issue 02-09
issue 02-09
September, 2002
Chief Compliance Officer David Riley has announced the "kickoff" of HCA's first annual Compliance Program refresher training effort, with an ambitious schedule of 90-minute sessions available to employees and Agency contractors.
A total of 60 training sessions will be held over a six-week period at locations in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Westminster and Laguna Beach. According to the Chief Compliance Officer, the refresher training sessions will not only reinforce the Compliance principles discussed at the initial training programs held one year ago, but they will provide a new perspective on Compliance. "It is our hope that HCA staff will have a better understanding of the operation of the Compliance program and how complaints are investigated. There have been a few revisions to the Agency's Code of Conduct, which will be reviewed during the refresher training, and we will also be talking about one of the biggest changes facing the entire health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA," stated Riley. "Finally, we'll review one specific standard from the Code of Conduct, the Records Maintenance standard, and discuss how it applies to what we do every day at HCA," concluded Riley.
Registration for most of the Compliance refresher training sessions is available on-line through the County's Intranet-based registration system, found at http://olt.ocgov.com/. On-line registration will not be available for some sessions, due to their location or the intended audience for the meeting.
Director's Corner
When Governor Davis signed a new State budget on September 5, HCA staff members almost immediately began the process of analyzing the State’s spending plan to determine its expected impact on the Health Care Agency and the clients we serve.
While that analysis is still underway, there are several known reductions that will impact HCA programs and services. These include:
• Deferral of $11.2 million in reimbursement for state mandated services to seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth referred by schools (AB 3632).
• Potential 40% reduction in Children’s System of Care funding.
• Implementation of a10% County match for Children’s Mental Health Medi-Cal (EPSDT) program, resulting in a potential impact of up to $400,000 for Orange County.
• A reduction of $500,000 in funding for Uncompensated Care and Breast Cancer Screening.
• Decreased funding for services to the Mentally Ill Homeless Grant Program by $200,000.
Other County agencies are also facing difficult circumstances, as well. Our colleagues at the Social Services Agency were disappointed to see large reductions in the areas of child welfare, adoptions and CalWORKS programs. These cuts in the State Budget are in addition to an already tight County budget.
What does this mean for us at the Health Care Agency? It means that all of us will likely be faced with challenges during this year as well as next year. Through the efforts of our Labor Management Committee, we have already received many excellent
Congratulations to Patricia Place, Supervising Public Health Nurse II, who was presented with the 2002 Instructor of the Year Award from the University of Washington, Seattle's Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training (NCAST) program. Pat has provided NCAST training and re-certification classes to more than 150 Orange County Public Health Field Nurses (PHFN) for the past 12 years.
Pat was recognized for her commitment and dedication to excellence in the promotion and use of NCAST tools in her community and for the number of learners she has trained in NCAST Parent Child Interaction Scales, also known as the Feeding and Teaching scales.
As an NCAST instructor, Pat teaches PHFN's about maternal-child interaction through classes on feeding observations (birth to 1 year) and teaching observations (birth to 3 years). During these classes, attendees are educated on using standardized assessment scales, which are designed to evaluate whether a caregiver/parent-child relationship contains problems within their interaction and communication pattern. For more information on the NCAST training program visit www.ncast.org.
The Health Care Agency's Nutrition Services Program along with the Orange County Breastfeeding Coalition (OCBFC) will host a "Blueprint for Breastfeeding Success" event on Monday, October 28th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in Orange. The all-day seminar is designed to educate all health care professionals interested in supporting families in the initiation of breastfeeding.
Those attending will learn how to create and present a plan for providing optimal support to the breastfeeding mother through the understanding of her infant's unique capabilities and the establishment of practices that utilize collaboration within her healthcare and community systems. An exhibit on "Breastfeeding Around the World" will also be on display.
All registration fees include a continental breakfast and lunch. An early bird fee of $40 is available for those who register before October 14th and discounts will be provided for groups of 5 or more from the same agency. Continuing education credits will be available for all those attending. For more information about the upcoming event or to register, call OCBFC at (714) 242-1633.
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suggestions on ways to make our operations more efficient, which will be very important now and in the coming years. Working together, each of us can have a major impact on the Agency’s budget picture through the wise use of the resources available to us, including our human resources.
Through the years, the Health Care Agency staff has always proven itself to be up to the challenge, no matter what that challenge might be. I have great confidence that our teamwork and professionalism will shine through as we meet these new challenges and others that may come our way.
Information Technology (IT) security continues to become an increasingly important issue with the coming of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other concerns affecting privacy and cyberterrorism. As HCA employees and users of HCA's computers and assets, we must do our part to help prevent theft of a wide variety of confidential information. Here are some basic precautions:
• Do not give out ANY individually identifiable User ID/passwords OR medical information over the phone or in e-mails unless you know for certain who is requesting the information and make sure they have a legitimate reason for the request. If you have any questions about the validity of the credentials of the requesting individual, ask them for information that will verify their position and report the request to your supervisor.
