Report Sums Up Our Strides Toward Diversity & Inclusion

Here at the County, we are constantly striving for a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects those we serve in our communities and makes all employees feel respected and welcome. Over the past year, our efforts have gained momentum. We’ve won national awards, put on workshops that bring together employees and educate them, and even heard from other businesses and organizations in the region to see how they’re promoting a work culture rich in diversity. And all of that has been captured in the latest Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report.

The County’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) program won National Association of Counties Achievement Awards the last two years, as well as the Diversity and Inclusion Award from the San Diego Business Journal.

We’ve also created a more inclusive and accessible environment for County employees and customers by determining where we need to improve upon our existing process and procedures.

“In alignment with our D&I Strategic Plan goals, we’ll continue to provide world-class public service by enhancing our cultural and linguistic competency,” said Human Resources Director Susan Brazeau. “This happens through our educational events and sharing of best practices across the County.”

The County implemented Americans with Disabilities Act training and did even more training for HR employees to make sure employee needs are met. Even the most popular wellness event of the year – the Amazing Race – expanded its DiverseAbility course!

Numerous workshops were held this past year to increase awareness of cultural diversity, including a multicultural customer service workshop and an inclusion potluck. One of the most talked about events was the “Everyone Has an Accent” workshop, where the D&I and Customer Experience initiative teams explored how people can form assumptions about others based on their accents.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and various County departments have also worked together this past year to plan and present events that focused on our cultural uniqueness but that also bring employees together – things like a Juneteenth Celebration, Philippine Independence Day Celebration and Light the Night for Pride at the CAC.

“I love that we have 10 Employee Resource Groups at the County and over 175 D&I Champions. I love that we offer eight D&I classes at the County on a variety of topics for a variety of classifications and that we teach one of these classes to all new employees at New Employee Orientation,” said Karen Harris, a member on the County’s Resource Team for Diversity and Inclusion. “I love that when we say the word ‘inclusion’ we truly mean everyone.”

At a recent leadership summit for our ERGs, diversity and inclusion was the topic of a special panel discussion. ERG members and leaders got to hear from representatives from Union Bank, Sempra Energy, Cal State San Marcos and Qualcomm to learn how their programs work, the challenges they face and what they hope to see for their organizations future.

“The main reason for the panel was to provide some inspiration and new ideas to our ERG leaders,” said Harris. “We thought it would be interesting to hear what kinds of ERGs exist at other organizations, how they align themselves with the strategic vision of their organization and some of their best practices.”

They came to share, but the County had lessons for them as well. Panelist Dawn Andrews, Director of D&I for Sempra Energy, noted how impressed she was with our own D&I Annual Report, something she hoped to create for her own team in the future.

You can read the full report online or visit our Diversity & Inclusion page for more information. If you’re looking for a way to become more involved with this initiative and promote a culture of inclusion, you can contact your department’s D&I Champion. Don’t know who that is? Contact your DHR Officer and they can help you out.

Try Public Transit During Free Ride Day

Get out of your car and onto public transit for Free Ride Day. On Tuesday, Oct. 2, no fares will be collected on most trolley, commuter trains and buses—just get on board and enjoy the ride.

The hope is that if you enjoy the ride, you’ll try commuting to work on public transit more often. You’ll be reducing air pollution, easing traffic and parking congestion, and saving money. The County may reimburse all or part of your monthly transit pass costs.

Read more about the County’s transit pass reimbursement benefit on InSite and download the reimbursement form. Page 2 has information about eligibility.

For additional information on Free Ride Day, visit MTS and NCTD.

Six Innovative County Programs Win State Awards

HHSA nurse and law enforcement teams went out in the streets to find and vaccinate consenting homeless and illicit drug users, two populations most at-risk for the Hepatitis A outbreak.

Congratulations to employees involved with six programs selected for California State Association of Counties (CSAC) awards. The County won two Challenge Awards and four Merit awards, for finding innovative, effective and cost-saving ways to provide services to residents.

