issue 03-06
issue 03-06
June, 2003
With her personal vision,"an educated community is a healthy community," Jocelyn Argame-Zoval, RN, PHN for the Senior Health Outreach & Prevention Program (SHOPP), clearly enjoys educating the people and children of Orange County on various health related topics.
Prior to joining SHOPP, Jocelyn worked with the Community Revitalization Program for unincorporated County "island" neighborhoods where she performed a multitude of varied services at four different Family Resource Centers. From providing blood pressure checks and blood sugar screenings to seniors or educating children on "Stranger Dangers," Jocelyn works to promote healthy lifestyles with the clients she serves.
"Educating others on health topics has provided me with an opportunity to help make a difference in people's lives," said Jocelyn. "Seeing my clients apply what they have learned is rewarding in itself to know that they are taking the initiative to lead healthy and safe lifestyles."
Jocelyn has worked to tailor low stress exercise programs for stay at home moms, taught children how to properly brush their teeth, helped homeless families find shelter and food and has counseled sexually active and/or drug involved teens. Utilizing her multilingual skills, she also provides proper dental hygiene education to underserved individuals and mixes PowerPoint presentations with one-on-one patient education to improve the health of her clients. "Every interaction I have with a client and/or the community is an opportunity to educate," added Jocelyn.
Most recently, Jocelyn was acknowledged as the recipient of the 2003 Gerald A. Wagner Health Education Award. The award recognized Jocelyn for her exceptional skills in providing health education to help the community lead healthy and safe lifestyles.
According to her colleagues, Jocelyn's enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle is contagious—she inspires others through her actions and is highly admired. Jocelyn also strives to keep up to date with the latest health concerns and enjoys learning about them to provide new educational information to her clients.
Today's schools are filled with more obese and overweight children than ever, some at risk for—if not already suffering from—high cholesterol, Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and early cardiovascular disease. In the 69th Assembly District, which includes Santa Ana, 36% of children are overweight.
Because most obese kids become obese adults, experts have recognized that stopping the problem early represents the best hope for success in saving both lives and health-care dollars. As a result, kids have been targeted by both government and nonprofit groups as the front line in the national fight against fat. And schools—which control kids' daily environments—have become the primary battleground.
Here in Orange County, HCA Nutrition Services has funded many programs to tackle the problem of obesity, and solutions are emerging. Lacking a magic bullet, schools, health experts and communities have begun to create a wide range of innovative, grass-roots programs across Orange County that are teaching kids how to eat and stay healthy.
The Santa Ana and Anaheim School Districts have been awarded Nutrition Network funds from Nutrition Services to conduct on-site taste tests, organize physical activity games, and conduct cooking classes. Several Boys and Girls Clubs in Orange County have also been awarded funds to create healthy cooking classes for children and their parents and add nutrition education to their fitness programs. Classes will be held at three different sites and will serve over 500 families through funds provided by Nutrition Services. Further, kindergarteners will be taught the connection between exercise and a healthy eating through a 4-week program implemented by Disney Goals. These are just a few examples of how HCA Nutrition Services is assisting schools and non-profit organizations, and contributing to a healthier tomorrow!
In past articles, we've reviewed the process used to receive and investigate issues reported to the Health Care Agency's Compliance Program. Now, it's time for a look at how well we have done in implementing corrective action as a result of investigations where the reports were substantiated.
During calendar year 2002, there were a total of 74 potential compliance issues reported to, investigated and closed by the Office of Compliance. Eleven issues, or about 15% of received reports, resulted in the need for some corrective action. A breakdown of the eleven issues shows that an equal number (4 each) were received through the Compliance hotline (866-260-5636) and through reports from HCA management and three were reported by an independent consultant assisting with HIPAA implementation. The issues requiring corrective action included records security issues identified by the HIPAA consultant and issues related to timekeeping policies, procedural compliance, facility safety, license expiration and human resources issues.
A review of substantiated issues performed by the Office of Compliance in April 2003 showed that corrective action was completed promptly on nine of the eleven issues, and resolution of two issues was underway with completion anticipated in May. While a review of substantiated reports for corrective action will be performed annually, this review demonstrated that corrective action is being taken as quickly as possible when issues reported to the HCA Compliance program are substantiated.
As the Compliance Program matures, the Office of Compliance will continue to assess the program's effectiveness. However, the Compliance Program can succeed only with the continued assistance of every employee in identifying and correcting potential issues. Individually, each of us contributes to the overall effectiveness of the Agency as we strive to protect and promote health.
