What's Up Newsletter

As a Senior Communicable Disease Investigator (SCDI) with HCA Pulmonary Disease Services (PDS), Abe Sanchez is noted for his compassion and for going above and beyond the call of duty in his role to assist patients in receiving treatment and needed care.

Abe has more than 12 years of experience working with tuberculosis (TB) control in Orange County. He joined PDS in 1996 after serving eight years as the HIV Testing Coordinator for the HCA HIV Clinic. In his current role, Abe is an integral part of the TB case management team assisting Public Health Nurse case managers with patient interviewing, contact investigation and follow-up, serving legal orders, and locating patients. He also provides in-service trainings to nursing, outreach, and support staff on topics such as medical interpretation and cultural sensitivity.

“The empathy Abe shows to HCA’s patients allows him to gain their trust and confidence,” said Mike Carson, TB Control and Refugee Health Services Program Manager. “He is well deserving of recognition for the professional competency, resourcefulness and diligence he consistently exhibits in his work.”

An example of Abe’s resourcefulness was demonstrated through his involvement with an infectious, homeless TB patient who was brought in by paramedics to a local hospital after being found unconscious near a park. Abe was determined to locate any close contacts of this individual, specifically one friend that the patient mentioned. The patient’s recollection of information prior to being at the hospital was vague, but Abe spent days driving the patient near the vicinity of the park and talked with regular visitors to see if the “friend” could be located.

After several attempts, Abe was unable to locate the patient’s friend. Then one day, PDS received a report from another local hospital about a patient who was brought into the emergency room by local police after finding him unconscious. Abe immediately went to the hospital, only to find out later that this individual was the missing friend.

Abe believes in the importance of a healthy physical and mental lifestyle. This mantra motivated him to pursue a career in the healthcare field. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Health Education from Chico State University and also has experience with the Peace Corps.

“I enjoy working with the diversity of ethnicity that now makes up the demographics of Orange County,” said Abe. “The more years that I’m involved with my current role as a SCDI, the more knowledge I gain in understanding human behavior when it comes to dealing with and responding to a communicable disease. “

For his positive contributions and dedication to the community, Abe was also recently named the California Tuberculosis Controllers Association Allied Health Professional of the Year on April 30, 2009.

In his spare time, Abe enjoys reviving Native American Southern California basketry, foods and culture, and is dedicated to the preservation of indigenous cultures and the arts.

The Orange County Health Care Agency has been preparing for years for a pandemic. So, when the H1N1 Influenza A virus was identified in San Diego in late April, HCA staff sprung into action.

HCA’s Epidemiology & Assessment and Public Health Lab activated their Department Operations Centers (DOC) to coordinate surveillance, detection and laboratory testing of probable H1N1 cases in Orange County. They updated the Health Care Agency website on a daily basis, allowing local and community stakeholders to access the most r Participants during H1N1 activities included HEOC responders (left to right) John Van Sky, Patrick Powers and Keith Olenslager.

Participants during H1N1 activities included HEOC responders (left to right) John Van Sky, Patrick Powers and Keith Olenslager.

ecent information. Toolkits for schools and businesses (developed by our Public Information Officer) were also posted, and daily updates were provided to the Board of Supervisors and the Orange County Operational Area.

Orange County proclaimed a local emergency on April 30th to expedite resource requests and the Agency activated the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) for the first time. The Health Disaster Management (HDM) Division’s warehouse took delivery of antiviral medications from the state with the help of partners from Environmental Health, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the Orange County Medical Reserve Corps. HDM effectively pre-positioned some of the cache to all our county’s hospitals and community clinics. It was a great effort and an opportunity to test our plans. And, this summer we’ll be using our lessons learned to improve them.

Although the Agency H1N1 response has now transitioned back to normal day to day activities, this is the time for all of us to look at our own level of preparedness. Need help? You can find information and planning tools online through our Epidemiology and Assessment website: www.ochealthinfo.com/epi or through the Health Disaster Management website: www.healthdisasteroc.org.

Participants during H1N1 activities included HEOC responders (left to right) John Van Sky, Patrick Powers and Keith Olenslager.

HOW TO PLAY: All the words listed appear in the puzzle—horizontally, vertically, sideways, even backwards!

