Countywide web refresh will help users quickly, easily access information and King County services
Big changes are coming to King County’s web experience. The King County Website Refresh project aims to modernize the existing King County website experience to create a better user experience, align with the County’s mission and provide easy access to content.
KingCounty.gov is the primary source of information for community members, employees, agencies and the general public. However, the current site doesn’t fully reflect King County’s mission to provide quality local and regional services to the community, largely because some information is difficult to find and understand.
A major goal of the new site is to provide residents with a fast, convenient and equitable user-centered experience. Information will be easier to find, navigate and understand, thanks to:
- A modern design, site structure and navigation that reflect current best practices and focuses on King County services and initiatives.
- Universal templates that provide a consistent experience for the public.
- Plain language content written for fifth through eighth grade reading levels.
- Easy translation into the most spoken languages in King County and the ability to bring on new languages.
- Design and content that serves communities and individuals in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
Ultimately, these changes will better serve our community residents with a website that puts them first. While the site is still under development, you can get a sense of the new design and see the latest example of what will be the new home page at kingcounty.gov/en.
For more information about the KingCounty.gov Refresh project, visit SharePoint, or subscribe to the newsletter here. If you have questions, please contact KCIT.
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Training Spotlight: Mentorship Lunch and Learn
Online – Would you like to have a mentor, someone who can help you grow professionally? Do you want to strengthen your coaching skills? As a Mentee, you will have a trusted advisor who can help you navigate complex situations, and as a Mentor, you can uncover new or forgotten skills and build influence. This Lunch and Learn is free and the next session is on Thursday, Dec. 17, from noon to 1 p.m. Register Here
Please visit our King County Eventbrite website and our Learning and Development website for more opportunities. For more information, contact the Learning and Development Team at KCTraining@kingcounty.gov or visit Learning and Development at www.kingcounty.gov/learning.
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Summit at Snoqualmie discount program on pause
The Summit at Snoqualmie has hit pause on their discount program, due to COVID-19 and Washington State guidelines. For season passes, sales will be significantly limited, and discounts for partners, such as King County, will not be offered. For daily lift tickets, sales will begin in the coming weeks, and partner discounts will not be available until early to mid-January. Discounts will only be available on lift ticket reservations made after this launch date. The Summit at Snoqualmie advises guests wishing to reserve specific dates to make reservations as soon as public sales are available, and expects reservations for popular holiday and weekend dates to sell out quickly.
Please plan to make all reservations online in advance at www.summitatsnoqualmie.com. Reservations will not be processed over the phone and patrons will not be allowed to purchase tickets, rentals, lessons or activities onsite. In addition to daily lift tickets, the Summit at Snoqualmie will be requiring online advanced reservations for all Summit activities including but not limited to: lessons, equipment rentals, snow tubing, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing. To be alerted to availability of public daily lift ticket reservations sales online as well as other activity reservations please keep an eye on the Summit at Snoqualmie website, social media, mobile app, and sign up for email alerts here. For more information about COVID-19 rules and protocols, visit the Summit at Snoqualmie COVID-19 website.
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Making Life Easier webinars for the holiday season
King County employees can choose from these upcoming live and on-demand webinars. Register early for the live session as space is limited; otherwise, the recording will be available on-demand 48 hours after the live session.
- Navigating Grief During the Holiday Season, Wednesday, Dec. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.
- Moving Forward From Here: Navigating Uncertain Times, now available on-demand. Register here.
- Supporting Yourself This Season: The Winter Blues & Seasonal Affective Disorder, now available on-demand. Register here.
To learn more about these webinars, login to kcmakinglifeeasier.com with your username: King County, click on the Current Featured Webinars banner on the home page.
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Stress less this holiday season
The holiday season will look different for many people this year. Many of us will still find ways to cultivate joy and cherish time with loved ones, whether virtually or safely in-person. Many of us will also undergo sadness and fatigue from experiencing holidays during a pandemic. Balanced You and King County’s Making Life Easier program offer the following recommendations so you can enjoy the season to the fullest.
Read this Balanced You blogpost for more information.
