issue 08-01

January 2008

Inside this issue …

• HCA welcomes new Public Health additions

• Local counties convene to discuss October fires

• Epidemiology implements electronic disease reporting

• 2008 Annual Compliance Training reminders

• Health Promotion hosts educational class for Tongan women

• Get SMART in setting your 2008 goals for losing those extra pounds

• February Health Observances

• HCA hosts Welcome Reception for UCI Program Nursing Director Olshansky

• County food drive begins February 1st

• 2008 mileage reimbursement rates and codes

HCA welcomes new Public Health additions

HCA is pleased to welcome Dr. Kevin Reilly as the Division Manager for HCA Disease Control and Epidemiology. Dr. Reilly brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new position. Prior to joining the Agency, Dr. Reilly served as Deputy Director for the Center for Environmental Health for the California Department of Public Health. Before the State’s restructure of the Department of Health Services, he also served as Deputy Director for Prevention Services and oversaw a wide-range of service areas which (in part) included AIDS, Chronic Disease and Injury Control, Communicable Disease Control and Environmental and Occupational Disease Control. Dr. Reilly holds a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine/Preventive Medicine and begins his new position at the Agency on January 25. In his new role, Dr. Reilly will oversee the areas of Epidemiology and Assessment; Birth and Death Registration; HIV Planning and Coordination; Special Disease Clinics which includes STD and HIV screening and treatment; Pulmonary Disease Services which includes tuberculosis screening, treatment and contact investigations; Refugee Health Services and Employee Health Services.
In a newly created position within HCA, Infection Control Manager Idamae Rolle, RN, MPH is responsible for planning, developing and implementing educational programs for Public Health employees to increase their specialized knowledge and skills regarding current infection control standards. She additionally conducts on-site reviews of HCA Public Health programs to review adherence to infection control standards and serves as the designated liaison between Public Health and the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Prior to joining the Agency, Idamae served as Infection Control Manager for San Bernardino Community Hospital where she designed and implemented an infection prevention and control program. She received an MPH in Health Administration from Loma Linda University and a BS in Nursing from Southwestern Adventist University.
As the new Quality Improvement and Program Compliance Coordinator for Public Health, Lynn Fiorica, RN, MS is responsible for assisting Public Health Services with compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations and to promote quality of services and effective and efficient operation of services. She is additionally responsible for helping to support on-site audits of Public Health programs to identify areas of deficiency and risk and help develop strategies for correction, as well as providing technical assistance in monitoring patient records for compliance with standards of clinical care, professional practice standards and evaluation of patient outcomes. Lynn formerly served as Director of Performance Improvement, Accreditation & Risk Management for Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla prior to joining HCA. In her position at Scripps, she designed and managed the process for implementation of hospital and medical staff performance improvement programs, as well as oversaw multiple databases and the process for monitoring performance measures. She received an MS in Healthcare Management from Samuel Merritt College and a BS in Psychology from San Diego State University. Health Nursing.

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Local counties convene to discuss October fires

One of the largest regional after action group meetings, which included local Health Officers and Regional Disaster Medical/Health Specialists from several counties, was held on Dec. 19, 2007 in Riverside to review lessons learned and best practices regarding the recent October 2007 Southern California fire response.

The four-hour meeting hosted by Riverside County included representatives from the State and the following counties/cities: Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Pasadena, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Imperial and Mono. A total of 30 individuals were in attendance including Public Health Officer Dr. Eric Handler, Greg Boswell, Erik Lowman, Debbie Chitty and Richard Sanchez who represented HCA. The group represented 60% of California’s population.

During the meeting, each jurisdiction presented what they did well and what could have been better coordinated. Nine issues where identified and a designated lead and subcommittee were organized to work on developing action items to address these concerns. Some issues included a Region I and VI medical mutual aid agreement, real time communication between counties and shelter operations, to name a few. The group plans to reconvene again in June and have the subcommittees present their recommendations. In addition to the group discussions, members in attendance had the opportunity to recognize and give kudos to San Diego County for their outstanding contributions in the handling of the fire emergency in their county.

For more information regarding the regional meeting, contact Erik Lowman from HCA Health Disaster Management at elowman@ochca.com.

 

Public Health Officer Dr. Eric Handler is pictured alongside San Bernardino County Public Health Officer Dr. Margaret Beed during a meeting held on Dec. 19 to review lessons learned and best practices regarding the recent October 2007 fires.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Manager Greg Boswell (pictured far left) participated in a group discussion regarding what each jurisdiction did well and what could have been better coordinated during the Dec. 19 meeting held in Riverside.