HOTLINE, CODE OF CONDUCT, COMPLIANCE, TRAINING, ETHICS, AUDIT, INTEGRITY, HIPAA, NPP, PRIVACY, SECURITY, REPORT, OIG, SANCTION, RISK, CMS, NAGEL, ISSUE, DOCUMENTATION

The second annual Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Art Fair and Calendar Contest held on May 21, 2009 at the Old Orange County Courthouse attracted many attendees who were able to enjoy visual arts, crafts, writing and music by members of the mental health community.

The sun was shining and the jacaranda trees were in bloom, as visitors enjoyed being outdoors. The lawn was filled with bright blue canopies, artists networking with their peers, proud family members, community providers, and county staff. Musicians offered live entertainment with music ranging from hip-hop and acoustic guitar to an a cappella song in Vietnamese.

Winners of the calendar contest will be featured in the 2010 MHSA Art Calendar and at an art exhibit to be held in October. The MHSA Office sponsored the event to highlight mental health awareness and to support the use of art in the recovery process. MHSA congratulates the exhibiting artists and thanks them for sharing their extraordinary gifts with the public.

Please visit the MHSA homepage at www.ochealthinfo.com/mhsa for more information on the MHSA Recovery Arts Program, the MHSA online art gallery and to learn about upcoming events.

HCA’s Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP) joined community leaders, educators and students for a series of special events to unveil youth-created “Tobacco and Hollywood” bus shelter posters on June 3 and 4 in the cities of La Habra and Santa Ana.

The youth-created artwork/posters counter the exposure to tobacco use that is often portrayed on television and movies. The winning posters were selected from several entries in the competition that offers youth ages 11-17 the opportunity to make a positive impact in the community through the development of their artwork. The posters selected to appear on bus shelters were submitted by:


Winning artwork submitted by Sara Paek, Christina Rodriguez and Jeanette Salmeron from Sonora High School in La Habra. The poster is currently displayed on a bus shelter on the corner of La Habra Blvd. and Palm St.	Winning artwork submitted by Letisha Suyanto from Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana. The poster is displayed on a bus shelter on the corner of Bristol St. and 17th St.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has repeatedly cited exposure to tobacco use in media as a major factor in youth smoking. Youth who see smoking on television and other media are more likely to start smoking than youth who are not exposed to smoking in media. Each year an estimated 390,000 teens start smoking because of exposure to smoking in movies and 120,000 will die prematurely as a result, according to a national study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The “Tobacco and Hollywood” project is a community outreach project committed to reducing youth exposure to tobacco in Hollywood movies. The goal of the project is to educate youth and community organizations about the influence that tobacco use in the movies has on youth. The poster contest is one of the many educational activities that are part of the program. For more information about the TUPP Program, visit www.ochealthinfo.com/tupp.

Where were you on Sunday, May 17 at 8:39 p.m.? Like most of us here in Orange County, you were probably under a table feeling helpless as the earth shook. The Los Angeles earthquake that jolted us that evening is now a familiar reminder of why it is important to be prepared for all emergencies. And that includes being prepared at work! HCA Safety would like to encourage all programs throughout the Agency to review their current Emergency Action Plans this month.

Why is this important?

This year many staffing changes have occurred due to the various Health Care Agency (HCA) programs that have restructured to conserve costs. As a result, many lists of designated emergency personnel may have changed significantly and must now be updated. This is important to ensure successful evacuations for drills and real emergency situations.

Are drills really necessary?

Evacuation exercise/drills are mandatory, and required by CEO/Risk Management and the HCA Safety Program. HCA requires that two evacuation exercises be performed annually, and that they be documented for recordkeeping purposes. To better prepare programs for successful evacuation exercises, the following are tips to ensure a safe and quick process:

During the review of your Emergency Evacuation Plan, ensure that all emergency personnel roles are back filled with at least one alternate. The following are positions that are important, but are often overlooked during an evacuation:

Keep in mind that during a real emergency many decisions must be made quickly and often times under very stressful conditions. This is why preparation and practice are essential so that appropriate decisions and choices are made automatically and without hesitation. For information regarding drills and the roles of emergency evacuation personnel, please contact your program Departmental Safety Representative or the HCA Safety program at (714) 834-4359. Remember, preparation is the key to a successful evacuation.