One  Challenge Award recognized the County for its vaccination outreach in response to the Hepatitis A outbreak in 2017. HHSA developed new strategies and tools to reach homeless and illicit drug users to help contain the outbreak. Among these new strategies were nurse and law enforcement foot teams, extra vaccination events, and collaborating with local organizations such as hospital emergency departments, jails and drug treatment and homeless service providers to offer vaccinations in these new settings.

A second Challenge Award recognized the County for a portable charging station program that provides power to medical assistance devices during extended electrical outages anywhere in the region. The Office of Emergency Services initiated the program and has pre-staged 14 portable generators at County maintenance facilities around the region to be deployed as needed for vulnerable community members. Another 11 supply trailers to support the generator deployment are positioned at five designated Red Cross shelter sites, four HHSA facilities and the County Operations Center.

The four Merit Awards went to the following programs:

The Know Your Hazards web page allows residents to look up hazards at their home, school, workplace or other area in the community.

The County developed the Defense Transition Unit to help criminally accused clients get timely mental health assessments and link them with mental health treatment during the early stages of the court process. The innovative solution enhances mental health care while reducing time in county jail. The goal is to improve quality of life for clients and the community over time as treatment reduces revolving-door recidivism.

Emergency Services launched a Know Your Hazards online tool, which helps residents prepare for hazards at their home, school or work in the community. The interactive mapping tool provides hazard and preparedness information on wildfires, earthquakes, flooding and tsunamis in both English and Spanish. Users need only provide a street address or drop a pin on a map to search.

Child Welfare Services implemented the Justice Electronic Library System (JELS) to distribute court documents to stakeholders by simultaneously uploading to various secure SharePoint sites for each stakeholder. This process eliminates waste, reduces travel time and improves delivery times. Reports are time-stamped and the system interfaces with the Superior Court Juvenile Dependency Data System.

Health and Human Services developed a new telephonic signature process for CalFresh semi-annual reports. Customers leave an audio file as a signature. This process delivers enhanced service by avoiding delays if forms had to be mailed, delivered in person to a Family Resource Center or through a website. This solution has assisted vulnerable customers such as the homeless, customers with transportation or mobility barriers, and customers that cannot take time off work to come into an office.

Don’t Snooze on This Deal

If you’ve been dreaming about a better night’s sleep, PerkSpot has some great discounts on a variety of mattresses. Take advantage of one of these offers—you’ll rest well knowing you saved money.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers, from movie theaters to florists and jewelers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

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

TED Talks Viewing with April Heinze

Do you bring your authentic self to work? At a special lunch and learn event, April Heinze, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the Community Services Group, led a discussion on bringing our authentic self to work and supplemented it with some motivational videos.

“It is vital that we recognize not only our authentic self but others as well. We must deal with eliminating stereotypes we place on others and the unconscious bias we may be having,” Heinze said. “It is the only way that we will achieve safe inclusive spaces at work where we can all contribute our best to the County team!”

Heinze showed several videos ranging from TED Talks to a Heineken Commercial to a corporate diversity promotional video, all emphasizing that it takes a certain vulnerability to show our authentic selves – it takes courage.

Watch the videos and join in on the conversation:

• Uncovered: Finding & Being Authentically Myself at Work | Suezette Robotham | TEDxBeaconStreet

• This New Heineken Ad is Brilliant #OpenYourWorld

• What does my headscarf mean to you? | Yassmin Abdel-Magied | TED

• Salesforce- Proudly Me

Immunization Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Public Health's Immunization Program celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by having an afternoon break of nachos and snow cones (raspados) for staff.

"This is one of the many ways that our department brings awareness about diversity and inclusion," said Kimberly Pettiford, who is the department's Diversity and Inclusion Champion. "It’s also a way to increase staff engagement, enhance morale and support team building."

