issue 05-09
issue 05-09
September, 2005
Inside this issue...
Welcome to new Safety Manager - (page 1)
Celebrate National 5 A Day Month with fun activities! - (page 2)
Westminster WIC clinic reopens - (page 3)
October Health Observances - (page 3)
Touch a Life, Touch a Spirit …The United Way!- (page 4)
Tips for using VTI Passwords - (page 4)
HCA bids farewell to Pat Markley - (page 5)
HCA supports Independence from Hunger Food Drive - (page 5)
Poll workers needed - (page 6)
This summer was a busy time for HCA's Bioterrorism Preparedness Program as they planned and organized several trainings during August to prepare HCA staff for effective disaster response.
Some of the trainings and exercises that took place included assisting Epidemiology and Assessment with a surge capacity functional exercise, conducting a mock foodborne outbreak tabletop exercise with Environmental Health, and organizing a 2-day tabletop exercise of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Plan with HCA staff and other countywide participants.
The two-day SNS tabletop exercises, on August 17th and 18th at HCA's Health Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and another county facility, featured a scenario involving an explosion between two Anaheim area hotels and an aerial anthrax release at the Orange County Fairgrounds.
Participants at the Health EOC were divided into two teams who discussed the scenario via a series of questions to engage participants in planning an effective response to the two events. The exercise emphasized critical decisions related to Health EOC activation, assessing local resources, communication with community partners and the public, integrating regional, state and federal assets and sustaining a mass prophylaxis operation.
Day Two exercised HCA's Receipt, Store and Stage (RSS) Warehouse and involved HCA staff as well as other countywide participants (e.g. Public Administrator/Public Guardian, Sheriff, Social Services Agency, Probation, Resources and Development Management and the Santa Ana Police Department). Divided into two teams, participants focused on discussing the SNS response and how stockpile assets would be moved. The training exercised various functions of the RSS Warehouse operation and how participants would respond during a simulated disaster scenario.
HCA welcomes Elsa Davis as the Agency's new Safety Manager. Elsa will be overseeing HCA's Safety Program, the business office at the 17th Street Clinic and cell phone coordination.
Elsa comes to the Central Operations Division after 10 years in Environmental Health where she supervised a unit of professionals in the Food Protection and Bioterrorism Programs. Prior to Environmental Health, Elsa spent 12 years in private practice as a chiropractic physician.
The unrelenting consequences of Hurricane Katrina have left many in the Gulf States homeless and without food or water. Thousands have lost their residences, places of business and grieved for the loss of loved ones.
Any County employee with relatives or friends in the disaster area who receive a request for help should relay the information immediately to the US Coast Guard's Rescue Line at 1-800-323-7233.
The magnitude of this disaster is bringing together the experience, expertise and resources of many organizations and agencies to meet the unprecedented humanitarian needs of the hurricane survivors. To learn more about the coordination of efforts and additional resources, visit www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
To join in the relief efforts, please direct your donations directly to the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
How to donate
The American Red Cross does not accept donations of clothing or goods. Monetary donations can be made online by visiting www.oc-redcross.org or by phone at (714) 384-0754. Donations can also be made by mail. Please make checks payable to the American Red Cross and note "Hurricane Katrina" in the memo section. Mail checks to the American Red Cross of Orange County, P.O. Box 894324, Los Angeles, CA 90189.
Volunteering
Anyone interested in volunteering for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, please call the Orange County Red Cross at (714) 384-0754. Please note there are eligibility requirements in order to become a volunteer.
Donating blood
Millions of generous Americans are helping in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One good way to help is by donating blood. Appointments are being taken online at www.Givelife.org or by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.
The Humane Society of the United States is also accepting donations to provide assistance to the animals and pets that have been displaced during the hurricane. Make checks payable to "HSUS Disaster Relief Fund" and mail to HSUS Dept. DRFHBM, 2100 L St. N.W., Washington, DC 20037. For more information, visit https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_2005.
Join HCA's Nutrition Services Program in celebrating National 5 A Day Month as they work toward ending the continuing epidemic of overweight and obesity among Orange County's children and adults.
This year's theme, "Energize and Mobilize—Eat Fruits, Vegetables and Be Active," empowers the community to celebrate good health by eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and enjoying physical activity every day.
According to the California Nutrition Network, more than half of California adults are overweight or obese and one-third of California kids, age 9 to 11 years, are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
Improving the health of the community through good nutrition and physical activity may help reduce the health risks associated with overweight and obesity. It also may decrease the risk of various life threatening diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and type II diabetes.
