issue 06-06
June, 2006
Inside this issue...
Larios recognized for dedication to customer service
- Page 1
A life of public service & community
involvement was one to celebrate
- Page 1
Meeting of the Minds draws crowd in Anaheim - Page 2
OC Safe from the Start launches - Page 2
Exercise tests tsunami response
- Page 3
HCA hosts UW Fashion Show - Page 3
Your representation unit is key for mileage claims
- Page 3
Karen Munoz receives recognition
- Page 4
OCAPICA honors Amy Dale - Page 4
Ralls named Specialist of the Year - Page 4
Local students' work recognized - Page 4
EH receives 2005 CSAC Merit Award for Clean and Green Campaign - Page 5
NIMS IS-100 training deadline draws near - Page 5
Sanction Screening - Page 6
Enhanced Purchasing website debuts - Page 6
EMS hosts Annual EMS Awards
- Page 7
Town Hall Meetings deal with underage drinking
- Page 8
HCA to host booth at OC Fair 2006 - Page 8
Animal Care Services spotlighted at BOS meeting
- Page 8
July Health
Observances - Page 8
As an Information Systems Technician with HCA's Information Technology (IT) Department, Rene Larios currently works at the Help Desk and is responsible for assisting employees and contractors with computer related issues and providing after hour support to 24-hour facilities in the Agency.
Rene began his career with HCA three years ago and previously worked in the Information Systems field installing software at the Disneyland Resort. He was then later offered a position within Disneyland's IT Help Desk Department where he assisted employees with computer related issues.
"Rene is a great asset to the IT Department and his customer service skills that he brings to his position are invaluable," said Mike Franco. "He's always willing to take on new challenges and serves as a resource to those within IT, as well as staff who look to him for answers to their computer related questions."
Rene enjoys the gratification of being able to assist employees with their computer problems, and knowing that by the end of the phone call he was able to work with them to solve their computer related issues.
Rene attended Santa Ana College and the United
Education Institute (UEI) where he received his Networking
Technology Certificate. In the future, Rene hopes to continue
his career in the Information Technology field.
Photo of Steve courtesy of the City of Orange.
Dedicated, giving, enthusiastic and charismatic are just a few of the many ways to describe Steve Ambriz, Manager of the Planning Unit in HCA's Office of Quality Management, who died on May 25, 2006 of injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident in the Orange Park Acres area of East Orange.
Steve truly lived the life of a public servant. A native of Orange County, Steve graduated from Orange High School and Cal State Fullerton. He worked for the City of Orange before joining the County of Orange, and served as both an Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff for former County Supervisor Todd Spitzer.
HCA was fortunate to have Steve join the organization in 2003 and he brought to his work at HCA the same love of life, energetic spirit and dedication to helping others that characterized his other professional endeavors. Since 2002, Steve had served as a member of the Orange City Council, giving back to the community in which he was raised.
Those in HCA who knew Steve best will remember him for his love of sports, including professional wrestling and the Rams, his contributions to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week, and the many ways he helped others. It was not possible to work with Steve without being touched by him.
Through his many years of public service, Steve's contributions to the health and welfare of Orange County residents will serve as a lasting legacy that we will all remember.
The annual Meeting of the Minds Conference held this year at the Disneyland Hotel on Tuesday, May 16 attracted a large attendance including mental health professionals, community agency staff, consumers and family members and local law enforcement, to name a few.
Participating again this year, the Orange County Stigma Elimination Task Force hosted a booth at the event and distributed information about the group's endeavors. The Task Force also held a morning workshop "Finding the Right Words: Stigma Stories and Solutions," where members of the group shared their experiences with stigma through a series of personnel vignettes and invited reactions from attendees.
The conference showcase of community resources also featured booths from HCA programs including the Mental Health Services Act and the Office of Patients' Rights. Several staff members from HCA also served as presenters during several workshops held throughout the day.
After a lunch time keynote presentation from Joel Fay, PsyD, on "The Psychological Aftermath of Critical Incidents," Tammy Tran from Supervisor Correa's office presented Mark Refowitz, HCA Behavioral Health Services Deputy Agency Director and Orange County Mental Health Board Chair Rachel Pedraza with a resolution declaring the month of May as Mental Health Month in Orange County.
