She Knows What They Need

Thousands of refugees have been making San Diego their home in the past several years. Many of them have a plethora of needs as they adjust to our culture, food, medical care and law enforcement.

As the County’s Refugee Coordinator, Richele Swagler has been working with local community organizations and partners to make sure their needs are being met.

Swagler will have a stronger say on critical issues affecting new arrivals to the state and the region as a newly-appointed member of the California State Advisory Council (SAC) on Refugee Assistance and Services.

The SAC meets periodically to analyze critical issues affecting refugees and assures citizen involvement in policy discussions for the implementation of successful refugee resettlement programs.

“I will make sure that the needs of refugees are always front and center,” said Swagler, who has worked for the County Health and Human Services Agency for more than five years, almost two as Refugee Coordinator. “Fifty percent of the new arrivals in the state end up in San Diego County. It’s important that we make sure their concerns and issues are represented.”

About 15,000 refugees have made San Diego County their home in the past five years. The majority of them came from Iraq, followed by Somalia, Burma, Iran and Vietnam.

Upon their arrival, Swagler said, refugees encounter several barriers when settling here, among them language, transportation and employment.

Swagler works with several community organizations to help refugees adapt to life in the United States.

“Our goal is to help them find work so that they can become self-sufficient,” Swagler said.

Zanders-Willis Earns National Honors

The national profile of the Health and Human Services Agency Child Welfare Services is increasing, thanks to two recent recognitions for its director, Debra Zanders-Willis.

The Casey Family Foundation, the nation’s largest foundation focusing on foster care and the child welfare system, recently named Zanders-Willis as one of five people to receive the Casey Family Programs Child Welfare Director Excellence in Leadership Award. The other honorees were from Michigan, Alabama and two from South Carolina.

Zanders-Willis was also recently asked to serve as the western region representative for the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators Executive Committee. In this role she will represent the region on issues related to policy and practice in child welfare.

“San Diego County is committed to protecting our children and we’re proud of the national recognition our Child Welfare Services has earned under Debra’s leadership,” said Chairman Greg Cox, San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “From San Pasqual Academy, our first-in-the-nation residential education campus for foster youth, to innovative programs like Camp Connect that allow foster care siblings to bond, we pride ourselves on innovation and doing what’s best for the children and families of San Diego County.”

The award recognizes child welfare agencies that have achieved major improvements such as safely reducing the number of children in foster care, increasing family reunifications and reducing instances of child abuse.

San Diego County has consistently reduced the number of children in out-of-home care and has also seen a reduction by 50 percent in the number of youth placed in group homes. Zanders-Willis has overseen several reforms and implemented innovative programs that allow for more engagement with families involved in Child Welfare.

“Debra is a perfect example of how HHSA employees are making a positive difference through the County’s Live Well, San Diego! initiative,” said Nick Macchione, HHSA director. “Through Debra’s leadership, children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned are given the support they need to live safe and healthy lives.”

Community Sings Praise for HHSA's 'RAP' Unit

HHSA's Refugee Assistance Program employees, from left: Martha Alvarez, Kimberly Marbrey, Tania Sakr, Savanith Leng, Martha Bayer, Helen Tessema and Yvette Bou-Malham. Inset photo: Martha Hamilton.

The Health and Human Services Agency’s Refugee Assistance Program (RAP) recently received recognition from the African Alliance Refugees for their work on behalf of people who have relocated to San Diego County.

The RAP is located at the North Central Family Resource Center (FRC) in Kearny Mesa. The program provides ongoing services to refugees who move here, helping them obtain public assistance if they are eligible.

 “They (RAP) really work hard for all of the clients and we are very blessed to work with them,” said Gerald Womaniala of the African Alliance Refugees.

“These are people who have fled war, chaos and civil unrest, even ethnic cleansing from places like Iraq or Africa,” said Pam Smith, HHSA deputy director. “The unsung heroes these people depend on are the RAP staff.

