KC employees can help residents preserve their Apple Health insurance
Cross-posted from Public Health Insider
Thousands of King County residents who have health insurance through Apple Health risk losing coverage in coming months. Public Health—Seattle & King County and its partners in the community are leading an effort to help them take action in time.
Beginning this spring, many clients will need to verify that they’re still eligible for Apple Health. The good news: There are options for people to keep health insurance coverage – if they act in time.
Learn more and download the flyer here.
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Serving healthcare with dignity to those serving time
From the American Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pasifika Affinity Group
Lio Saephanh, Nursing Supervisor with King County Jail Health Services, came to the U.S. as a child after spending a year in a refugee camp. She is Mien, an ethnic minority in Southeast Asia and the second largest Hill Tribal group in northern Laos and Thailand, after the Hmong people.
Lio has provided direct health services in King County for the past 33 years. In her role, she supervises teams of dedicated nurses providing critical health care and making sure scheduled services are fully staffed and operational. Read her story here.
More about the American Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pasifika Affinity Group
The next American Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pasifika (AANHP) virtual gathering will take place on Wednesday, March 29 from 1 to 2:30 pm via Teams.
If you are interested in getting connected to the AANHP community at King County, reach out to the co-Chairs, Helen Potter (hpotter@kingcounty.gov) and Guru Dorje (guru.dorje@kingcounty.gov).
Learn more about King County Affinity groups at www.kingcounty.gov/AffinityGroups.
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Metro wins WTS ‘Innovative Transportation Solution’ award
Cross-posted from Metro Matters
King County Metro was recently recognized by the Puget Sound Chapter of WTS for the adoption and roll out of the Free Youth Transit Pass program, which is supported by funding from the state’s Move Washington legislation.
“This program and policy change represents a fantastic investment in our riders of the future and we are honored to receive the award,” said Ina Percival, Metro Supervisor for Market and Business Development. “It was a fantastic team effort and included all of our regional transit partners.” Read more.
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Hypothermia, help, and hoisting: All in a day’s work
From the Sheriff’s Newsletter
On March 15, the King County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue and the Air Support Unit flew a rescue mission to Snow Lake, northwest of the Alpental Ski Area. The reported person in distress was vomiting, dehydrated, could not walk out on their own, and was a member of a 10-person back country ski group.
As crewmembers gathered at the hangar in Renton, the necessary snow gear was loaded into the rescue helicopter and the crew briefed on the mission at hand. The rescue crew launched and reached the scene in about 20 minutes.
After a scouting mission to locate a safe hoisting location, and then another safer location, the crew worked on lowering down a medic. After his initial assessment of the situation and finding there was another person in need, an additional rescue specialist was lowered down to assist in the waist deep snow and steep terrain. After a medical evaluation, one person was fit enough to ski out while the other was not. This person was hoisted via a rescue harness, transported to the Summit West Parking Lot and then transported via aid car.
“This is another incredible example of the work that KCSO does to keep our community members safe,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
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StormFest 2023 seeking volunteers
StormFest is an outdoor learning event with sixth and seventh grade Highline School District students using STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and stormwater lessons for hands-on learning. At this outdoor event, students learn about their local watershed, sources of pollution, and engineering solutions to prevent stormwater pollution.
Volunteers gain experience in best practices for environmental education and interacting with students from a variety of cultures. Bilingual station educators and interpreters will be paid stipends. Eligible employees can use leave for volunteer hours. Applications close on May 8.
Check out this past StormFest video to see how students interact with environmental education.
When and where
- Training day (required for station educators, optional for interpreters and volunteers) is Wednesday, May 31 from 8:30 a.m. to -12:30 p.m.
- Event days are June 6, 7, and 8 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Des Moines Beach Park, 22030 Cliff Ave South, Des Moines WA
How do you want to help?
- Station educators: Co-teach a fun, interactive stormwater lesson. There are several dual-language Spanish classes, so we are excited for some educators to teach the lessons in Spanish. Station educators are eligible to receive a stipend for their participation. Learn more and apply.
- Interpreters: Work with station educators to describe and engage students in fun science. Interpreters are eligible to receive a stipend for their participation. Learn more and apply.
- Volunteers: Help keep event activities on schedule, running smoothly, and full of fun! Learn more and apply.
If you have any questions about the event or recruitment, please email Mary Rabourn (mary.rabourn@kingcounty.gov), Iris Kemp (ikemp@kingcounty.gov), or HighlineStormFest@gmail.com.
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March 30 is the third payday of the month
All King County employees get paid on a biweekly basis, every-other-Thursday, resulting in 26 pay periods per year. You usually receive two paychecks per month; however, March 30 will be the third payday of the month.
The net dollar amount of these “third” paychecks may be larger because not all deductions are taken out. For example, Deferred Compensation, supplemental insurance premiums, Benefit Access Fees, and Employee Giving donations are not deducted from these checks.
For more information about your paycheck, go to Payroll or speak with your department Payroll representative or timekeeper.
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PeopleSoft outage Friday, March 24 at 3 p.m
To allow for system maintenance, the PeopleSoft system will not be available starting on Friday, March 24 at 3 p.m. and is scheduled to be back online by 6:30 a.m. on Monday, March 27.
During this planned outage, the Business Resource Center (BRC) will apply vendor updates and maintenance.
The system will not be available for access by any County staff during this outage window. There will be a communication sent out to all County staff when the system becomes available.
This outage impacts all PeopleSoft users. Your understanding and support is appreciated.
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King County Sheriff’s Deputy awards athletes in Special Olympics Winter Games
Cross-posted from the Sheriff’s Newsletter
Deputy Dylan Centanino-Sweers recently attended the Special Olympics Washington Winter Games in Wenatchee. He was joined by officers from other local jurisdictions.
The Sheriff’s Office stated, “We were honored that Deputy Centanino-Sweers was chosen to award athletes who placed in their respective sports. As a former Renton Special Olympics track and field coach, he has continued to work closely with the organization.” Read more.
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Get ready for King County’s new public website coming March 31
On March 31, King County will launch our new public website (kingcounty.gov). Online visitors will see the new King County homepage, and your department’s webpages will also change to a more modern look and feel. The Design and Civic Engagement (DCE) team is working with your department’s Web Content Manager(s) to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruptions, but you can help:
- Be prepared for customer questions. Your webpages will look different, and customers may need help navigating to popular web content.
- If you have webpages on the current site, work with your department’s Web Content Manager(s) to make any final updates before March 28. Most pages will move to a temporary location. Editing content will be difficult until your department can rebuild your pages in Sitecore 10 – please talk to your Web Content Manager to find out when your new pages are scheduled to go live. Please verify that your department’s Web Content Manager has previewed your pages to ensure they will display correctly and function as expected after March 31. Find your Web Content Manager(s) here.
Thank you for your patience while we settle into this new and exciting online space! Visit the “KingCounty.gov Refresh” project page to offer feedback or learn more information.
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Together, we must do more on climate change
Cross-posted from Keeping King County Green
The world’s top scientists released their latest report on climate change this week, warning that the Earth is on pace for severe damage. The United Nations climate report is a clear call for more ambitious climate action to prevent the worst effects of climate change. While King County is leading the nation with solutions and has a strong foundation to rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions, together we must do more.
The Department of Natural Resources and Parks is advancing King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan goal to cut countywide greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of this decade with a variety of programs. Read more and watch the videos here.
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