Each year the conference hosted by the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Orange County aims to bring together the full spectrum of the "mental health community" of Orange County to raise awareness, learn skills, reduce stigma, share information and resources, strengthen existing relationships and to develop new alliances.
For more information about Meeting of the Minds, contact MHA at (714) 547-7559 or visit www.mhaoc.org .
Mari Hill from the Office of Patients' Rights and Frank Hernandez from Health
Promotion posed for a quick photo while staffing booths during the Meeting of
the Minds conference held at the Disneyland Hotel on May 16.
Tammy Tran from Supervisor Correa's office presented Behavioral Health Services
Deputy Agency Director Mark Refowtiz and OC Mental Health Board Chair Rachel
Pedraza with a resolution declaring the month of May as Mental Health Month in
the County.
Conference attendees visited the showcase of community resources which included booths hosted by the Mental Health Services Act program, OC Multi-Ethnic Task Force and NAMI Orange County, to name a few.
OC Safe from the Start launches
OC Safe from the Start, a new community collaborative aimed to increase the public's awareness and knowledge of the long-term effects of exposure to violence on children's development, celebrated the launch of its new educational tool kit during an event held on May 11 at the Irvine Hyatt.
Studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence and maltreatment suffer increased depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, anger, alcohol and drug abuse and lower academic achievement. Also, children exposed to violence, either as victims or witnesses, are more likely to become juvenile and adult offenders.
To raise community awareness about these effects, the collaborative created a user friendly, yet scientifically credible tool kit—a comprehensive education curriculum designed to raise awareness and educate parents, caregivers, professionals and others in the community on the impact of exposure to and prevention of violence.
The collaborative has recently begun to train and make available volunteer facilitators who can assist in presenting the tool kit material to the community. The group will also be monitoring the activities of these trainers and others who use the tool kit so that they can measure the impact that the material has on those who experience it.
The initiative, based on the California Safe from the Start campaign
sponsored by the State Attorney General's Office, is a comprehensive strategy
to bring community leaders together to assure that children grow up in safe,
healthy environments. The project targets children ages 0 to
18 with an emphasis on children ages 0 to 5 who have
been exposed to family, school and/or community violence.
HCA has participated as a member of the OC Safe from the Start
collaborative for the past four years along with the Orange County Department
of Education that serves as the lead agency on the campaign.
Others who have also contributed to the collaborative include the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Orange County Social Services Agency, Orange County United Way, Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County and the Orange County Children and Families Commission, to name a few.
More information is available by visiting the California Attorney
General's Safe from the Start website at:
www.safefromthestart.org or by contacting
Alan Albright, Children & Youth Services Division Manager at:
Aalbright@ochca.com .
Exercise tests tsunami response
HCA's Emergency Medical Services Program and Bioterrorism Preparedness Training Unit held a functional exercise on May 4th at the Agency's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and warehouse facility to test and evaluate processes, plans and capabilities for a response to a tsunami or other natural disaster in the County.
The start of the exercise began at 8 a.m. through the notification of participants through the InLogic system. A scenario involving a Pacific tsunami warning that was issued for coastline areas from Ventura to Carlsbad was then provided to participants.
Exercise participants were asked to respond to the situation presented based on their expert knowledge of response procedures, current plans and procedures in place in their community or agency, and insights derived from experience and/or training.
The timely training proved beneficial in the light of both Hurricanes Rita and Katrina last year, as well as National Hurricane Preparedness Week from May 21-27, 2006.
For more information about the exercise or upcoming exercises, contact the
Bioterrorism Preparedness Training Unit at BPTU@ochca.com or visit
www.ocready.com .
Models from HCA and the CEO's office are set to walk the catwalk at a United Way Fashion Show hosted by HCA on June 29, 2006 from 12:10 - 1 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room at the Hall of Administration.
Regulatory Health Services Division Manager Mike Spurgeon will serve as emcee for the event as the models don clothing and accessories from Weekenders, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Mama's Got a Brand New Bag and Mary Kay Cosmetics.