“Each day they quietly contribute to enabling refugees to establish themselves, move beyond their many years of hardship and trauma, and strive towards embracing a new life in San Diego.”

The RAP group works closely with several county refugee organizations. RAP’s processing of CalFresh allows children born in refugee environments - where adequate diet is a challenge - to potentially catch up with their nutritional needs.

“RAP’s attention to the refugees’ need for quick approval of Medi-Cal applications makes it possible for those with chronic and rare diseases to attain affordable treatment and improve the overall health and wellness of our region,” said Smith.

“To us, ‘Live Well, San Diego!” isn’t just a motto,” said Martha Bayer, RAP supervisor. “It’s something we put into practice with our refugee services every day.”

Family Thanks Employee for Saving Their Lives

Animal Control Officer Melissa Prettyman

What started out as a routine call for Animal Control Officer Melissa Prettyman ended in the rescue of a family and their dog from a garage fire in Southcrest. Now one family member says the acts of kindness will ‘forever have a great impact on my whole existence, I have a second chance with my family.’

Prettyman was driving out to a late night animal call last Thursday when she saw flames and turned her truck around to check it out. Fire had broken out at the garage of a residence and no rescue vehicles were in sight. She called 9-1-1 and then knocked on the home’s door until someone answered.    

Five people were inside; a four-generation family that included an 81-year-old great grandmother, a grandmother, her two adult children and a 6-year-old boy. The family had no idea fire had broken out on their property.

Prettyman made sure they were all evacuated and then carried the family’s big, 15-year-old dog in her arms to safety. Watch Officer Prettyman tell the story on County News Center

In a note of appreciation to Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson, the grandmother wrote “not only is my family alive and unharmed but we feel so blessed. She made sure each and every member of our family was out of the house and checked on us two additional times before leaving to go out to her original call. She truly is our Angel of Mercy!”

This isn’t the first time Prettyman has come to the rescue. Last June, she jumped into the ocean near Hospitality Point to save a poodle puppy before it could be carried out to sea.   

DPW Staff Recognized as IT Innovators of the Year

The new GIS program that DPW's Victoria Loftis and Mike Krosky helped develop maps and catalogues the County's more than 10,000 streetlights. It is shown here on a BlackBerry.

Victoria Loftis and Mike Krosky fix and monitor the County’s more than 10,000 streetlights. They also track and update the electrical infrastructure that connects them.

It’s a big task, and having precise, accessible records is essential.

So about two years ago, Loftis, an engineer technician, and Krosky, an electrician, set out to update the records and, working with GIS teams, create a sophisticated web-based program that can map and catalogue the streetlights. Last week they received the County’s 2012 IT Innovator of the Year award for their efforts.

The new GIS program can be accessed anywhere via smart phone on a secured site, saving tremendous amounts of resources and speeding up fixes and customer response times. Previously, they relied on hand drawn maps stored in a complex filing system, many of which were missing or outdated.

“It’s a simple tool but it provides great information and accuracy that we didn’t have before,” said their supervisor Carl Hickman, DPW’s program coordinator for Traffic Signal & Street Lighting Systems. “This makes their work much more efficient overall.”

Murali Pasumarthi, DPW’s Traffic Engineering Manager, said the upgrades are critical to public safety and protecting public infrastructure.

“They essentially automated the County’s electrical infrastructure,” he said.

The pair was selected from a pool of 10 winning IT Innovators named over the course of the 2011-12 fiscal year. After the first and third quarters of each fiscal year, the County identifies individuals or teams from each working group who have developed outstanding information technology.

Launched in late 2010, the program is part of a broader effort to increase County employees’ computer literacy. Any employee can submit a nomination by visiting the ITIQ Knowledge Center on InSite.

Victoria Loftis, left, and Mike Krosky, won the County's 2012 IT Innovator of the Year award. Loftis is an engineer technician and Krosky is an electrician, both in DPW. 