You can take steps to energize yourself and your family to eat more fruits and vegetables and be more active. The California Nutrition Network offers the following helpful tips:
· Keep ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables available in a bowl on the kitchen counter and at eye level in the refrigerator. Apples, pears, grapes, carrots and celery sticks are just a few examples of some quick and easy snacks. You can also pre-cut larger fruits and vegetables and store them in plastic sandwich bags to grab on-the-go.
· Make a healthy request when eating out. Look for items that are broiled or roasted instead of fried. Ask for extra tomatoes, peppers or other veggies in sandwiches, pizzas or baked potato toppings.
· Try something new! Ever tried a tangerine, kiwifruit or baby bok choy? Bring home a new fruit or vegetable. Add something new to a green salad, such as mandarin orange slices or dried cranberries. Add cucumber and tomato slices on your sandwich, and add peppers or carrots to a healthy side dish.
· To satisfy your sweet tooth and boost your energy level, enjoy on-the-go-snacks like grapes, raisins, dried apricots and sliced apples.
· Take a trip to the local farmers' market or take a closer look at the produce section of your supermarket for fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables. Select fruits and vegetables from different color groups such as red, yellow/orange, blue/purple, white and green for the most health benefits.
· Encourage kids to enjoy outdoor games, sports, dance and other activities to get them moving. Children should get at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day, and to prevent weight gain, they may need about 60 minutes a day.
· Be active together! Physical activity can be fun. Make it enjoyable for the whole family by riding bikes, walking, taking a hike, dancing to the latest music or kicking a soccer ball around a local park.
While September is National 5 A Day Month, anytime can be the right time to start.
Celebrate good health by eating the recommended amount of fruits and
vegetables and enjoying physical activity every day. To learn more, visit the 5 A Day website
at www.5aday.org.
HCA continues to audit and review internal policies and procedures to be certain we are complying with the Privacy and the Security Rules. We are still working out Transaction and Code Set compliance with the State and with our trading partners. And, in May 2007, we must comply with the newest HIPAA regulation, the National Provider Identifier Rule (NPI).
What is the NPI and who does it affect?
The NPI is a unique health identifier assigned to individual providers, such as physicians, clinicians, nurses and provider entities, such as hospitals and medical clinics. The NPI will replace current identifiers such as PPINs and UPINs, required by payors in billing transactions. According to the NPI, the current identifiers must not be used after May 23, 2007.
The NPI will be issued by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and maintained in a national database. An NPI belongs to the person to which it is assigned and does not expire. A person's NPI number can be used in all work settings, and would not change over time. The provider is responsible for updating changes in data such as address, with CMS within 30 days of those changes.
What does the NPI look like?
The NPI is a numeric 10-digit identifier, consisting of 9 numbers plus a check-digit in the 10th position. The first number will identify the NPI belongs to an individual provider or a provider entity. Otherwise, the NPI contains no embedded information about the health care provider. At the current rate of growth, CMS anticipates that the NPI system can continue to assign numbers for 200 years.
I'm a healthcare provider, what do I need to do?
In December 2004, HCA initiated an internal NPI Workgroup which is actively engaged in information gathering. The Workgroup members are participating in Statewide Workgroups and attending federally sponsored seminars. Federal, State and private payors are evaluating their internal processes to determine how they will continue to gather the data they need once the NPI is implemented.
The NPI Rule requires all covered entities to apply for and use the NPI by May 2007. The HCA NPI Workgroup is working to determine if HCA workforce members who are defined by HIPAA as "health care providers" will individually need to apply for an NPI. Until we receive more information from the CMS and the State programs, HCA advises that staff delay applying for their NPI. As information is received and determination is made, additional communication will be sent out to the workforce.
In the meantime, the HCA NPI Workgroup is in the process of developing a project plan for implementing the NPI Rule. This plan includes ongoing communication with HCA staff as information becomes available, development of a database or databases to capture and track NPIs for use in claims processing, and training and assistance in the NPI application process. If you have further questions about the NPI, please feel free to contact Jody Barrera, HCA HIPAA Coordinator via e-mail at jbarrera@ochca.com or at (714) 834-4082.
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
HCA's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Clinic located at 7200 Plaza Street at Sigler Park in Westminster is now open and back in operation after its temporary closure in February 2005 due to renovations.
