Live Well San Diego 5K Lets You Be an Everyday Hero

The countdown is on to this year’s Live Well San Diego 5K, but the action starts well before race day! To help you get ready for the run, or just increase your physical activity overall, you can participate in the Live Well San Diego 31-Day 5K Fitness Challenge during the month of July.

The 5th annual race is on Sunday, July 29 at the Waterfront Park. The family and pet-friendly event also features a Kids 1-Mile Fun Run, activities, vendors and food trucks. The theme this year is “Celebrating Everyday Heroes” and local police, fire and military heroes will be on hand.

The 5K starts at 7:30 a.m. and the kids run begins at 8:15 a.m. The race benefits the life-saving work of the San Diego Blood Bank. County employees can use the discount code “CNTY5” when registering.

The 31-Day 5K Fitness Challenge offers an easy way to train for the race. You can sign up for email, text or Google Calendar notifications that offer a daily fitness challenge and training tip – all geared toward helping you participate in the event on July 29.

The tips will help you increase your physical activity and work on your personal fitness goals. The training schedule shows the average time, distance or additional steps you need to complete each day to help get you ready to participate in the 5K.

Each daily notification will offer a healthy, safe or thriving themed call-to-action, along with resources from Live Well San Diego recognized partners and County of San Diego programs related to the challenge.

You can sign up with friends and co-workers for support and extra encouragement. The challenge features meet-up walks, hikes and bike rides throughout the month so you can enjoy a workout with others.

You can sign up for the challenge on the Live Well San Diego website.

County’s Got Talent?

Would you compete in a County’s Got Talent competition? Or would you be more into cheering on your co-workers?

We’re trying to gauge interest in an event of that kind for employees. Musicians, magicians, moonwalkers and more – want to take the stage?

Let us know! Take the poll (on the InSite homepage.) If you think you’d like to enter, send us an email for our interest list. 

Sign up for Text Alerts for County Events!

You have another option to stay up-to-date on everything happening at the County. Sign up to get text messages about Countywide events, Employee Wellness activities and/or professional development opportunities.

You can sign up for all three categories or just the ones that interest you. Here’s how (message and data rates apply): 

• Text “CoSD EVENTS” to 468311 for Countywide events
• Text “CoSD WELLNESS” to 468311 for Wellness events
• Text “CoSD PROFDEV” to 468311 for professional development opportunities

If you decide they’re not for you, reply “CoSD STOP” to stop receiving the messages.

Please note, this is different than the workplace emergency alert system. You don’t need to enroll in that program – during an emergency, notifications will automatically be sent to your work and personal cellphones. Please review your contact information in PeopleSoft Self Service to make sure it is up to date.

AAACE Hosts Juneteenth Celebration for Employees

The African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) received a proclamation from the Board of Supervisors June 19 to recognize the annual Juneteenth holiday.

AAACE also held a Juneteenth celebration last Friday. The holiday marks the official end of slavery, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted.

The AAACE event at the County Operations Center had a packed program. There was singing, dancing and a speaker. Plus, guests were invited to browse a Juneteenth gallery with books and artifacts donated by the San Diego County Library. It awarded three young scholars with $500 for educational support. And AAACE became the first Employee Resource Group (ERG) to become a Live Well San Diego partner.

View a photo gallery of the Juneteenth celebrations at the County.

To learn more about AAACE, visit its InSite page.

Don’t Miss Out on the $100 Wellness Incentive

There’s still time to earn your $100 Wellness Incentive! Get a wellness screening, take an online health risk assessment and submit proof of completion by June 30 to earn $100.

Employees can choose to get a screening with their own doctor or a free screening at KP Care Now, which is located at the County Operations Center, 5530 Overland Ave., 2nd Floor. To make an appointment at KP Care Now, call (858) 278-2802 or email KP-carenow@kp.org.

For program details and forms, please visit the Employee Wellness website.

Snap a “Well-fie” and Share!

What is a “Well-fie”? It’s a wellness selfie, and taking one is our Employee Wellness’ Summer Adventure Challenge! Print the Wellness logo and take it with you on your vacation, staycation or other fitness activity. Snap your well-fie and be sure to include the Wellness logo.

Email your well-fie to County Communications by Sept. 7.

Everyone who sends in a Well-fie will get a puzzle that’s a collage of employees’ Well-fie pictures.

For details please visit the Employee Wellness’ InSite page.

Foster and Relative Caregiver Families Honored by HHSA

Seventeen foster parents and relative caregivers won awards at the recent Quality Parenting Initiative Caregiver Appreciation banquet.

Three hundred foster parent and relative caregiver families were honored recently by the County’s Health and Human Services Agency.

HHSA hosted the second annual Quality Parenting Initiative Caregiver Appreciation banquet, highlighting the efforts of these families in providing safety, stability and hope for foster youth in the County.

Awards were presented to 17 caregivers who provide children in foster care loving, committed and skilled parenting while helping to maintain important connections in a child’s life.

A new award was introduced this year recognizing a community partner. Straight from the Heart, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that offers a wide array of support to caregivers including a storefront to purchase clothing or other items at a nominal cost.

Supervisor Greg Cox applauded the work foster families are doing to strengthen birth families, support sibling connections and care for older or medically fragile youth. In addition, Nick Macchione, HHSA director, and Cathi Palatella, child welfare services director, expressed deep appreciation for resource parents’ dedication to children and families.

Gallery: CSDFEA Celebrates Philippine Independence Day

The County of San Diego Filipino American Employees’ Association (CSDFEA) held a Philippine Independence Day celebration at the County Operations Center Friday, which was full of food, fun and festivities. The annual holiday commemorates the independence of the Philippines from Spain. See the photo gallery.

Learn more about the County's 10 employee resource groups on InSite.

InTouch - Suicide is Preventable and There is Help

Our hearts sank as we heard back-to-back stories last week of two famous people taking their own lives. At the very same time came a troubling new report from the CDC showing suicide rates on the rise across the country. While our local rate has stabilized, on average, we still see a San Diegan die by suicide each day.

The celebrity deaths are evidence that all the success in the world won’t make someone immune to depression. It strikes people regardless of their race, ethnicity or economic status. 

And it can clearly reach our fellow County employees and their loved ones. I want to offer a reminder of a few ways you can get help for yourself or take care of those around you.

First, our Employee Assistance Program can provide counseling for you or members of your household. It’s free and strictly confidential. You can visit the website or call 888-777-6665 (Sheriff’s Dept. sworn staff have their own EAP at 800-222-9691). Please don’t hesitate to take advantage of this service.    

For the public, but certainly available to employees as well, the County sponsors the Access and Crisis Line where trained counselors offer advice on handling a mental health crisis. The number is (888) 724-7240.

I also want to encourage everyone to be alert to risk factors among your co-workers, family or friends.  Most people who take their own lives show some kind of warning signs. These can include:

• Talk of hurting or killing oneself
• Hopelessness or helplessness
• Divorce, separation, stress on family
• Loss of health (real or imaginary)
• Loss of job, home, personal security
• Increased alcohol or drug use
• Isolation from family and friends
• Daring or risk-taking behavior

Looking beyond that, there’s a suicide prevention technique known as QPR: Question, Persuade and Refer. It’s available through the Suicide Prevention Council.  Additionally, Mental Health America of San Diego County has a training called Mental Health First Aid that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses.

News like we’ve had recently naturally leaves us saddened and confused. But experts stress that by seeking help and watching out for each other, suicide can be prevented. Let’s focus on what we can do and the steps we can take to safeguard our own and others’ well-being.