Lunch and Learn: Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life

The next Employee Wellness Lunch and Learn offers employees a chance to understand more about how military life affects the service member and their family and friends. “Understanding the Unique Needs and Stressors Associated with Military Life and Transitioning into the Civilian World” will take place:

• Where: County Operations Center, 5530 Overland Ave., Room 124

• When:  Wednesday, Sept.  19

• Time: noon – 1 p.m.

• Please bring your own lunch

Timothy Mathues, Veteran Outreach Program Coordinator at the County Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, said this Lunch and Learn is particularly important to our veteran employees as it will provide valuable resources for the veterans and their families. The session will include a discussion with panelists who represent several nonprofits and will have a question-and-answer period.

Sign up for the lunch and learn session now.

Employees requiring an accommodation should email DHRWellness.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov.

If you are unable to attend the lunch and learn, there are still resources available to you. The County Office of Military and Veterans Affairs provides benefit information and assistance, plus other support to San Diego County veterans and their families.

The County also offers Courage to Call, a service that lets veterans talk directly with a fellow vet who knows what it means to serve and can connect the caller with help. You can call 2-1-1 or visit the website to use an online chat.

In addition, VALOR, an employee resource group, is open to veterans, military families and patriotic supporters.

TED Talks with Deputy CAO April Heinze

Join Community Services Group Deputy Chief Administrative Officer April Heinze for a lunch and learn on "Bringing your Authentic Self to Work." Bring your lunch and come ready to watch, interact and connect with County colleagues on how we can bring our authentic selves to work while creating a safe and inclusive space for individuals to be themselves and to be free from stereotypes and unconscious bias.

• What: "Bringing Your Authentic Self to Work" TED Talks

• When: Tuesday, Sept. 18, noon-1 p.m

• Where: 5520 Overland Ave., County Operations Center, Chambers

County Counsel Employee Finds Joy in Running – A LOT of Running

Joy Nagal will tell you she’s a late bloomer when it comes to running. But boy did she blossom. Fresh off an international Half-Ironman – that’s a 70.3-mile distance triathlon comprised of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run (half marathon) - the legal secretary with County Counsel has added the huge accomplishment to her long list of brutal and intense races.

“Believe it or not, I wasn’t always a runner!” Nagal said. “Nine years ago, I was approaching 40 when I started running.”

And running. And running. And running.

The Philippine-born racer got the itch after her friends invited her to the Silver Strand Half Marathon in Coronado back in 2009. She only did the 5K, but those three miles are all it took to get her hooked. She graduated to a 10K the next year and a couple weeks after that she braved the Carlsbad Half Marathon.

Nagal and her husband in the Phillippines for the Ironman 70.3 in Cebu.

“It was painful, yet it was the most exhilarating feeling.  Of course, with very little training and not much running experience, I was slow, and it took me nearly three hours to finish,” she said. “I remember I had a hard time walking for almost a week, and I couldn’t go up and down the stairs! Despite that, I knew I wanted to do it again.”

So she did. She signed up for four more marathons that year and even became a member of a national running club in which she had to complete three half marathons in 90 days to qualify for membership. And finally, in 2010, she found a local running group in her community to be a part of.

“They were serious runners, they were fast, and they didn’t just run to ‘finish,’ rather, they ran competitively,” said Nagal. “They were ‘out for blood’ to place or podium in their respective age group division. That’s probably when I started taking running more seriously.”

The local group had structured and regular trainings, which helped Nagal become a better runner. Her times started improving, and the group provided inspiration and motivation to place in races. She says the improvement didn’t happen overnight – in fact, it took years for her to shave significant time off her races. But it’s those small goals that keep Nagal going.

Nagal and her husband in the Phillippines.

“I loved that feeling of accomplishment each time I attained my goal,” she said.  “Although I was getting older, I was getting better and recovering faster as well; not to mention I was more energized, and also feel great about myself. “

Perhaps one of Nagal’s biggest running influences is her husband, Josef, whom she met in 2011 at the Carlsbad Marathon and was also part of the national running club Nagal joined. Sef, as Nagal affectionately refers to him, is the reason behind her audacious Ironman goals. He’d been training for his first full Ironman when they met in 2011 and Nagal had been intrigued in doing a duathon, which excludes a swimming portion.