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
"Zest is the secret of all beauty." —Christian Dior
What's UP is a newsletter for employees of the County of Orange, CA, Health Care Agency.
Editors
Tricia Landquist
Howard Sutter
Anne Fialcowitz
Your Input
Phone (714) 834-6644
E-mail TLandquist@ochca.com
FAX (714) 834-7644
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Congratulations to Dr. Phyllis Crane of the West Region Children and Youth Services (CYS) outpatient clinic for receiving a Community Service Award from the Huntington Beach Administrators Association. Phyllis was recognized for her outstanding educational contributions to the Huntington Beach Union High School District.
Phyllis began her career with HCA in 1988 and has dedicated her time and efforts into helping children and families achieve their goals related to education, community and family functioning. Her goal is to continue establishing partnerships with school districts and to assist in providing services for children whose emotional needs are interfering with their education and development.
Congratulations to Raul Sobero, Orange County's Cancer Detection Coordinator, on having an article published in the California Journal of Health Promotion. Raul collaborated closely with the State Department of Health Services in drafting the article entitled: Using a Culturally Competent Framework to Increase Annual Breast Cancer Screening Rates Among Low-Income Latinas: A Case Study of the Orange County Detection Partnership. The entire report can be found online by visiting www.csuchico.edu/cjhp/1/2/index.htm.
Sally Wurth, Program Manager for Specialized Public Health Nursing received a special award for her hard work and dedication to Public Health on May 28th. Sally's staff hosted a celebratory luncheon at the 17th Street Clinic where they were joined by Julie Poulson, Dr. Horton, Dr. Beed and Steve Thronson. Congratulations Sally for your dedication and contributions to the field of public health nursing!
Emergency healthcare professionals gathered on Thursday, May 22nd to participate in "Emergency Care: No Fear!"—a half-day conference held at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Attendees learned first-hand about comprehensive care of critically ill patients from initial stabilization to rehabilitation and prevention.
This year's conference included informative sessions on Crash Site Investigations and Paramedic Injury Prediction; Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment: What's New?; The Agony and the Ecstasy—Designer Drug Use; and Ouch! Pediatric Skating and Scooter Injuries.
Sponsored by the Orange County Pre-hospital Care Coordinators and the Orange Coast Emergency Nurses Association, the annual conference attracts a large attendance each year and features an array of exhibit tables showcasing equipment, supplies and services from various emergency medical care companies.
Upon the conclusion of the conference, HCA's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program honored outstanding emergency healthcare professionals at an awards ceremony and presented the honorees with awards and plaques of recognition. Award categories featured Excellence in Job Performance, Advocacy and Vision and presentation of the Richard L. Hoech Award.
Assemblyman Ken Maddox and Supervisor Jim Silva dedicated a Wall of Honor at the County's Hall of Administration on Friday, May 16th and thanked all of Orange County's military men and women who are serving their country around the world.
Two HCA employees featured on the Wall include Navy reservist Manny Hernandez, 17th Street Clinic Building Manager and Major Carla Marcinek, Supervising Public Health Nurse for the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) program.
Manny is an aviation mechanic with the Helicopter Combat Support Squadron, currently awaiting deployment from North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, CA.
Carla is a reservist who is currently serving with the Aero Medical Evacuation Unit. Her unit was responsible for the care of troops being flown from Iraq to hospitals in Germany and other regions. Carla was one of the nurses who accompanied the seven freed American POWs on their flight out of Iraq
Orange County Animal Care Services (ACS) hosted its 15th Annual Pet Fair on Saturday, June 7th at the Animal Care Center in Orange. The event showcased hundreds of animals available for adoption as well as a variety of wildlife, exotic exhibits and pet product vendors.
Animal enthusiasts attended the popular event and obtained information on animal emergency first aid and had the opportunity to view working dog demonstrations and participate in an opportunity drawing provided by the Animal Assistance League.
Don't worry if you missed out on this year's adoption event—you can also visit www.ocpetinfo.com to view photos of animals still available for adoption and learn more about the ACS program.
—William Cowper
July Health Observances
Eye Injury Prevention Month
Hemochromatosis Screening Awareness Month
International Group B Strep Awareness Month
Light the Night for Sight
National Therapeutic Recreation Week 14-18
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