Employee Wellness Division | 2460 N. First Street, Suite 220, San Jose, CA 95131Tel: 408.678.2310 | Fax: 408.824.1755 | www.sccgov.org/wellness

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

2019 WELLNESS FAIRS

MENTAL HEALTHAWARENESS MONTH

Spring/Summer 2019

wellnessWORKS

Befor

eNowTable of Contents

Mental Health Awarenesss Month ... 3

Wellness Champion Spotlight ........... 4

Wellness Fairs 2019 ............................. 5

Know Your Health, Keep Your Health Employee Engagement .................... 6

Summer Recipe ................................... 7 Profile in Health .................................. 8

Over the last year, I have recommitted, and taken time, to focus on my personal health. Given the County’s focus on employee engagement and well-being, I felt it was important to model our commitments. I also faced serious consequences if I didn’t make this a priority.

My doctors warned me about the risks of my blood pressure and stress. I needed to make some lifestyle changes to ensure I could continue to do a job I enjoy and be there for my family and the people I care about. I had to make the time daily to approach meals and meetings differently, and I had regular weekly commitments to monitor my progress. Every day wasn’t easy. Some days were better than others.

As my numbers started to improve, I had to find ways to take my short-term learnings and integrate them into new practices. Now that I have reached my goals, I’m working on maintaining my achievements. I’m also feeling better than ever!

I hope sharing my story will encourage you to think about your own health status. While I took time to focus on myself, perhaps you might be interested in improving your social and/or emotional well-being. What might be one small thing you can incorporate into your day? Taking a minute to send a note of recognition to a colleague? Talking to your manager about what you enjoy doing and something you might like to try?

Well-being is an ongoing practice. It’s a collection of small activities that can lead to big differences. My office will continue to offer Countywide programs and offerings to support employees and our collective organizational goals. I hope you will pledge to take one action this spring to improve your personal health and well-being. And then, I’d love to hear about how it goes.

Jeffrey V. Smith, M.D., J.D. County Executive Officer

EXECUTIVE MESSAGE

County Executive: Jeffrey V. Smith

Board of Supervisors: Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, Susan Ellenberg, Joe Simitian

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" Well-being isan ongoing practice "

Date/Time Location

Thursday, May 23, 201912pm – 1pm

Social Services Agency1879 Senter Rd, Door #4, San Jose

Orientation Room

Wednesday, May 29, 201912pm – 1pm

Social Services Agency333 W Julian St, San Jose

Auditorium

Thursday, May 30, 201912pm – 1pm

Sheriff's Department 55 Younger Ave, San Jose

Auditorium

Friday, May 31, 201912pm – 1pm

Valley Specialty Center751 Bascom Ave, San Jose

Basement Conference Room

Come as you are. No special attire or equipment necessary. Registration is required on sccLearn.

Whether you are new to meditation or an advanced practitioner, come take a mindful break with us. In this class, you will:

• Engage in deeper mind-body awareness through gentle movement.

• Calm your mind and connect with your breath.

• Learn tools to increase resiliency.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, we all experience stress from life’s challenges – family, work, bills, and more – which manifest in many ways: staying awake at night, eating sweets, feeling depressed, or experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort. Managing our response to stressors is essential to alleviate these symptoms, prevent further issues, and build resiliency to continue forward.

There are simple and quick ways to practice self-care throughout the day:

• Pause and recognize how you are feeling. Assess your stress levels to understand how to address them. There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed.

• Take a breath (or ten). Take 1-10 slow, deep breaths and focus on the breath to allow your mind to settle.

• Schedule a break and move. Movement can boost your mood and productivity while decreasing feelings of stress - walk with your colleagues at work or dedicate 30 minutes of activity at home.

• Try a relaxing activity. Do what calms you - meditate for 10 minutes, read a book or magazine, listen to a podcast/music, make a cup of hot tea, or complete a puzzle.