Loftis, who has worked for the County for eight years, and Krosky, who started at the County seven years ago, were recognized as the annual winners before County executives at a Jan. 10 meeting. They received plaques and an ovation.

Each day, Loftis receives dozens of emails from residents complaining of outages and broken streetlights. The County relies on these contacts because crews do not regularly monitor the fixtures. She also gets DigAlert requests from contractors, public utilities and others asking where electrical cables and conduits lie so as to prevent accidents. Previously, Loftis turned to several applications, including hand drawn maps stored in a complicated filing system, taking her hours each day. 

Now, she can turn to the updated database and electronic GIS program and gather the same information within minutes, saving the County hundreds of dollars a day.

“Now I couldn’t imagine not having this,” she said.

Loftis and Krosky then decide which cases to tackle for the day and head into the field. While Krosky focuses on streetlights, Loftis meets with the parties who have filed DigAlert requests. In the field, they use their BlackBerries to access the new GIS system.

The volume of cases they handle is staggering.

Krosky alone fixes between two and 14 streetlights a day. His record is 18 lights in one day.

To do that, he puts about 200 miles on his County-issued boom truck each day, reaching every corner of the County from Borrego Springs to Fallbrook to Otay Mesa. In all, he’s logged 201,000 miles on the truck.

He is out in the field most of the day, every day, rain or shine.

“I do whatever I have to do to get it fixed,” said Krosky.

Loftis, meanwhile, receives at least 50 DigAlert requests a day. She is required to respond to each within 48 hours, making accurate record keeping especially important. She researches each one, then may make between five and 10 site visits each day.

Among the many benefits of having updated records and a more efficient system, Loftis and Krosky can easily identify which streetlights are owned and maintained by SDG&E versus the County, eliminating billing errors. Staff can more easily identify where streetlights should be required in new development projects and those new lights and electrical infrastructure can be added to the program more easily, preventing future accidents.

Little by little, in between their day-to-day work, Loftis and Krosky would correct inaccurate records and work with the Public Works Department’s GIS team.

Loftis would work on it when she didn’t have meetings and on rainy days.

The work hasn’t stopped. Krosky continues to catalogue all streetlights with photos, which automatically register GPS coordinates. Sometimes, they come across streetlights that exist but aren’t even in their records.

As for the award, Loftis and Krosky say they are honored to receive it, but that they were just doing what needed to be done.

“This is what our job is,” Loftis said.

Library Director Wins Recognition from Alma Mater

Bard College has honored County Library Director Jose Aponte with the 2013 John Dewey Award for Distinguished Public Service. Bard College gives the award to Bard alumni for extraordinary contributions to the public sector. Aponte was nominated by the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees for his leadership on two County Library programs.

One involves the award-winning Foreclosure Prevention HOME clinics which have provided $2.9 million in free housing assistance to San Diego County residents since 2009. The other program gives career assistance to ex-offenders who want to rejoin the workforce.  

“I am honored to receive the John Dewey Award and thrilled to join the ranks of prior award-winners who continue to set the bar for public service,” said Aponte. “The County Library is devoted to developing life-changing programs and services that will help our communities build the best lives possible.”

The award is named after American philosopher and educator John Dewey who has been called the father of progressive education.  

Probation Officers Take Part in Indoor Triathlon

Three deputy probation officers will be swimming, cycling and running for a good cause: a law enforcement triathlon that benefits youth programs and a law enforcement memorial fund.

 Fernando Gonzalez, Adam Stanton, and Vivian Miramontes, all assigned to the Post Release Offender Unit, are taking part in the “Tri-N-Harder-4-Kids” triathlon to raise money for students in the STAR/PAL police athletic league. The triathlon will take place from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive in La Jolla.

STAR/PAL   brings at-risk youth and law enforcement together for programs that promote youth safety through crime and violence prevention education, civic engagement and enrichment activities.