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Epidemiology implements electronic disease reporting

HCA Public Health congratulates the Epidemiology & Assessment (E&A) team for successfully implementing electronic communicable disease reporting on December 31, 2007. By law, physicians, nurses, other health care providers and laboratories are required to report over 80 communicable diseases to the local Health Officer for the purpose of controlling their spread.  

The information is provided in confidential morbidity reports (CMR’s) which are currently filled out manually and faxed or mailed to E&A.  Following approval by the Board of Supervisors in June 2007, HCA began working to implement electronic communicable disease reporting (WebCMR) with the selected vendor, Atlas Development Corporation.  Atlas WebCMR was already in use in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Monterey Counties, representing 40% of the population of California.

Epidemiologists, administrative professionals, public health nurses, and physicians worked together to configure, test and validate the system in order to meet the goal of implementation by year end. E&A now has an integrated system to track and report communicable disease cases and outbreaks.  The Community Reporting module will be implemented in 2008 to allow providers to report using a web-based solution. 

Following this, the next step will be the implementation of the Laboratory Interface, which will enable electronic reporting of communicable disease test results from system wide laboratories.  Atlas has an existing interface for electronic reporting to the State Department of Public Health, which is currently in the process of finalizing its plans to implement its own State web-based CMR system. The use of WebCMR will greatly improve the Agency’s ability to collect disease surveillance data and information from healthcare providers and laboratories in a timely manner and provide easy accessibility to data for case management, planning, analysis, and decision-making.

The collective efforts of the E&A Program are recognized as an excellent example of teamwork in action!

The Epidemiology & Assessment “Atlas Team” pictured (back row, left to right) are Maureen Cruz, Joanne Fierro, Fran Miller, Gowri Sankaran, Michael Carson, Dr. Hildy Meyers, Dr. Michelle Cheung, Annette Banuelos, Eileen O’Malley and Carolyn Marr. Pictured (front row, left to right) are Joey Vo, Prudy Darley, Sheila Gill, Mary McDonald, Steve Klish, Liz Gonzalez, Pam Roa-Hipp, Alina Burgi, Flerida Cabale, Clarissa Cruikshank and Erika De Anda. Not pictured are Suvas Patel, Billy Huynh and Rachaline Napier.

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2008 Annual Compliance Training reminders

HCA Annual Compliance Training started on Dec. 26, 2007. You should have received an announcement from Chief Compliance Officer, Jeff Nagel, detailing how to link to the training. The revised Code of Conduct is available in hard copy and on-line at http://balsam/intranet/compliance/code.asp.

The Annual Compliance Training is available online at http://ochealthinfo.com/training/. If you do not have access to a computer, please contact the Office of Compliance at (714) 568-5614. Annual training is mandatory for HCA’s regular, extra-help and contract employees.
This year’s training focuses on (1) HCA’s integrity agreement, (2) Elements of the Compliance Program, (3) the revised Code of Conduct, and (4) HIPAA Privacy and Security.

Supervisors and Managers should make sure that

• Staff have time to complete Annual Compliance Training

• Employees that are on leave or unavailable during the training period complete Compliance Training as soon as they return to work

• They verify that all employees complete Annual Compliance Training

If you have any questions about Compliance training, contact the HCA Office of Compliance at (714) 568-5614.

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Health Promotion hosts educational class for Tongan women

“Malo ‘aupito! (Thank you in Tongan) We need this important information,” said a Tongan woman who just learned about early detection for breast and cervical cancer. On December 7, Rhonda Folsom, program supervisor for the Orange County Cancer Detection Partnership (OCCDP) in the Health Promotion Division, hosted the first ever breast and cervical health education class for Tongan women in Orange County. Pastors Alena Uhamaka and Josephine Liava’a, both respected leaders in the Tongan community, brought together a group of eight women to learn about the importance of mammograms and Pap tests at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Anaheim.

Tonga is a group of Polynesian islands in the South Pacific near New Zealand and Australia. About 5% of the Pacific Islanders in the US are Tongan. In a 1999 study assessing Tongan-American women’s breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, and screening behaviors, only 12.9% of the Tongan women had yearly clinical breast exams and 10.2% had yearly mammograms (Tanjasiri, 2002). Also, the Tongan women held “many misperceptions about breast cancer causes, signs, and symptoms as well as the role of screening in detecting pre-symptomatic cancers.” The study concluded that “much emphasis needs to be placed on improving early breast cancer screenings among Tongan-American women, including comprehensive community education, culturally tailored and linguistically appropriate materials, and improved access to low-cost screening sites.” Low rates of breast and cervical cancer screening have been associated with low-income and lack of health insurance. The 2000 US Census indicates that the Tongan community is one of Orange County’s poorest racial and ethnic groups and most live in Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. Thus, the burden is even greater to educate Tongan women about the importance of annual clinical breast exams, mammograms, and Pap tests.