• Disconnect from technology. Our phones can stimulate our brains all day which reduces the time to rest our racing minds. We recommend disconnecting 1-2 hours before bedtime.

Take Time for Self-Care, Resiliency, and Stress Management

MOVEMENT & BREATH CLASSES

MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

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Partn

ers:

FAIR LOCATION DATE TIME

SANTA CLARA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER751 S. Bascom Ave, San JoseEmployee Garage – 5th Floor

TuesdayJune 11, 2019 9:30am - 2:00pm

SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY1867 Senter Rd, San JoseNeedles Court Employee Parking Lot

ThursdayJune 13, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

CHARCOT COUNTY CENTER2310 N. First St, San JoseRear Employee Parking Lot

TuesdayJune 18, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER70 W. Hedding St, San JoseIsaac Newton Senter Patio

ThursdayJune 20, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

EMPLOYEE GIVEAWAYS HEALTH SCREENINGS MUSIC & GAMES

2019 Employee Health & Wellness FairsWellness ChampionSpotlight

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• Make your health and well-being a priority – strive to make healthy choices.

• Keep up with regular health screenings to help monitor your health and prevent serious health conditions in the future.

• Advocate for yourself with healthcare providers because you know what you’re experiencing best.

Tina’s takeaways:

Meet Tina Torkelson, a Wellness Champion at the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). Tina has been an active Wellness Champion for about 5 years, but she has been proactive in bringing wellness resources and services to her workplace long before the launch of the Wellness Champion Network in 2014.

One of Tina’s proud accomplishments has been to maintain a small wellness, safety and ergonomics room for DCSS employees. The room is stocked with resources, information and hands-on ergo equipment to try out. She has also scheduled experts in these fields to provide “lunch and learns” to employees, and she has even hosted fitness classes onsite. Her support of many Employee Wellness Division (EWD)

campaigns and activities over the years is unwavering.

In addition to supporting her coworkers, Tina also makes her own health and well-being a priority. Tina signed up for a health screening at EWD’s annual Employee Health & Wellness Fair over two years ago. At her screening appointment, potential health risks were identified and discussed. Her results prompted her to schedule follow-up visits with her doctors. After years of chronic pain and fatigue, she was diagnosed with tumors with pre-cancerous cells. She recently had them removed, preventing a more serious cancer diagnosis further down the road. Since her surgery, her pain has disappeared, and she has more energy in her daily life.

Tina is grateful to EWD for offering free health screenings at the Employee Health & Wellness Fair and encourages all employees to sign up for them. She is also grateful to her healthcare provider (Valley Health Plan) and her doctors & specialists at Valley Medical Center who provided her with the help she needed.

Sign up for a free, confidential health screening at the 2019 Employee Health & Wellness Fairs.

Visit www.sccgov.org/wellness to schedule your appointment.

Thank you for sharing your story, tina!

Partn

ers:

FAIR LOCATION DATE TIME

SANTA CLARA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER751 S. Bascom Ave, San JoseEmployee Garage – 5th Floor

TuesdayJune 11, 2019 9:30am - 2:00pm

SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY1867 Senter Rd, San JoseNeedles Court Employee Parking Lot

ThursdayJune 13, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

CHARCOT COUNTY CENTER2310 N. First St, San JoseRear Employee Parking Lot

TuesdayJune 18, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER70 W. Hedding St, San JoseIsaac Newton Senter Patio

ThursdayJune 20, 2019 9:30am - 1:30pm

EMPLOYEE GIVEAWAYS HEALTH SCREENINGS MUSIC & GAMES

2019 Employee Health & Wellness Fairs

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ENGAGEMENT

WELL-BEING

To leverage their successes, Champions will now be incorporating engagement while maintaining their well-being focus. Champions will work with their managers to “localize” Countywide wellness offerings, participate in departmental action planning and promote employee engagement and well-being offerings.

Interested in being at the forefront of creating a State of Wellness in our County? Discuss your involvement with your manager and contact us at wellness@ewd.sccgov.org.

