Perk Alert: Discounts on Cellphone Service

How would you like a discount on your cellphone service? Get up to 18% off your cellphone bills just for being a County employee. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon offer discounts on monthly fees through PerkSpot.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts to County employees through hundreds of service providers and retailers from movie theaters to florists and jewelers.

Using PerkSpot is both easy and free! Simply go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and click on the “Create an Account” heading to complete the registration process.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Earn $100 for Completing a Wellness Screening

Staying on top of your health really pays. If you participate in the County’s upcoming Employee Wellness Incentive Program, you can earn an extra $100 in your paycheck.

Employee Wellness Coordinator William Erese encourages all County workers to be proactive by attending a free onsite biometric screening and completing an online health risk assessment.

“The rewards are two-fold. You can gain insight into your health status and earn a monetary incentive,” Erese said.

You have the option to go to your personal doctor, but Kaiser Permanente will be setting up its mobile health vehicle at various County worksites from March 2 through March 28 for free screenings. Kaiser will provide screenings for all employees regardless of your current insurance provider. See the full list of dates and locations here.

Employees will get their blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and body mass index checked. All screening results will be kept confidential.

Don’t miss this opportunity to know your numbers and to earn the payout. Go to kp.org/wellness to make an appointment now. New users will enter signup code “CountyofSD.” Returning users will enter their email address and password.

There are three steps to earn the payout. Follow them carefully:

1. This one is a two-parter. First make an appointment. Then attend a biometric screening and have the medical professional sign the confirmation form while at the screening. Tip: Print the form out now and have it ready. Be sure to bring your employee ID to County onsite appointments.

2. After completing the wellness biometric screening, go to your provider’s website and take their online health risk assessment. Please note that the biometric screening results will be needed to fully complete the assessment. For those covered under a County plan, the providers are either Anthem Blue Cross or Kaiser Permanente. For those who waive coverage through the County, your provider will be listed on your medical card.

3. Send both the signed biometric form AND the assessment confirmation to Benefits at MS O-7 or to DHRWellness.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov by June 30. Please do not send medical information. And remember to keep a copy for your own records.

Incentive payment will be disbursed within 60 days after you submit both a completed Wellness Incentive Form and proof that your assessment was completed.

Look for additional screening dates and locations to be added in April.

For additional details, visit the Department of Human Resources on InSite.

Employee Wellness Celebrated at Awards Breakfast

The County celebrated a year’s worth of strides employees took toward better health at the 2015 Wellness Awards and Recognition Ceremony held recently at the County Operations Center.

“This is an opportunity for us to show our appreciation for all the marvelous work County employees have been doing in the program, and it also gives us an opportunity to showcase all the great things the wellness program has achieved,” said Employee Wellness Coordinator William Erese.

A total of 77 employees received beach cruisers as part of the opportunity drawing for participation in selected Employee Wellness programs throughout the year. To be eligible for the drawing, they had to have taken part in six of the programs offered, including Colorful Choices, Maintain Don’t Gain, Thrive Across America , health and wellness classes, and a Healthy Cooking Demonstrationvideo. 

The County Wellness Program and its participants had several significant accomplishments in 2015. County employees attended more than 500 free fitness classes. The farmers markets were expanded to additional County worksites with employees buying more than 19,000 pounds of fruit. Employees also took note of their numbers as there was a 23 percent increase in participation in the annual biometric screenings.

In addition, the County was named the 2015 Healthiest Company in the mega company category by the San Diego Business Journal.

See additional program accomplishments below:

County Maintains Highest Possible Credit Ratings

San Diego County has earned the highest possible rating from all three of the top credit agencies—Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s. The trio reaffirmed the ratings earlier this month with stable outlooks. Read more

Take Us on Your Journey to Rio

County employees are headed to Rio! More than 1,300 employees signed up to go the distance in a walking challenge and another 1,190 will reach new heights on the stairs in the “Journey to Rio”—an Olympic-themed Employee Wellness program.

So how are you going for gold in the Journey to Rio? Share videos and photos from your favorite trail, neighborhood walk or workplace stairwell. Many will be posted here on InSite. It’s all about keeping yourself and your fellow coworkers motivated and healthy.

While registration has closed, you can still have fun cheering on your coworkers and even join them on a walk or on the stairs.

The Journey to Rio runs through March 18. Don’t forget to keep track of your daily activity on the log sheets, and remember to submit those forms by March 25. For more details visit Human Resources on InSite.

So lace up your sneakers and share your own videos from your Journey to Rio. Submit photos and videos clips through email.

Love Your Heart with a Free Screening

Employees at the El Cajon Family Resource Center got their free screenings!

Employees at the El Cajon Family Resource Center got their free screenings!

Follow your heart to health this week! Get your blood pressure checked during the annual Love Your Heart event. The County and its partners are offering free blood pressure screenings at more than 200 locations around the region, including nearly 40 County worksites on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and the second leading cause of death in San Diego County. In 2013, more than 4,800 people died from diseases of the heart in San Diego County. A Love Your Heart blood pressure screening is a good way to  “know your numbers” and take charge of your own heart health.