WIC clients who find the Sigler Park location convenient and closer to their homes receive services at the newly refurbished site, which reopened on Aug. 2.
During the closure and to ensure uninterrupted WIC services, clients were relocated to other HCA WIC sites in Fountain Valley and Westminster. With the Sigler Park reopening, WIC can now serve both the English and Spanish speaking residents of the Westminster community.
The WIC program serves pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, as well as infants and young children up to five years of age who meet nutritional need and income criteria. For more information about WIC or office hours for the Sigler Park Clinic, call (714) 834-8333.
Children's Health Month
Healthy Lung Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Physical Therapy Month
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month
"Talk About Prescriptions" Month
National Depression Screening Day 6
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 15
National Mammography Day 21
Respiratory Care Week 23-29
The County's annual charitable endeavor is a wonderful opportunity to help provide solutions for the most critical human care service needs in the community.
As a year-round campaign the majority of fundraising activities take place during the months of September and October. HCA is already well underway with various events that have already taken place which included bake sales, a Harvest and Fashion Fair, egg roll sales, a hot dog lunch and an ice cream sundae sale, to name a few.
Remember to also mark your calendars to attend the upcoming annual United Way Kick-Off Ceremony at the County Hall of Administration courtyard on Thursday, Oct. 6 beginning at 11:30 a.m.
County agency sponsored booths will offer a variety of fresh food items, candy treats, arts and crafts, tickets for opportunity drawings and silent auctions. Bring your appetites and spending money to help raise funds for United Way during this well-attended event.
For more information on additional countywide United Way fundraising activities and events, visit http://ocintranet.ocgov.com/unitedway. The following is a listing of planned HCA events and activities:
Entertainment Books
The 2006 Orange County Entertainments Books are here! Pick up a copy for only $35. The book pays for itself with more than a thousand dollars in savings and discounts including up to 50% off eating out and 70% off travel. Books can be purchased at 405 W. 5th St., Ste. 357 in Santa Ana or during the HOA Kick-Off event on Oct. 6 at HCA's booth. Purchases are on a cash only basis.
Jeopardy Challenge
Start gathering a group from your program to take part in HCA's annual Jeopardy tryouts coming up next month. HCA teams will compete with each other to determine a winner and runner-up to represent the Agency at the Countywide Jeopardy Challenge held at the Hall of Administration in October. Environmental Health's Jim Miller will once again play host and lead the tournament with his clever and thought provoking questions.
HCA Executive Team Luncheon
Join HCA's Executive Team as they serve you up a BBQ Chuck Wagon themed lunch during this October event. Enjoy a variety of ranch style vittles served by HCA's own Executive Team members.
HCA Executive Team Basket Fundraiser
Unique and artistically themed baskets created by HCA's own Executive Team members will be available for viewing and bidding on during a silent auction to be held in October. Don't miss your chance to own a one-of-a kind filled basket.
Holiday Harvest Fair
Are you ready for the holidays? Upcoming Harvest Fairs will feature Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts which make great gifts and decorative accents for your home or office. Various vendors will also be on hand to sell an assortment of products.
Flamingo Fundraiser
Have you seen the pink flamingos floating around your office? Keep an eye out for these long-legged pink critters that may be making rounds in your office to help raise money for United Way 2005.
Stay tuned for more upcoming activities and events!
HCA's Virtual Timecard Interface (VTI), the new automated program for submitting time cards, has a new special feature to assist employees when they have forgotten their passwords or enter incorrect passwords. That feature is the Remind Me! box on the Log-in screen. Checking the box will signal the VTI program to send you an e-mail reminder of your password.
The trick to this is that your e-mail address in VTI must be identical to your e-mail address in Outlook. Next time you log into VTI, click on the Admin tab and select My User Profile. On this screen you can update your Supervisor, change your Password and update your phone number and e-mail address.
To verify your e-mail address in Outlook, select New, Send and select your name from the Global Mailing List. Click on Properties and select the E-Mail Addresses tab and you'll find your e-mail address next to the letters SMTP. This address must match your address in VTI; otherwise, the program will not be able to deliver a reminder message.
If you check the box and do not receive an e-mail and can not remember your VTI password to log in, then you will still have to contact HCA Payroll. Send an e-mail to HCA's dedicated e-mail address at HCAPayroll@ochca.com and you will receive a response within 24 hours.
If this information is useful for you and you would like to see more VTI
Tips in future issues of HCA's What's Up newsletter, please send an e-mail
with your comments to
HCA Payroll@ochca.com.