A portion of the money raised will also go to the San Diego Police Officer’s Association Law Enforcement Memorial Fund in memory of Officer Jeremy Henwood, a San Diego Police officer killed in the line of duty Aug. 6, 2011.

“Officer Henwood worked with Probation quite a bit doing searches, so he was known throughout our department,” said Supervising Probation Officer Carl Heidemann.

The indoor triathlon will include 10 minutes in a lap pool, a 20-minute stationary bicycle ride and a 15-minute treadmill run. The individual or relay team with the most distance gained within that time will be the winner in the challenge.

Other law enforcement agencies are also participating as well as firefighters, lifeguards and community leaders including San Diego City Councilman Kevin Faulconer, San Diego Police Assistant Chief Shelly Zimmerman, La Mesa Police Chief Ed Aceves, San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainar and Harbor Police Chief John Buldoc.

To learn more about the event, visit http://www.starpal.org/.

Holiday “Biggest Loser”

Sabrena Marshall is $105 richer after winning weight loss challenge.

Some people gain up to 10 pounds during the holidays. Not Sabrena Marshall.

By watching what she ate and increasing her physical activity, she managed to not gain any weight. In fact, she lost 13 pounds.

The weight loss earned her the top spot on Behavioral Health Services’ (BHS) “Biggest Loser-Holiday Edition,” an adaptation of the popular weight loss competition on NBC.

“I AM THE WINNER.” she replied in capital letters when asked about the competition results.

Marshall, manager of strategic planning for BHS, bested 21 co-workers who each pitched in $5 to participate in the month-long competition.

Overall, the group managed to lose 46 pounds—nine lost weight, nine stayed the same and four gained a few pounds.

Marshall was so committed to the competition that during the group’s holiday luncheon she only ate salad (with dressing on the side) and minestrone soup. She did not touch the mouth-watering, buttery breadsticks.

She started to watch what she ate a month before the holiday competition began. Marshal also increased her speed when walking and jogging.

The result? Marshall lost 28 pounds over the last two months of 2012.

 “It was a last minute effort not to gain weight during the holidays,” said Marshall, who walked away with $105.

How did the group celebrate their accomplishment? With a “very healthy potluck.”

Hazardous Materials Specialist Takes Charge at Crash Scene

Todd Burton, a member of the County’s Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT), was driving home from work one afternoon last week when he came upon a collision at Black Mountain and Twin Trails roads just seconds after it happened. No emergency responders were yet on scene, although several motorists stopped to assist.

Burton, remembering his emergency response training, pulled over in his work truck to see if he could help.  

Two vehicles had collided leaving one  truck on its side with the driver  trapped inside. Then he noticed the pool chemicals and various containers spilling out of the truck bed.

Burton made sure someone called 9-1-1 then told everyone to stay away from the wet asphalt because it could be chlorine or acid leaking from the pool cleaning truck. His next concern was the driver stuck in the truck cab. Burton started talking to him through an open sliding window. The driver said he wasn’t  hurt and that he had not been exposed to any chemicals.

The driver, with the assistance of bystanders, jimmied the door open and  climbed out. Then Burton was “free to focus on all the hazmat stuff,” he said.

Burton began picking up containers and throwing  absorbent material on the spill. If the acid and chlorine mix it can create a chlorine gas and  quickly overcome people, Burton said. As it turned out, only some chlorine had spilled so that wasn’t an issue.

Burton met with responding officers and firefighters as they arrived on scene and reported the situation with the chemical spill. Neither of the drivers involved in the collision were hurt and the pool-cleaning truck driver was able to recover nearly all the chemicals for his job. Still, they were lucky a HazMat expert just happened upon the scene.

It’s all in a day’s work, said Burton, an environmental health specialist who has worked for the Department of Environmental Health for 18 years.

“Todd's modesty is grounded in the fact that any of his peers would have done the same.  They routinely respond to all types of chemical, biological and radiation emergencies. We're lucky to have such an expert group.  Few local jurisdictions, if any, have our capability,” said Michael Vizzier, chief of the Hazardous Materials division.