The event is sure to be a crowd pleaser. The cost to attend is $5 per person with all proceeds benefiting Orange County United Way. For more information, contact Maggie Rawlins at (714) 834-2048 or by e-mail at Mrawlins@ochca.com.
Have you noticed that on the Mileage and Other Expense Claim form there is a space entitled "Representation Unit"? Do you know what your representation unit is? This is an important part of the claim process as your representation unit indicates how much and for what you are reimbursed.
The Mileage and Other Expense Claim form on the HCA Intranet contains a drop down listing of all the representation units. Once you download the form and save it to your computer you can open the file and select your correct representation unit. (Note that OCEA is not a representation unit, but has several representation units under it.)
During the review and audit of claims, the representation unit is verified by Payroll staff. Claims must be returned if the representation unit is not correct. Not sure what your representation unit is? Contact Human Resources to find out.
If this article has been useful to you or if you have suggestions for future subjects please let us know—send an email to HCAPAYROLL@ochca.com.
Hats off to Karen Munoz, MSN, BS, AA, Program Manager for HCA's Public Health Community Nursing program on receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from Cal State Long Beach's Department of Nursing for her contributions and support of the education programs at CSULB, as well as her dedication to the nursing students mentoring program.
During the month of April, Karen also received recognition by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Orange County InfoLink and Congress for her coordination and support of efforts with the Orange County Red Cross for providing much needed medical and outreach services to the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Karen has also recently attended and graduated from the National
Public Health Leadership Institute. The program is well recognized as a
rigorous leadership academy, which enhances leadership skills in the area of
public health. The Institute's mission is to strengthen the leadership
competencies of senior public health officials and
to build inter-organizational teams so that the status of community health improves.
She is now one in only 600 public health leaders to be part of this
prestigious group. During her training she developed a performance accountability
tool for HCA Public Health.
On May 25, the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) honored Amy Dale, retired Health Promotion Division Manager during an event held at the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center in Irvine for her positive contributions and impact in the health care field. Amy was recognized along with 12 other women who have made a difference and impact for the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the County.
Congratulations to John Ralls, The annual CEHA award is presented in recognition of significant contributions to the field of environmental health and John was acknowledged for developing the Fresh is Best public education campaign, designed to ensure that foods prepared and stored according to traditional methods are fresh and safe for consumption.
John coordinated the Traditional Foods Project to address public health concerns about safety of certain traditional foods prepared in Vietnamese restaurants; these foods are often stored at room temperature for extended periods of time.
John worked with civic leaders, health educators,
food industry representatives and state and local regulators
to review the issue and then developed procedures for
safe handling and storage of foods, initiated time stamp
labeling and implemented a public education campaign.
Local Orange County students were recognized for their winning artwork and creative writing during the annual Orange County Alcohol, Tobacco, Other Drug and Violence Prevention Poster & Creative Writing contest Awards ceremony held on April 27, 2006.
The awards ceremony honored students from all over the County who are striving to make a positive change in the community through their artwork and creative writing. The annual contest provides students with a way to express what it means to them to be free of alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence.
This year, there were 36 awards presented from a total of 570 entries. Poster categories included color with theme, alcohol counter ad, and tobacco counter ad; and writing categories poetry and expressive writing.
Each year the Orange County Department of Education holds the annual contest with funding provided by the HCA's Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Team (ADEPT) and the support of donations provided by many community organizations. For further viewing of this year's winners or for information on next year's contest, call the OC Department of Education at (714) 966-4467 or visit www.ocde.us/prevention.
Poster created by Kayleen Sewitsky, Twelfth Grade, "Alcohol Counter Ad" category winner.
Poster created by Nicole Arce, Third Grade, "Color with Theme" category winner.
Environmental Health's Dana Point Harbor Clean and Green Campaign received honors as a Merit Award recipient in the 2005 California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Challenge Award Competition. On May 17, staff who participated in the campaign were recognized by Supervisor Wilson and Agency Director Julie Poulson at an event held at Environmental Health headquarters.
Program Manager Denise Fennessy and Supervising Hazardous Waste Specialist Pearl Boelter provided information about the campaign and its emphasis on providing safe and clean recreational waters to beach goers and boaters, as well as protecting the coastline and marine environments.