Hat’s Off to Raul Sobero from HCA’s Health Promotion Division on being named to the 2009-2010 Susan G. Koman Orange County Affiliate Board of Directors. The organization announced its new Board of Directors on April 16 and includes individuals who are recognized as outstanding individuals in the Orange County community and in the area of advancements in breast health.

Raul has spent more than 10 years working with the Komen Orange County Affiliate, including serving as a member of the Grants Committee, the UCI Komen Data Project Advisory Committee and the Grants Review Panel. Raul is currently with HCA Disease Control and Epidemiology as a Program Supervisor for HIV Planning and Coordination.

Raul’s goal on the Board is to contribute to the elimination of the disparities that exist in mortality and late stage diagnosis rates for certain populations. He has more than 22 years of experience working in public health, including 12 years as coordinator and manager of the HCA Orange County Detection Partnership.

To learn more about the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, visit www.komenoc.org or call (714) 957-9157.

In observance of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week May 17-23, 2009, HCA’s EMS program hosted the 2009 EMS Awards Ceremony on May 19 which took place at Bash Auditorium at Western Medical Center Santa Ana to honor and recognize individual EMS system participants who take exemplary action.

One specific honoree included Metro Cities Fire Authority Dispatcher John Delgado who helped to deliver HCA employee Kelly Gendry’s daughter Emily. With her child near term, Kelly awoke one August morning only to realize that ‘today was going to be the day’ and made plans to head to the hospital for delivery. However, little Emily was on her way before Kelly and her husband made it out the door. 9-1-1 Dispatcher John Delgado provided clear and concise instructions to Kelly’s husband Tom to help him safely deliver Emily. She was born before paramedics arrived on scene. During the EMS Awards Ceremony on May 19, HCA EMS staff members were presented with a Board of Supervisors resolution which declared May 17-23, 2009 as EMS Week in Orange County. Pictured (left to right) are Greg Boswell, Laurent Repass, Jane Elder, Patrick Powers and Dr. Sam Stratton.

During the EMS Awards Ceremony on May 19, HCA EMS staff members were presented with a Board of Supervisors resolution which declared May 17-23, 2009 as EMS Week in Orange County. Pictured (left to right) are Greg Boswell, Laurent Repass, Jane Elder, Patrick Powers and Dr. Sam Stratton.

Along with John Delgado, additional EMS personnel received recognition for several award categories including Great Saves; Courage Under Fire; EMS System Advocacy; Exceptional Performance; and Compassion in EMS. The following individuals were noted for special recognition during the ceremony:

HCA’s EMS program also received a Board of Supervisors resolution declaring May 17-23, 2009 as Emergency Medical Services Week in Orange County.

EMS Week is celebrated annually to recognize the efforts of dedicated physicians, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers, lifeguards, communications personnel, educators, and volunteers for their contributions and dedication to the Orange County community. To learn more about EMS Week, visit www.emsweek.org.

California Children’s Services (CCS) hosted an open house on June 10 to celebrate the opening of the new Irvine Medical Therapy Unit (MTU) located at 4771 Campus Drive. The new facility will provide physical and occupational therapy services to physically disabled children who are served by the Medical Therapy Program.

The event drew many visitors including staff from the Orange County Department of Education, Irvine Unified School District and HCA, as well as members of the community. MTU staff members were on-hand to provide attendees with tours allowing them to learn more about the program and view available physical and occupational therapy equipment.

CCS is a statewide program of specialized medical care providing medical case management, physical and occupational therapy services, and financial assistance for children with qualified health conditions. For more information about CCS, call the program at (714) 347-0300 or visit www.ochealthinfo.com/public/ccs.

On Thursday, May 14, 2009, the County of Orange’s Medical Services Initiative (MSI) Program sponsored a Community Provider Forum for its newly developed patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program.

HCA MSI Administrator Dan Castillo is pictured with (left to right) Rama Meka and Anabelle Laroza, staff members from Dr. Ajay Meka’s office. Dr. Meka received an award for outstanding service to MSI members among his private sector medical home peers in the 07-08 fiscal year.