• If you see someone gathering paper records from recycling, shredding or trash bins at HCA facilities, call the local police department and/or facility guards immediately and report it.
• Do not hide passwords on pieces of paper or post-it notes where they can easily be found (on your monitor, underneath your keyboard, or anywhere obvious).
• It's a good idea to change your password every few months.
• Choose passwords with between six and eight characters as required by some systems.
• Include both letters AND numbers in passwords; they are the hardest to guess.
• Steer away from use of birth dates, favorite sports teams or pet names.
• Be sure to log out while you are at lunch or away from your desk.
• Do not share passwords with your colleagues as you are legally responsible for anything malicious done with that password.
LMC is here for you!
HCA's Labor Management Committee (LMC) continues to serve employees by providing an environment that encourages active engagement in achieving organizational goals and contributing to the community, its clients and overall employee satisfaction. Throughout the year, LMC members work to provide a forum to resolve workplace issues and improve communications between all HCA employees. Recent LMC accomplishments include:
•Development of the LMC Website on our HCA Intranet, providing on-line information to all employees who have access to a computer. Just click on: http://balsam/intranet/lmc/default.asp.
• LMC members participated on this year's HCA Business Plan development team. LMC Chairs provided important input in Business Plan meetings and provided review and suggestions prior to its finalization.
• Worked with CEO Employee Relations in the countywide effort to gather cost saving and efficiency ideas from all Agency staff to assist with budgetary concerns. Committee members distributed e-mails and questionnaires, and held brainstorming focus groups, to ensure all employees had the opportunity to participate by contributing their ideas.
• Completed a workplace issue concerning inadequate workspace for HCA Correctional Medical (CMS) and Mental Health (CMH) staff. As a result of collaborative efforts with the Sheriff-Coroner, Santa Ana Fire Department and HCA Administration, a former holding cell was converted to a fully functional office with telephone and computer lines, comfortably and efficiently housing seven staff members.
• The Recruitment Sub-Committee developed an LMC PowerPoint presentation designed to educate HCA employees about LMC goals and to aid in soliciting new committee members. This effective and informational presentation can be scheduled for staff meetings by calling Jim Hersch at (714) 567-7637.
LMC members continue to work together to provide all employees the opportunity to contribute to the resolution of workplace issues and to improve communications throughout the Agency. If there is a workplace issue that you would like the LMC to address, complete the online Workplace (WPI) form on our LMC Intranet site http://balsam/intranet/lmc/default.asp, and send it to an LMC member, WPI Chair, HR representative or a representative from the Orange County Employees Association (OCEA).
October Health Observances
Family Health Month
Health Literacy Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Lupus Awareness Month
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month
Mental Illness Awareness Week 6 - 12
National Child Health Day 7
National Adult Immunization Awareness Week 13 -19
World Food Day 6
National Health Education Week 21 - 27
National Red Ribbon Celebration 23 - 31
The United States Postal Service (USPS) unveiled its new spay or neuter stamps on September 20th to continue its longstanding tradition of raising awareness of important social issues. The new $.37 stamps stress the significance of spaying and/or neutering to help reduce the number of unwanted pets in the community and feature "Kirby" a neutered puppy and "Samantha" a spayed kitten.
Raising awareness locally, the USPS, along with various pet organizations including Orange County Animal Care Services (ACS), commemorated the stamp unveiling by taking part in an event that was held on September 21st at the Petco store on Springdale and Warner in Huntington Beach. Attendees were able to participate in on-site pet adoptions, visit exhibit booths and obtain information on spaying and/or neutering their pets.
Every year, 8 to 10 million pets are given up to animal shelters and others are abandoned on the streets, while 4 to 5 million of them are euthanized because no homes could be found for them. To help decrease these alarming statistics, leading national animal health and community organizations have united to maximize the impact of the stamp's spay/neuter message.
Don't Forget...
Head on over to the Orange County Employees Association's (OCEA) 2002 Health Fair on Wednesday, October 2nd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held in OCEA's parking lot area located at 830 North Ross Street. Come enjoy free food, prizes and promotional items. Flu vaccination sign-up sheets will also be on-hand for those interested in receiving a flu shot available at OCEA on Tuesday, October 15.
To honor employees for their years of service and outstanding dedication to HCA, an Employee Recognition Awards ceremony was held on August 22nd at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room. Along with certificates and service pins, awards of excellence were presented to the 2002 Nurse Recognition Committee and this year's Orange County Fair volunteers. A breakdown of awards presented is as follows:
5 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 39 employees
10 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 15 employees
15 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 11 employees
20 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 5 employees
25 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 6 employees
30 Years of Service . . . . . . . . . . 1 employee
Awards of Excellence . . . . . . . . . 33 employees
Other 25 Year Awards Presented (not pictured)
Celebrating their 25 years of service, Penny Weismuller awarded Beatrice Payan-Gama and Beryle Koenig with certificates and pins.
Public Health's Beverly Ridell is acknowledged at the August 22nd Recognition Awards by Penny Weismuller and Agency Director Julie Poulson for her 30 years of service and dedication to HCA.