“He knew I had the desire, so he introduced me to the Triathlon Club of San Diego and took me to their beginner open water swims in Bonita Cove.  I couldn’t swim from buoy to buoy; I would panic and hyperventilate,” she said.

But Nagal got stronger in the water and has since completed an Ironman and a few half-Ironmans, including one in the Philippines this August – a trip she referred to as a “racecation” because she and her husband both flew out to their home country to compete in the grueling competition and then enjoy some time alone on a belated honeymoon.

“Cebu was by far my best race experience.  Filipinos really know how to put on a show, the hospitality is amazing, and the amount of support is just incredible, unlike any other races I’ve done,” she said. “ You literally get treated like a rockstar!”

Nagal and Sef enjoyed sightseeing after their big race.

“We went snorkeling in the beautiful beaches of Coron/Palawan; canyoneering at Kawasan Falls; swimming with whale sharks in Oslob; and Chocolate Hills Adventure Park in Bohol,” Nagal said. “It was amazing!”

The now-veteran racer and her husband were instrumental in establishing a local chapter of the Fil-Am Tri Club, San Diego region in 2012 (Filipino-American Triathlon Club), which originated in New Jersey.  They’re still active and involved in the group and hope to run many more races together in the years to come, including more in their home country.

“Perhaps we will have another reason to visit the Philippines again, and do the other races in either Davao or Subic,” said Nagal. “We also have on our bucket list Challenge Roth triathlon in Germany.”

For now, Nagal’s short-term goal is to re-qualify for the Boston Marathon (yup, she ran that already in 2016) or to qualify for the Chicago Marathon. She will be participating in the NYC Marathon in November.

The runner also said that she hopes her story of finding her extracurricular passion late in life might inspire other employees out there, noting that the County of San Diego is constantly promoting wellness.

“You’re never too old to set a new fitness goal.  I was never athletic, and I never thought I would be labeled as such, let alone become a triathlete. It wasn’t until I was forty when the athlete in me was born.  Now I’m approaching my 50th birthday in March 2020, and I have more goals to achieve, and dreams to fulfill,” Nagal said. “If you have the drive, the determination and motivation to put in the hard work, you can achieve those goals, but you have to make the decision to start and believe in yourself. “

Camp Connect Experience Uplifting for HHSA Nurses

Splish, Splash! Over one hundred local foster youth frolicked in the pool, rode horses, raced each other down the zip line and created memories with their brothers and sisters at the 10th annual Camp Connect, a program that provides experiences for siblings separated by their placement in the foster care system.

While the kids stay active with nature-filled activities, nurses are needed to tend to any bumps, scrapes, splinters or tummy aches and medications are provided throughout the day and night. And HHSA Public Health Services nurses volunteer every year to do those duties at camp. 

“I wasn’t sure what to expect at Camp Connect, but I am so glad I was there,” said Amaya Seastrand, a Central Region nurse supervisor who spent the four days at camp with the youth.

“These kids have been through so much and being part of something that brings them together with their siblings made my heart fill with joy.”

Some of the children may have diabetes or asthma and need increased attention and monitoring. Oftentimes, they have experienced challenges and trauma, and look forward to spending time with their siblings.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Paulina Bobenrieth, South Region Public Health Nurse Manager, an annual volunteer at Camp Connect. “Everything the nurses and social workers do is to give the kids the best experience of their lives.”

“The nurses go to where the kids are playing and provide what’s needed in the most gentle way. It’s inspiring.” 

In addition to this event, Camp Connect provides monthly opportunities for siblings to remain connected while in foster care. The camp is made possible through a partnership between HHSA and a local non-profit, Promises2Kids, along with dozens of volunteers from across the county.