HCA wishes Pat Markley from HCA Public Information and Communications, best wishes as she embarks on a new career with CEO Media Relations effective September 12, 2005.
As the Agency's voice or spokesperson, Pat has been with the Health Care Agency since October 1999 and has been a major part of the Quality Management/Public Information & Communications team.
In her role at HCA, Pat was required to be on-call 24/7 every other week to respond to media inquiries, and switches off with Howard Sutter in Public Information & Communications. She was also responsible for media training, Agency communications such as brochures, newsletters and reports, translation of printed materials, implementing special events and management of HCA's Desktop Publishing Unit.
"Pat's contribution to the Agency is immeasurable. She has steered many HCA managers through high profile events, intense media scrutiny, important speeches, on-camera interviews, and other tough situations," said Agency Director Julie Poulson. "She makes sure that complex issues or facts are clearly and accurately presented."
Pat has been with the County since 1985 first starting her career as an extra help employee working to help establish the Office of Protocol. At this unique County office primarily funded as a public/private partnership, Pat was responsible for fundraising through memberships in the non-profit foundation and through special events.
Pat also holds experience and familiarity in her new role at CEO Media Relations. Prior to joining HCA, she accepted a temporary assignment to serve as County PIO in the CEO's office for six months during the County bankruptcy, which was a difficult time for all County employees with a lot of negative focus by the media.
Pat's expertise in the field of Public Relations has positively contributed to the Agency's position, perception and status in the community.
While the public quickly forgets news stories, HCA remembers Pat's incredible effort involved in responding to Huntington Beach Closures, Critical Grand Jury Reports, Mad Cow Disease, West Nile Virus and other news stories about HCA.
For future media and communication issues you may contact either Howard Sutter at (714) 834-5109 or Tricia Landquist Landquist at (714) 834-6644.
HCA employees stepped up and donated a variety of non-perishable food items and goods to the annual County of Orange Employee Independence from Hunger Food Drive that took place during the months of July and August.
Several collection barrels were stationed at various HCA buildings, which made donating easy. HCA collected loads of non-perishable food items and various hygiene products to donate to the cause.
In collaboration with Community Action Partnership of Orange County and the Second Harvest Food Bank, the annual event is held to collect thousands of pounds of food to feed the poor and destitute throughout the County.
If you want to help the homeless or know of someone who needs help, please contact:
· Info Link Orange County
(800) 600-4357
· Housing and Community Services Dept.
(714) 567-5162
· OC Partnership
(714) 288-4007
HCA employees donated a variety of non-perishable and hygiene items to the County's annual Independence from Hunger Food Drive that took place during the months of July and August.
—Aeschylus
HCA's Bioterrorism Preparedness Program has been working hard to ensure that Agency and County staff are prepared to respond in the event of a disaster, whether naturally occurring or man-made. The Bioterrorism Preparedness Program expects to soon launch HCA's annual updated Disaster Service Worker (DSW) training. This year's campaign will include a module on the National Incident Management System (NIMS), a recently developed national response system based largely on the Standardized Emergency Management System or SEMS (the focus of last year's DSW training). For more information about Bioterrorism Preparedness Training, please visit www.ocready.com or send an e-mail to BPTU@ochca.com.
Members from HCA's Bioterrorism Preparedness Program facilitated day two of the tabletop training which involved HCA staff as well as other countywide participants including PAPG, Sheriff, SSA, Probation, RDMD and Santa Ana PD. Pictured left to right are Nick Vainas, John Van Sky, Barry Havlik and Mark Chew.
With election season just around the corner, the Registrar of Voters (ROV) is looking for County employees to volunteer and become poll workers for the upcoming elections scheduled for October 4, November 8 and December 6.
A small stipend in addition to a normal day's pay will be provided to those who volunteer. Poll workers must be registered to vote in California, be able to read and speak English, work from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (split shifts may be available), and attend one mandatory training class.
For more information about poll worker responsibilities or to register to volunteer, visit
https://voters.ocgov.com/volunteer/volunteer.html
or call Registrar of Voter staff at (714) 567-5106. Prior
to registering, your supervisor's approval is required.
Editors Tricia Landquist Landquist
Howard Sutter
Anne Fialcowitz
Your Input
Phone (714) 834-6644
E-mail TLandquist@ochca.com
FAX (714) 834-7644
Pony Bldg. 38-S, 4th Floor
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