according to national statistics, are more likely than other ethnic groups to have special risks associated with breast and cervical cancer. Free transportation and child-care services were provided for attendees, as well as special classes that utilized low literacy tools to teach attendees the basics of how the body works.

The Orange County Cancer Detection Partnership promotes free clinical breast exams, mammograms and diagnostic services to low-income, medically uninsured Orange County women for the early detection of breast cancer, when it can be successfully treated. For further information about the Cancer Detection Partnership, call (800) 298-0800.

Don't forget to leap, hop and jump over to the 2002 Orange County Fair and visit the Health Care Agency's booth located inside the Orange County building. Coinciding with this year's theme, the interactive booth will feature an old time watering hole scene, with a lily pond, frogs and a water wheel. Booth visitors will have the opportunity to win fun prizes as they play several games including Healthy Hop and the Jeopardy Challenge. The fair takes place from July 12^th to July 28^th and is open Monday through Thursday from 12 noon to 11 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Visit the OC Fair website at www.ocfair.com
for a listing of special events and promotions. We hope to see all of you there!

Open house festivities attract crowd

While being greeted by Hawaiian music and festive decorations, 4^th floor visitors enjoyed cookies and punch as Christy Castiglione, Kary To and Tricia Landquist sent pleasant "Alohas" and "Mahalos" to everyone during the June 12^th open house.

Lakers fans, Hawaiian girls and guys, Uncle Sam's Patriots and baseball's greatest pitchers and catchers gathered on June 12^th to participate in an open house for all programs co-located at the 405 W. 5^th street building. The event brought together many HCA employees from 515 Sycamore, 511 Civic Center and other Agency locations to join in the festivities of meeting individuals from each floor's programs and touring their offices.

Each floor hosted it's own open house with a unique theme and ambiance that set the jovial tone for all those who came to visit. From colorful Hawaiian luaus and purple and gold Lakers fever, many attendees enjoyed tasty treats from hot dogs, cracker jacks and nachos to Hawaiian punch, cookies and pasta salad. While sampling the goodies, HCA employees and visitors were able to finally put a face to a name as they toured offices and learned about our various HCA programs.

The open house provided an opportunity for all HCA employees at 405 W. 5^th, as well as those visiting from other locations, to become acquainted with each other and learn about the services and assistance their programs provide to the Orange County community. A giant thank you goes out to all HCA employees who contributed to make this event a huge success!

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.

—George William Curtis

Bill Grey gets into the spirit of the 6^th floor's patriotic open house theme decked out in his Uncle Sam costume as he visited Lakers fans on the 5^th floor while picking up some hot dogs and nachos from Jim Marquez.

Spotlight on Excellence

The June 2002 "Spotlight on
Excellence" Award was presented to Sara Murrieta, Supervisor of HCA's Multi-Ethnic Health Education Services. Sara began her Health Care Agency employment 11 years ago as a Health Educator for the Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP) and is acknowledged for providing exemplary client service through her positive and dignified way of being culturally sensitive to their needs. Sara received her Master's degree in Public Health from Loma Linda University and was awarded her Ph.D. in Behavioral Health at United States International University (USIU). Pictured (left to right) are Cultural Competency's Rafael Canul and Veronica Kelly, Sara Murrieta, Behavioral Health Deputy Agency Director Doug Barton and Amy Dale, Health Promotion Division Manager.

Medical Billing Unit has new home

HCA's Medical Billing Unit (MBU), previously located at the Orange County Housing Authority site on North Broadway, has moved to a new location on the 6^th floor of the 515 Sycamore building.

Co-locating billing for both Behavioral Health and Public Health provides enhanced collaboration and better communication. A total of 27 employees from Behavioral and Public Health's billing services moved into the new facility during the end of May and recently hosted an open house to provide HCA employees with the opportunity to become better acquainted with MBU staff and learn more about the services they provide.

A 4^th of July theme was proudly displayed throughout the 6^th Floor of the 515 Sycamore building as visitors ate scrumptious treats at the Medical Billing Unit's (MBU) open house held on June 27^th.

Fourth of July Fun Facts …

First celebrated on July 8, 1776 after the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Declared a legal holiday in 1941.
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th: John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn,t added until 5 years later.

Essay winners acknowledged

Orange County students were honored at the June 18^th Board of Supervisors meeting for their winning essays in Nutrition Services' 5^th annual Health & Nutrition Essay contest. Supervisor Thomas Wilson presented the winners with certificates signed by the Supervisor representing their corresponding school districts. Congratulations to Timothy Martin, Alison Whitelaw, Amanda Briscoe, Michael Ai and Lizabeth Vega for a job well done!

The annual contest, usually held in March during National Nutrition month, provided Orange County students an opportunity to take responsibility for their health and food choices by writing an essay on nutrition-related issues. The essay contest encouraged students to think critically about good health and explore reliable resources of information.

The winning essays were proudly presented on a display board at the Hall of Administration and included topics on healthy eating, nutrition claims and dieting issues. In addition to receiving certificates, winners were also given U.S. Savings Bonds to further enrich their educational experiences.

Nutrition Services is responsible for implementing programs to improve the nutritional status of Orange County residents. In addition to the Woman, Infants and Children program, Nutrition Services provides nutrition education and consultation services to individuals at the County's HIV, TB and methadone clinics. For further information about Nutrition Services program, call (714) 834-7877.

Local high school students were honored at the June 18^th Board of Supervisors meeting and were presented with certificates from Supervisor Wilson as winners of Nutrition Services' 5^th Annual Nutrition Essay contest. Recipients included (alphabetically) Michael Ai, Amanda Briscoe, Lizabeth Vega and Alison Whitelaw. Fred Lemmers, a Valley High School teacher, also congratulated the students as they accepted their certificates.

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.

—Adlai Stevenson

The Hall of Administration played host to a display that proudly showcased winning essays from local Orange County students who participated in the annual Nutrition Essay contest sponsored by the Nutrition Services program.

August Health Observances

Cataract Awareness Month

National Immunization Month

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month

World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7

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

Editors Howard Sutter Tricia Landquist
Anne Fialcowitz

Your Input
Phone (714) 834-5109

E-mail HSutter@ochca.com
FAX (714) 834-7644 Pony Bldg. 38-S,
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