A significant element to culturally appropriate health education is establishing trust and rapport. The Pacific Islander Health Partnership (PIHP), one of the OCCDP’s community partners, provided traditional Pacific Islander food to establish a welcoming environment of socializing and dining together before discussing sensitive health topics. Additionally, the OCCDP PowerPoint presentation was tailored for Pacific Islander women. The background, colors, artwork, and photos of local Pacific Islander women personalized the information and made it more relevant and attractive to the women. Afterward, the class participants agreed to be photographed for the PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate their support for other Tongan women learning about life-saving screening.

As a result of the culturally appropriate presentation, attendees dramatically improved their breast and cervical cancer knowledge, moving from 31% correct at pretest to 100% correct at post-test. Approximately 75% of women who were previously “unsure” they would get a mammogram or Pap test in the next year reported they were “very likely” to after the presentation.

The OCCDP will continue its mission to improve access to breast and cervical health education and screening through the Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts, especially for unserved women. For more information about the Orange County Cancer Detection Partnership, contact Rhonda Folsom at (714) 834-7635 or rfolsom@ochca.com.

Tanjasiri, Sora P., et al. Tongan-American Women’s Breast Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes, and Screening Behaviors. Ethnicity & Disease, pp. 284–290, May 2002.

Tongan women who participated in the breast and cervical health education class pictured (back row, left to right) are Pastor Alena, Pastor Josephine, Koleti and Ofa. Pictured (front row, left to right) are Linda, Alisi, and Hifo.

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Get SMART in setting your 2008 goals for losing those extra pounds

Resolution #1: I’m going to lose 50 lbs. this year!
Resolution #2: I’m going to run 5 miles every day!
Resolution #3: I’m never going to eat again!

These “resolutions” won’t help you reach your goals, because they aren’t goal oriented. Since it’s the New Year, you probably have some resolutions of your own. Did you know that the County’s Performance Incentive Program (PIP) provides you with the tools to reach those goals?

The training we received regarding Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Time bound (SMART) goal writing can be used in all goal-setting efforts including getting a jump start to healthy New Year’s resolutions. By following SMART, goals will be realistic and attainable.

Here’s a quick refresher course:  Example: Let’s use June 30, 2008 as a 6-month benchmark

Not SMART: I will lose 50 lbs. by June
SMART: By June 30, 2008, I will add and maintain 6 healthy action changes per month. (Suggestion: In January, take a walk for your mid-morning break. In February, add one fruit per day.)

Not SMART: I will be more active
SMART: By June 30, 2008, I will get at least 30 minutes of activity at least three days a week. (Suggestion: Break the activity into three 10- minute sessions.)

Not SMART: I will never drink another soda.
SMART: By June 30, 2008 I will drink 1½ liters of water each day. (Suggestion: Get a liter-size water bottle to carry with you.)

Not SMART: I will eat more vegetables.
SMART: By June 30, 2008, I will eat a salad for at least one meal every day. (Suggestion: Mark your calendar with a smiley face every day that you do to track your progress.)

Not Smart: I will eat more fruits.
SMART: By June 30, 2008, I will eat 3-5 servings of fruit every day by adding them into my breakfast lunch and snacks. (Suggestion: Blend applesauce into oatmeal or try something exotic like guava, kumquats or star fruit. Keep dried apricots, cranberries or dates at your desk.)

To get a jump start on setting goals for a healthy New Year, visit the American Dietetic Association’s website at www.eatright.org, where you can find a variety of nutrition resources including nutrition fact sheets and a good nutrition reading list, to name a few.

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Quote

“Simplicity of character is the result of profound thought.”

—William Hazlitt

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February Health Observances

• American Heart Month

• AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month

• International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month

• National Children's Dental Health Month

• Give Kids a Smile Day—1

• National Wear Red Day 2008—3

• National Burn Awareness Week—3-9

• Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week—7-14

• National Donor Day—14

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HCA hosts Welcome Reception for UCI Program Nursing Director Olshansky

The University of California at Irvine (UCI) has initiated a new baccalaureate nursing program, which is the only program of its kind in Orange County. Ellen Olshansky has been named the director of the nursing program at UCI. In honor of this action, HCA Director Julie Poulson hosted a welcome reception for Ellen Olshansky and other UCI faculty on December 13, 2007. HCA Management escorted UCI guests on a tour of HCA clinics including Immunization, HIV/STD, and Disease Control and Epidemiology/Pulmonary Disease Services before attending the reception.