The overall County results identified three focus areas including:

• Enhancing Recognition • Encouraging Employee Development • Mobilizing the existing Wellness Champion Network

In fall 2018, the Learning Organization of which the Employee Wellness Division is a part of, conducted a countywide survey called the Employee Engagement and Well-Being Survey. The 30-question survey was conducted by Gallup to not only offer research-based questions but also to help ensure confidentiality of employee responses.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & WELL-BEING

Employees who can identify a Wellness Champion in their agency/department are 2 times as likely to be engaged.

2XEmployees who are aware of wellness messaging are nearly 3 times more like to be engaged.

3X

Know your Health, Keep Your Health is a year-round health education campaign that highlights various health topics. Each month, we help you learn more about your health and how to improve your overall wellness through prevention, regular screenings, and education.

Visit our Intranet Site to browse articles on topics such as:

• Nutrition• Oral/Dental Health• Heart Health

Employee Wellness Division Intranet Site: https://connect.sccgov.org/sites/wellness

The more you KNOW YOUR HEALTH, the better you KEEP YOUR HEALTH

KNOW YOUR HEALTH, KEEP YOUR HEALTH

Recipe courtesy of www.whatscooking.fns.usda.gov

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)2 cups fresh broccoli (chopped)2 cups fresh strawberries (diced)1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing:1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh or bottled)2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon sugar (or honey) 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook orzo pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2. In a large bowl, combine orzo pasta, broccoli, strawberries, and sunflower seeds. Drizzle with lemon poppy seed vinaigrette and toss to combine.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Prep Time: 15 minutesMakes: 6 cups Nutrition Info per cup Calories: 153Total Fat: 8g Sodium: 31mgTotal Carbohydrate: 18gDietary Fiber: 3g Protein: 4g Sugar: 4g

MyPlate Food GroupsFruits: 1/2 cupVegetables: 1/4 cupGrains: 1/2 ounceProtein Foods: 1/2 ounce

BROCCOLI STRAWBERRY ORZO SALAD

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PROFILE IN HEALTHChristopher Lee Epidemiologist Public Health Department

Monday through Friday, Christopher Lee is an Epidemiologist for the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department. When he’s not at work, Christopher is a mountaineer! Passionate about wellness, his favorite activities include hiking, mountain climbing, and snow/glacier travel. Being so active, Christopher is at the top of his team’s leaderboard for March Into May this year!

Over the years, Christopher has found an amazing support system through his outdoor adventures. A lot of his close friends also enjoy the same activities. One of the things he loves so much about mountaineering is the sense of community it brings. When you spend several hours with people in sometimes grueling conditions, you really get the opportunity to connect. Christopher and his mountaineering community care deeply about each other and invest time in providing support for one another.

Shared time with his close friends and being active are reasons why Christopher loves outdoor activities like hiking and climbing so much. Experiencing the beauty of more remote, or untouched, places is what keeps him motivated. The thrill of making it to the peak of a summit and being able to move with confidence in challenging conditions excite him.

With the weather warming up and flowers in bloom, spring and early summer provide the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and connect with nature. Time in nature helps you feel as though you belong and helps you build a deeper connection to the world around you. There are many other health benefits to spending time outdoors including:

• Increased physical activity • Improved mood (you’ll be happier) • Elevated levels of vitamin D

Visit www.parkhere.org to browse local county parks and outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and camping. Christopher regularly visits Rancho San Antonio and Sanborn County Park to hike and to reap the benefits of nature.

Christopher’s wellness advice for others: • Don’t be too hard on yourself. • Practice self-compassion. • Find an activity that you enjoy will help you

stick to your wellness goals and achieve them!

Images: Courtesy of Christopher Lee

Do you or a County employee you know have an inspirational story

to tell? If so, please email us at wellness@ewd.sccgov.org

TELL US YOUR STORY!

"Practice self-compassion."

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