Since 1995, Environmental Health has operated a State funded Used Oil Recycling Program to educate the community regarding the importance of recycling their used motor oil. Environmental Health also realized that waste oil discharges from boaters were contaminating ocean recreational waters and affecting the local marine environment.
Engine leaks and oil change spillages from boats cause oily water to accumulate in the bottom of a boat (the bilge). Unfortunately, in the course of boating activities many boaters will release the oily bilge water into the ocean. Boaters needed an effective way to dispose of the oil contamination found in the bilge.
In response, HCA began offering a free exchange program for bilge pads—large, absorbent pads boaters use to absorb leaking oil. Paid for through grants and partnerships, the pads were given away free to boaters at local boating events and at marinas, and new drop-off containers for used bilge pads were installed at the Dana Point Marina.
Once the exchange program was in place, an education and promotional campaign, "Got a Boat, Use a Pad," was launched to ensure that boaters took advantage of the program. The campaign was a tremendous success. In six months, nine drums of used pads were collected and disposed of, accounting for 1,800 soiled pads. In 2004, approximately 500 gallons of oily water was successfully diverted from ocean recreational waters. A duplicate campaign is now underway at Newport Beach Harbor.
During the 2005 Award competition, CSAC received 234 entries from 36 counties for the competition that is designed to celebrate and honor innovation—one of the most valuable resources in County government.
Pictured (left to right) are Supervising Hazardous Waste Specialist Pearl
Boelter, Supervisor Wilson and Program Manager Denise Fennessy
.
Pictured (left to right) are Regulatory Health Services Deputy Agency Director
Mike Spurgeon, Agency Director Julie Poulson, Supervisor Wilson, and Environmental
Health Director Steven Wong.
As a reminder, all HCA staff is required to complete the National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS-100 "Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS)" training by Friday, June 30. The online training is available at www.ocready.com/bptu/nims%2D100/.
Please be sure to follow all suggested steps, such as printing course materials prior to starting the training. An e-mail from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or a FEMA Certificate of completion of IS-100 will be accepted as proof of course completion.
Be sure to forward your proof of completion to BPTU-NIMS-100@ochca.com or fax to (714) 834-3125. Should you have any problems with the IS-100 online training, please contact the Bioterrorism Preparedness Program at (714) 834-6587.
What's UP is a newsletter for employees of the County of Orange, CA, Health Care Agency.
Editors
Tricia Landquist Landquist
Howard Sutter
Anne Fialcowitz
Phone (714) 834-6644
E-mail: TLandquist@ochca.com
FAX (714) 834-7644
Pony Bldg. 38-S, 4th Floor
Sanction Screening
By policy, the Health Care Agency does not hire, contract or use volunteers/interns currently under sanction or exclusion. In order to accomplish this, HCA screens all employees, volunteers, interns, contractors and vendors against Federal exclusion lists. Anyone on these lists would be an "ineligible person."
How do people get on these lists?
A number of different reasons may lead to exclusion. Some examples include license revocation or suspension, defaulting on student loans or convictions related to patient abuse, health care fraud or controlled substances.
When do these checks happen?
The sanction screening checks must be completed before:
· A job offer
· Signing any contract or agreement
· Ordering any goods or services
· A volunteer/intern/mentor starts working in your program
Who does the checking?
Sanction screening is completed by the following:
· Purchasing
· Contract Development and Management (CDM)
· Human Resources
· Volunteer Services
· Project Together
· Medical Services for Indigents
· Animal Care Services
· Bioterrorism Medical Reserve Corps
· HCA Accounting
What does this mean to my program?
Plan ahead when ordering goods or contracting for services to give Purchasing and CDM enough time to process your request and complete the sanction screening before goods or services are needed. Even if you have used this vendor in the past, Purchasing and CDM are required to re-screen before issuing a new contract or price agreement.
If you have volunteers or interns in your program, the supervisor or manager is responsible to ensure all necessary information is provided to the Volunteer Coordinator before the start date to complete the screening process before any work is initiated.
What does this mean to me?
As an individual, you will want to:
· Keep your professional license current
· Spell your legal name clearly and consistently on documents
· Pay your student loans
· Conform to the codes of ethics and standards of your profession and exercise sound judgment in the performance of your duties.