Deborah Chitty, HCA Division Manager for Public Health Nursing, invited nurse representatives from programs throughout the agency to present an overview of the services they provide and the broad spectrum of areas and expertise that characterize their role in the Health Care Agency. Nurses from Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Epidemiology, Public Health Nursing, Behavioral Health, California Children’s Services, Correctional Medical Services, and Health Disaster Management/Bioterrorism Planning gave inspiring, comprehensive descriptions of the scope of their work and their dedication to serving clients. After the formal program, guests from UCI were able to view table top posters of program descriptions for individual programs and talk with program staff.

Dr. Olshansky was presented with a gift and introduction to the attendees by Julie Poulson. Dr. Olshansky expressed her appreciation for the warm welcome and support and her commitment to mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships that will expand opportunities for nursing students and their future contribution to the nursing profession the will serve the community’s health needs. 

Agency Director Julie Poulson and Public Health Nursing Division Manager Debbie Chitty welcomed Ellen Olshansky (pictured in center) during a reception held on December 13.

Reception attendees had the opportunity to hear comprehensive descriptions from HCA nurses from programs throughout the Agency, as well as view several exhibits on display.

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County food drive begins February 1st

The Annual County of Orange Employee Food Drive officially begins on Feb. 1 and continues through to the end of the month on Feb. 29. The County in collaboration with the Community Action Partnership of Orange County and the Second Harvest Food Bank are hoping to collect thousands of pounds of food to feed the poor and destitute throughout the County.

During last year’s food drive, County employees contributed more than 6 ½ tons of food that provided over 26,262 meals to the hungry. This year, County employees will join Federal, State and City of Santa Ana employees to expand food drive efforts.

Keep an eye out for food drive barrels which will be located in various worksite locations throughout the County. Some suggested items to donate include:

• High protein foods such as canned meat, tuna, beef stew, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, beans, and lentils
• Staple dry goods such as rice, pastas, and dry cereals
• Canned goods including fruit, juices, vegetables, soups and spaghetti sauce
• Baby food, formula, cereal, diapers and other baby care products
• Ready to eat items for the homeless such as individu- ally packed products
• Personal care items such as sunscreen, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet tissue, and deodorant

For more information, please contact Kelly Lupro, Housing and Community Services Department Homeless Prevention Coordinator, at (714) 567-5162 or by e-mail at kelly.lupro@hcs.ocgov.com.

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Quote

“Simplicity of character is the result of profound thought.”

—William Hazlitt

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2008 mileage reimbursement rates and codes

Effective January 1, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service standard rate for mileage reimbursement increases from 48.5 cents to 50.5 cents per mile. On your mileage claim, Rate Code 505 should be used for miles traveled beginning January 1, 2008. Rate Code 485 should be used on the mileage claim form for miles traveled during the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007.

For employees covered by a MOU who are eligible to receive the increased rate for traveling two hundred-fifty (250) or more miles per month:

In 2008, the new reimbursement rate is 60.5 cents per mile, Rate Code 250 Rate Code 585 should be used for the 250+ miles per month traveled during 2007 calendar year.

If the actual mileage reimbursement is less than $10 dollars, an employee may claim a minimum reimbursement of ten ($10) dollars in any calendar month in which the employee
actually worked eighty (80) hours. The Department/Agency must certify that the employee was required to use his privately-owned vehicle on County business. Use the Pay Code MIFL on the mileage claim form.

The rate code for the applicable year will be automatically populated on the new Mileage and Other Expense Claim form depending on the total mileage you entered in the summary section. The new form is located on the HCA employee intranet under Form, Payroll, and Mileage Claim Form, when the miles traveled was entered on the summary section.

For your convenience, visit http://balsam/intranet/payroll/forms/Mileage-Claim-formelectronic.xls to access the 2007 Mileage Claim Form. Instructions for accessing the mileage claim form are available at http://balsam/intranet/payroll/forms/HCA-Instructions.pdf. The 2008 Mileage Claim Form will be available by the end of January 2008.

For questions related to the mileage claim forms, please contact Payroll either by e-mail at HCAPayroll@ochca.com or by telephone at (714) 834-5744 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

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Quote

“Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us.”

—Stephen R. Covey

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

Editors
Tricia Landquist
Howard Sutter
Anne Fialcowitz

Phone (714) 834-6644
E-mail tlandquist@ochca.com 
FAX (714) 834-7644
Pony Bldg. 38-S, 4th Floor 

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