Alice Manning presented Kathryn Rogers with her 30 years of service pin and certificate.
The Health Care Agency's Behavioral Health Services division recently partnered with HOMES, Inc., a private nonprofit organization, to establish a new 6-bed transitional living facility for mentally ill homeless adults. The center named the "Cypress House" opened its doors in the City of Orange on July 31st and now houses its first 6 residents.
Those eligible for the Cypress House are referred from the AB2034 Intensive Recovery Services (IRES) program, which attempts to engage those homeless, mentally ill and dually diagnosed individuals who have traditionally resisted linkage to housing and other mental health services.
During their stay, residents are closely monitored by their Personal Services Coordinator and are taught independent living and self-sufficiency skills, such as budgeting, shopping and cooking. Assertion skills are also taught so that residents may learn how to manage associations with roommates and create positive landlord/tenant relationships.
The Cypress House program's goal is to obtain permanent, affordable housing for each resident, who may stay for a maximum of up to two years.
No Spring nor Summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one Autumnal face." —John Donne
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Its anticipated arrival in Orange County is about as welcome as a visit from an IRS auditor. But the approach of the West Nile Virus has provided a unique opportunity for the Health Care Agency to work with other local agencies to prepare for the discovery of the first signs of this recently identified illness.
West Nile Virus (WNV) wasn't even found in the United States until 1999, but it has already been detected in California. And while WNV poses very little risk to most people, it has drawn a great deal of media interest as it hops from state-to-state across the continent.
In Orange County, HCA staff from Public Health Epidemiology and Animal Care Services have been working closely with representatives of the Orange County Vector Control District to share information about WNV. Vector Control has been conducting surveillance to detect the virus in birds, often an indicator of its presence, while also working to control the local mosquito population. Epidemiology staff are preparing information for the public and health care providers about the virus and how it may affect people, while Animal Care Services (ACS) has reached out to local horse owners to educate them about the impact on the equine community. ACS is also working with Vector Control to facilitate the testing of birds in their disease surveillance program.
People can contract WNV from the bite of an infected mosquito, but most people who develop WNV infection don't have any noticeable symptoms. A small number will develop a mild illness with flu-like symptoms and less than one percent of those infected will develop the severe form of the illness, West Nile Encephalitis.
By controlling mosquitoes, you can limit the risk of crossing paths with West Nile Virus, so empty out any containers or areas around your home that collect standing water, no matter how small. Don't forget to use insect repellant containing DEET (follow label directions!), make sure the screens on your doors and windows are "bug-tight," and wear long sleeved shirts and long pants when you spend time outdoors in areas where mosquitoes may be present.
In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, held August 1-7, the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program took part in a series of activities to help promote the benefits of breastfeeding.
In 2000, Orange County ranked 51 out of 58 counties in California for the rate that mothers initiated exclusive breastfeeding of their infants. To increase the rate this year, WIC staff reached out to more than 60 libraries and bookstores throughout the County by sending packets of information and copies of the books "Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and "Pure and Simple."
Additional activities included visits by Public Health Nutritionists to local clinics, an event for 3rd trimester WIC participants, distribution of informational breastfeeding paycheck stuffers to HCA employees and a public breastfeeding activity that was held at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa for moms interested in breaking the world record.
For more information on breastfeeding, contact Laurence Obaid at (714) 834-7986 or by e-mail at lobaid@ochca.com.
October CAST fundraiser
The Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) will host "A Stroll Through History" fundraiser in Old Towne Orange on Saturday, October 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come join in the many historical festivities including, food tasting, vintage exhibits, fireside chats and history lectures as CAST raises funds to help Orange County children who have been the victims of physical and sexual abuse.
For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, call Joan Kilgore at (714) 940-4751 or via e-mail at jmingcast@earthlink.net.
Ricardo hits the airwaves
Hats off to Ricardo Bermudez, a research analyst in the Office of Quality Management, who is helping to improve the health of California's children through his musical talents. Ricardo wrote the words and music for a Spanish-language jingle that is part of the California Department of Health Services' statewide immunization campaign. The song reminds mothers to have their babies vaccinated against childhood illnesses and it is heard on Spanish language radio stations across California. Ricardo even recorded the song in his own studio and serves as an announcer on the commercial!
Click to hear song. (MP3 file)
Congratulations to Kathleen Parris on her promotion to HCA Program Manager II and on her new role as the Family Health Division's Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health (MCAH) Clinic Services Manager. Along with her long tenure with the County of Orange, Kathleen brings an extensive wealth of public health knowledge, collaborative team building expertise and a focus on community partners and staff development to her new role. Kathleen begins her new position this month managing a staff of 133 members serving areas in child health, adolescent health, immunization and family planning.
Happy retirement wishes to Carol Orth, R.N, who is bidding farewell to the HIV Clinic after 20 years with the Health Care Agency. Carol started her work in the clinic at a time when few medical professionals could image how important an issue HIV/AIDS infection would become. Her co-workers say Carol's unwavering concern for the comfort and wellbeing of clients will be greatly missed.
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, 4th Floor
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
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