For a list of County worksite locations, visit Human Resources’ InSite page. Additional screening locations can be found on the Love Your Heart website or by calling 211.

Share the love. Let your family and friends know how they can love their hearts, too!

Calling All County Couples

Hey all you lovebirds out there – for this Valentine’s Day, we want to feature County couples. Does your sweetheart also don an employee badge?

If you and your significant other are both County employees, we want your photos! Send a picture of you and your sweetie, with names and departments, to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov. Make sure your partner is cool with it (you two talk, right?). Got a fun story to go with it? Maybe you met as interns, or perhaps the proposal came at a County park. Send it along, too! It might be featured in a Valentine’s Day article! 

Watch for New Tax Documents

Most County employees will receive important new tax filing forms in the mail.

Information on the forms is used by the IRS to administer the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The forms also serve as proof of compliance with the ACA for both employees and employers.

What You Need to Know

You may receive one or more of the new tax forms.

You will receive a 1095-C form from the County if you worked full-time (30 or more hours per week) for at least one month in 2015.

You will receive a 1095-B form directly from the insurance provider if you elected medical coverage, either through the County, through a spouse’s employer, or on your own.

The IRS has extended the deadline for employers and insurers to provide these forms to you no later than March 31.

Why This Is Important

You can expect to receive your 1095 forms no later than March 31. It is not necessary to wait for these documents to file. You may not receive a 1095-B or 1095-C by the time you are ready to file your 2015 tax return. While the information on these forms may assist in preparing a return, they are not required. Individual taxpayers will generally not be affected by this extension and should file their returns as they normally would; however you should keep a copy of the 1095(s) with your tax records.

Learn more about the 1095 Forms and what to expect.

Employees Share Experience Counting, Interviewing Homeless

Dominique Albrecht and Megan O'Dowd, both from Housing and Community Development, interview a homeless man as part of the 2016 Point-in-Time count.

The 2016 Point-in-Time homeless count is over and hundreds of County employees who volunteered for the early morning count last Friday may still be trying to catch up on their sleep! Meantime, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless is busy tallying up the final numbers. The total is expected in April and that number will be used to apply for federal funding to help the homeless. 

This is the third year that County employees have volunteered to take part in this snapshot in time and the number of people who give their time for this all important count has increased every year. For 2016, the goal was to reach 500 volunteers. In all, 531 County employees signed up for the count. An additional 96 employees volunteered to interview the homeless. 

Several co-workers allowed us to share their impressions of their experience counting or surveying the homeless. If you would like to add yours, please add them in the comments section.

Nancy Garcia and Loren Goldstein, Aging and Independence Services, inspect a map at the 2016 Point-in-Time homeless count.

Dominique Albrecht – Housing and Community Development

It was very educational going out and doing surveys, talking one on one. Homeless youth is becoming an increasing focus and I talked to a young man who was 22. I heard firsthand how he ended up homeless and told him about resources for help. 

He had been working. It was not like he never had a job. He lost his job and didn’t have family connections to return to. He thought it was completely normal at 22 to be out on his own and trying to make ends meet. He plans still to look for a job and look for housing.

Suzanne Bartole – County Communications Office

I interviewed two people who live beneath underpasses. They had been homeless for more than 20 years. One said he’d made bad choices, the other could not find a job due to a drug offense 30 years ago. After a time, he said he just quit looking. 

I felt really privileged that the homeless people I interviewed trusted me enough to tell their story. I want to get more involved now. 

Julian Shelby – County Technology Office

A retired gentleman named Dave and I were assigned to the Corridor neighborhood of City Heights. We parked and walked every street and alley within our assigned area, which in hindsight was pretty crazy! While we only counted one questionable homeless person… it was a great experience that I wish I could have shared with my 13-year-old daughter, who isn’t old enough yet, but wanted to participate. Soon enough!  

Take a Journey to Rio

To celebrate the Olympic Games being held in Rio de Janeiro this summer, the County is hosting its own competition—Journey to Rio. The six-week contest challenges County employees to go the distance with a step challenge or reach new heights in a step challenge. So go for bronze, silver or gold!

Whether you are an elite athlete or just getting started, the Journey to Rio is for you. Employee Wellness Director William Erese, an Olympian himself, said making small changes to everyday habits makes a big difference.

“Journey to Rio is an opportunity to set a personal goal, keep track of progress and strive for success,” said Erese.

So lace up your sneakers and get ready to move. Sign up for the healthy competition in LMS. Search for “Stairwell Campaign” or “Walking Campaign” and click on “register.”  If you’re really in it to win it, try both! Registration is open through Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Pedometers will be mailed out to participants who sign up for the walking campaign.

The campaign runs for six weeks. It starts Feb. 8 and goes through March 18.

Participants will record their daily steps and/or stairs on log sheets. There are separate log sheets for steps and stairs.

Prizes include T-shirts, picnic blankets and camping chairs. These awards will be given at the end of the campaign based upon level completion.

Anyone who completes all three levels before the end of the campaign is encouraged to keep tracking their progress.

The last day to turn in your log sheet/s to DHRWellness.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov is March 25.