Nearly 50 primary care providers throughout the County convened at the Dehli Community Center in Santa Ana to hear presentations by Dan Castillo, MSI’s Administrator; Dr. Himmet Dajee and Dr. Richard Sax, MSI Medical Directors; Matt Pirritano, MSI Research Analyst; and Dr. Craig Stern, MSI’s pharmacy consultant. Topics included an overview of the MSI Program and how much it has changed since it was awarded the Coverage Initiative through Senate Bill 1448 which began on September 1, 2007.

The three-year demonstration project expands the scope of coverage to cover primary and preventive measures to all MSI members. It also allowed for an additional 4,000 uninsured Orange County residents to be covered who otherwise would not have been qualified. Each member is provided with a PCMH, and each medical home will be provided with an electronic portal—called “Community Connect”—giving access to their assigned patients and their historical clinical information in the form of a continuity of care record summary. Once fully deployed, the provider homes will also be able to risk stratify their patient population and have the ability to meet Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) criteria through an “opportunity” window within the web-based application. HEDIS is a tool used by more than 90 percent of America’s health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service.

MSI representatives also discussed the role of the PCMH and how they can access specialty care services and formulary guidelines for their assigned patients. The forum concluded with a presentation by MSI to Dr. Ajay Meka for outstanding service to MSI members among his private sector medical home peers in the 07-08 fiscal year.

HCA MSI Administrator Dan Castillo is pictured with (left to right) Rama Meka and Anabelle Laroza, staff members from Dr. Ajay Meka’s office. Dr. Meka received an award for outstanding service to MSI members among his private sector medical home peers in the 07-08 fiscal year.

Taking up where we left off last time with our article on the HCA Service Desk, we now continue into the heart of HCA programs, taking a look into the day-to-day duties of the HCA Field techs. Possessing all the talents of a seasoned mediator, counselor, salesman, and technical advisor, our technicians go out into the Agency to tackle every conceivable issue. Home based at 515 N. Sycamore in the Civic Center area of Santa Ana, the HCA Field Support group consists of seven staff, supporting approx. 140 sites. Each technician has about 400 customers under their care.

As mentioned in our last article, some issues are solved right over the phone but what if we can’t? What if the issue is hardware? Or worse, a complete rebuild of the operating system? In these cases we definitely need to send out a technician to be on site. To cover such a large amount of geographical area and to serve everyone in a controlled and timely manner, we take a “territorial” approach. Each technician is assigned a specific area of the county. Currently, the areas are divided into Central, North, South, East, and West. Within these territories, each technician has his/her list of buildings. Beginning each day, they report to home base in preparation for the day, answering e-mails, looking up the latest technology, sharing recent fixes and most importantly checking their service request queues.

Once on site, they must come prepared for just about anything! As a tech, some days just flow and they are able to move throughout the day fixing everything and bringing dead PC’s back to life. Other days however, the first call could set you back as much as a week. A technician wears many hats, and once on the scene the investigation starts. Questions like “what is the last thing you did?” “Did you install anything?” “Did you see any errors?” “What did the error say?” will help to identify the cause of the problem.

Armed with education, certifications, and years of experience, the technician must also have an intimate knowledge of over 60 software types supported. Not to mention all the hardware they must know! Desktops, laptops, tablets, printers, cameras, scanners and thin clients. In our next article we will look at the Security Group and their work dedicated to keeping us Virus free and our data safe.

Since 1992, HCA’s Desktop Publishing (DTP) unit has provided creative design support to Agency programs. The unit includes experienced and talented designers who can provide necessary resources to assist you and your program. The cost of using our design services is included in the operating budget of the Agency and, in most cases, is not directly applied to your program.

Graphic design is the art of visualizing an idea onto paper. Your program logo, flyer, brochure or newsletter should communicate your message. It must address the target audience clearly and create interest and excitement. HCA Desktop Publishing is located with the Quality Management Office in Bldg. 38. It has the primary responsibility of assisting HCA programs with the development, design and creation of informational materials to promote community awareness of the services HCA programs provide. These include:

For more information about DTP or to discuss the details of your project directly, contact HCA Desktop Publishing at (714) 834-3166.

June 2009 is recognized as Refugee Awareness Month throughout California. The County of Orange Health Care Agency, Refugee Preventive Health Services (RPHS) program provides required health assessments to newly arriving refugees, asylees, parolees, and victims of trafficking at the Westminster Clinic, 14120 Beach Blvd, Suite 104, Westminster, CA 92683. As part of the health assessment, a nurse evaluates and a physician screens clients for tuberculosis, hepatitis, parasitic infections, and other health conditions. Clients are referred to appropriate care in the community and the linkages are confirmed by a Public Health Nurse.