As it turned out, the City of San Diego’s hazardous materials team was dispatched to the scene, but Burton was already wrapping things up by then.

Employee’s Healthy Transformation Pays Off in Unexpected Ways

Sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Schaller before and after making a number of lifestyle changes to improve fitness.

Trying to kill time between meetings in downtown San Diego earlier this year, Sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Schaller went on a walk.   

He stumbled upon a crime in progress.

Out of nowhere, a barefoot man, high on drugs, began screaming and trashing a music shop nearby. The vandal threw a musical instrument against a mirror, shattering it. He walked over the broken shards, cutting his feet.

Schaller wasn’t even a patrol deputy at that time. He was serving as president of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County, the professional labor group representing more than 2,000 sworn Sheriff’s deputies. He planned to watch carefully so he could relay what he’d seen to the San Diego Police. Schaller wasn’t going to get involved beyond that. But after a customer stepped in to try to bring the vandal down, Schaller soon found himself thwarting the vandal’s attempts to bite, choke and kick him as he waited for backup.

That’s when Schaller had what he describes as an epiphany. The major life changes he’d made recently - exercising regularly, eating healthier and shedding 60 lbs. – had helped him at that important moment. He felt strong and able to hold the man off.

Struck by the unpredictability of the experience, he was incredibly grateful for the choices he had made.

“You never know when something like that is going to happen,” he said. “Are you in a condition where you’re going to be able to stay in the fight? Do you have the skills to deal with it?” 

The County is unveiling its 2013 Employee Wellness program this month, part of the County’s overall, Live Well, San Diego! initiative. Employees will be able to take advantage of free exercise programs, incentives and more. The County plans to offer free Zumba and yoga classes, starting at the County Operations Center this month as well as the Thrive Across America exercise incentive program, lunch-time information sessions where employees can learn about different aspects of health and much more. Check out the County’s Wellness Program site for more information.

Schaller’s health wakeup call first came in 2011 after stepping on a scale and seeing his weight had climbed higher than ever before: to nearly 350 lbs. He was more than 100 lbs. heavier than when he became a Sheriff’s deputy 20 years ago. Schaller said he has always been slightly heavy, but that the pounds slowly crept up over the years.

He also just didn’t feel well. He was tired all the time. He wasn’t getting enough sleep, wasn’t exercising and wasn’t eating right. He would wait too long between meals, then wolf down too much food. And what he ate was too often high fat, high calorie fast food. A lack of planning would lead him to make last minute decisions about meals, Schaller said.

Something had to change, he realized. 

“I knew where it was headed,” he said.

 He also found inspiration in a few of his co-workers at the Sheriff’s department, who had gone through dramatic transformations.

Schaller signed up for a weight loss program through his health insurance provider, Kaiser Permanente. He started drinking protein shakes and eating salads every day. He sharply dropped his daily calorie intake and started working out 30-40 minutes a day on the elliptical trainer.

It wasn’t easy, but soon, he had lost 20 lbs.

Kaiser provided counseling and also food education classes.

He has mostly kept the weight off, which he credits to his four to five workouts a week. He has switched up his exercise routine too, mountain biking with his son, working with a trainer and doing cross training workouts with kettle bells that give him both a cardio and strength-building exercise. He hopes to lose up to another 40 lbs. He plans to sharpen up his diet again this year.

One of the many benefits of his new lifestyle is the effect it has had on his children. Schaller calls his 11 year old son his “fitness buddy” – they go cycling together—and his nine year old daughter has gotten more active too.

“I don’t want to see them battle with the same stuff I did,” he said.

In an effort to encourage others, Schaller wrote about his transformation in a column in the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association’s magazine, Silver Star, in Feb. 2012.

“I hope my experience imparts on you, ‘If he can do it, so can I,” he wrote.

For more information about the County’s Employee Wellness program offerings for 2013, visit its website.