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Office of Compliance at (714) 834-3154.
During the month of May, HCA Purchasing announced new enhancements to its Intranet site at http://balsam/intranet/purchasing/. The website contains various forms required by Purchasing to process purchasing requests including Consultant Services Requests, Sole Source Justification, etc.; copies of Price Agreements utilized by the Agency; a Scope of Work guideline; HCA Purchasing assignments and links to other useful resources.
Purchasing will continually enhance and update the Intranet site as required to ensure that it continues to remain a resourceful tool for the Agency. For questions regarding the site or to offer suggestions on updates, contact Jerry Gee, Supervising Buyer, at (714) 834-3611 or via e-mail at Jgee@ochca.com.
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
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. "
—Thomas Paine
HCA's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program hosted its Annual EMS Awards on May 19 during the "No Fear!" conference held at Mission Hospital's new Conference Center in Mission Viejo. The event honors fire departments, law enforcement agencies, 911 dispatch centers, ambulance providers and hospitals who provide emergency services to residents and visitors of Orange County.
Highlights of this year's awards ceremony include presentation of the Leadership in EMS Award to members of Care Ambulance Services, Inc. for their contributions and assistance during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and presentation of the Great Saves Award to Grant Riley and Jericho Olmeda, also of Care Ambulance Services, Inc., for helping to save the life of a citizen in cardiac arrest.
The Awards ceremony and conference is held annually during EMS Week celebrated this year May 14-20, 2006.
For more information about EMS Week, visit
www.ochealthinfo.com/emsweek/.
As part of a national effort to increase the understanding of underage drinking and its consequences, and to encourage individuals, families and communities to address the problem, the federal government encouraged states and communities to host town hall meetings on the topic of underage drinking on, or as close as possible to, March 28, 2006.
To address this on-going problem in Orange County, where alcohol is the drug most frequently used by Orange County teenagers, HCA's Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Team (ADEPT) in collaboration with the Orange County Department of Education, California Highway Patrol, Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), and many other community agencies hosted town hall meetings throughout the county. A total of 11 town hall meetings were held in Orange County, with two of them in Spanish. The meetings were held during the months of March, April and May this year.
The theme of the town hall meetings, "Start Talking before They Start Drinking" provided an opportunity for communities to learn more about new research on the topic of underage drinking, and to discuss how their community can best prevent underage alcohol use.
ADEPT was involved in planning nine of the 11 town hall meetings and provided resources and information about underage drinking at these meetings. Also, Kathy Kendrick, Juan Montes and Stacey Zapanta from ADEPT facilitated and/or were part of panel of experts at 4 of these meetings, which involved representatives from the entire community including parents, youth, education, substance abuse prevention, other health entities, justice/law enforcement, highway safety, alcohol control, local government, and business. For more information about the town hall meetings, contact Golnaz Agahi from ADEPT at (714) 834-2094.
HCA to host booth at OC Fair 2006
Summer is in the air and the 114th annual Orange County Fair is set to roll into town once again. HCA's Health Promotion Program plans to host an educational and informational booth inside the Fair's Orange County building from July 7-13.
When visiting the fair, be sure to stop by HCA's booth along with other County agency booths to pick-up some informational items and material.
This year's fair, themed "Flower Power - Year of the Garden," will run from July 7-30 and is closed Mondays, July 10, 17 and 24. Twenty-one days of fair fun, the annual event will have an abundance of food, contests, exhibits, carnival rides and entertainment. Approximately 80 vendors will offer a variety of food choices from barbecued beef and turkey legs to deep fried Snickers and Twinkies.
Visit www.ocfair.com for more information about the fair's happenings
including a daily schedule of events, hours of operation, ticket pricing and
Pacific Amphitheatre summer concert series lineup.
Each month, the Board of Supervisors recognizes a program within County Agencies for their positive contributions to the community. During the month of May, ACS received the recognition and was given the opportunity to present information about their program and services during the May 23rd Board meeting. Several ACS staff also received recognition from Supervisor Campbell, Agency Director Julie Poulson, Regulatory Health Services Deputy Agency Director Mike Spurgeon and ACS Director Jennifer Phillips.
International Group B Strep Awareness Month
UV Safety Month
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