Refugee Health Services staff pictured (left to right) include Loann Phan, Ha Nguyen, Anna Marie Ponce, Benjamin Nguyen, Dr. Sophia Tran and Randee Bautista.

For many years, refugees from Vietnam dominated our arrival numbers. However, this past fiscal year, refugee arrivals from the Middle East increased considerably in number, particularly arrivals from Iraq and Iran. We also saw increasing numbers of Burmese (Burma is now known as Myanmar) refugees from Thailand refugee camps. RPHS provided health assessments to 406 arrivals last fiscal year; the top five countries represented were Vietnam (123), Iraq (119), Iran (95), Myanmar (23), and Kenya (17). As a member of the Orange County Refugee Forum, RPHS has developed relationships with six local volunteer agencies (VOLAGS) to ensure the timely provision of health assessments.

RPHS is fortunate to have bicultural, bilingual staff in the program. However, the increase in new populations, particularly Iraqi, Iranian and Burmese, has provided communication challenges. RPHS does not have staff able to speak Arabic, Farsi or Burmese. VOLAGS and family members are able to assist with Arabic and Farsi interpretation during the health assessments and, the Program has entered into a contract with an interpretation service to communicate with Burmese arrivals.

Despite the many challenges faced in serving newly arriving populations, RPHS staff are dedicated and committed to ensuring that new arrivals begin their stay in the United States in the healthiest manner possible.

Refugee Health Services staff pictured (left to right) include Loann Phan, Ha Nguyen, Anna Marie Ponce, Benjamin Nguyen, Dr. Sophia Tran and Randee Bautista.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), STD Control Branch along with Orange County’s local Sexually Transmitted Disease Intervention Program (SCIP) has recently launched a statewide text messaging program for youth. The service, called Hookup, provides young people with accurate and relevant sexual health information plus a geo-targeted search for free and low-cost STD testing and reproductive health clinics throughout the State.

Locally, Orange County Health Care Agency’s SCIP is promoting the text messaging service by incorporating the text information into trainings for staff at organizations that serve youth including health teachers. SCIP is a health education program that promotes awareness and prevention of STD’s among youth and young adults, groups that suffer the highest STD rates in California, by supporting local youth serving providers. Wallet size cards and posters with text information were developed and are being distributed to community partners.

California is the first state with a text-messaging program that connects high-risk teens and young adults to available sexual and reproductive health services. To use the service, youth text the word ‘hookup’ to phone number 365247 and are signed up for weekly health tips. Each tip contains a prompt to text the word ‘clinic’ plus a zip code to get contact information for two local clinics.

For more information about the new program, contact Joe Vargas at (714) 796-0251 or by e-mail at jvargas@ochca.com.

The new County-wide Accounting and Personnel System, known as CAPS+, is going live as of July 1, 2009. As a result, there will be some changes that will affect your VTI timecard effective Pay Period 14, which starts June 19, 2009:

The above changes will occur during the afternoon of June 19, 2009. Please do NOT enter anything into your timecard prior to Saturday, June 20. Also, be aware that your leave balances (for example, AL – Annual Leave) will not be updated until June 29.

Please ask your supervisor If you are unsure what Unit code or Department Object to use. Supervisors, if you are not sure, ask your Program Support Analyst.

If you experience any problems with your VTI timecard, please contact HCA Payroll either by e-mail, HCAPayroll@ochca.com, or by telephone, 714.834.5744 (7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday).

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one.

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

Editors
Tricia Landquist
Deanne Thompson
Anne Fialcowitz

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


Pictured (left to right) are Lynn Einarsson, David Souleles and Mary Davis	Irvine MTU staff pictured (left to right) are Barbara Bradley, Shirin Ihani, Cynthia Hernandez, Idha Ibasco and Madhavi Yarlagadda.	Pictured (left to right) are Lynn Einarsson, Medical Therapy Program Administrative Manager; Mary Davis, CCS Division Manager; Steve Dunivent, Deputy CEO; and Carolyn McInerney, Irvine Unified School District Board Member.