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Video: COVID-19 vaccine planning update from Dr. Jeff Duchin (Dec. 11, 2020)
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
With COVID-19 cases surging in King County, Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin shared the most recent data and responded to questions from the media and the community about vaccine planning and how we can all help stop slow the spread during the holiday season.
For more on COVID-19 data trends, visit our data dashboards: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data.aspx
For more on COVID-19 vaccine planning in King County: www.kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccine
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Your vision benefits don’t expire at year-end
If you’re panicking because your regular vision provider has been closed or is booked solid during the long COVID-19 pandemic, fear not; your vision benefits, through Vision Service Plan (VSP), make it easy for you to get the eye care you need. And best of all… vision benefits are calculated on a rolling 12-24 month period, as follows, meaning you don’t need to rush out before year-end.
*Allowance for Regular and Transit ATU 587 employee benefit group is $200, allowance for all other benefit groups is $130.
You may use any eye care provider you want, but if you see a VSP provider, your out-of-pocket expenses are generally lower and the provider automatically files your claim. Kaiser Permanente provides routine vision exams under its medical plan, but none of the other vision benefits, such as frames, lenses, and contacts.
For more information, go to the Dental & Vision Plans page contact your Benefits team at 206-684-1556 or kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov.
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With new COVID-19 cases reaching all-time highs, please consider donating to the Emergency Leave Program
The Emergency Leave Donation Program was developed to aid employees who’ve been impacted by COVID-19 and have exhausted their paid leave. Access to donated leave has helped them focus on recovering their health or caring for loved ones. So far this year, nearly 300 employees have generously donated personal leave to support their colleagues.
The program is asking employees to again consider donating personal leave to the program, as the paid leave available is running low. Donating leave is an especially good option for employees who may find themselves in a “use-it-or-lose-it” position with an excess vacation balance at the end of the year. Employees interested in supporting colleagues affected by COVID-19 can donate accrued sick and vacation leave in two different ways:
- Use PeopleSoft to make donations. (Learn how.)
- Email the Emergency Leave Donation Form to EmergencyDonation@kingcounty.gov.
“This virus will be with us for some time to come. It’s important that we not only take care of ourselves but also each other,” Whitney Abrams, Chief People Officer for King County said. “I’m inspired to see so many generous individuals donate leave to their coworkers who’ve been impacted by these terrible events.”
For more information about supporting one another through the Emergency Leave Donation Program, visit the webpage here. See the FAQ information on how to mail or interoffice mail any completed forms.
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Get help correcting your at-home ergonomics
With many King County employees working remotely through the pandemic, and potentially beyond, you may find yourself missing your perfectly adjusted ergonomic workstation in the office.
King County has certified ergonomists in the Department of Human Resources (DHR) that can provide assessments for your at-home workstation. They can’t come to your home, but a virtual assessment can help pinpoint issues and save you pain down the road.
“It’s not too late; even if it’s been several months since you started working from home, you should assess any new workstation,” Rob Stafford, Safety & Health Professional with DHR, said.
Requests for ergonomic assessments dwindled in the first months of the pandemic but have surged since the Executive’s extension of mandatory telecommuting for non-essential personnel through July 5, 2021. A large number of those requests have been to assess at-home workstations.
“People thought this would be temporary and were working from their couch or dining room table, but the reality is that telework might become permanent or more frequent for some employees,” Stafford said.
The first step is complete the online self-assessment, unless you have a medical restriction or your doctor has requested an ergonomic assessment or accommodation. This do-it-yourself evaluation is a simple checklist with tips on how to effectively set up a pain-free workstation from home.
If you still have questions that the checklist didn’t answer, persisting pain, or if you have specific questions regarding your workstation, you can request a virtual ergonomic evaluation (requires SharePoint login). Any King County employee can request an ergonomic assessment; no supervisor approval is needed. Despite the high demand, the team at DHR can typically conduct a virtual ergonomic assessment within 2-3 weeks of your request.
So what does a virtual assessment look like? “I usually start by asking the employee to email or text me a photo of their workstation and chair,” Stafford said. “Once I get an idea of what their workstation looks like, I’ll set up a call, preferably via video conference. Just from the angle of your camera, I can see important details like your desk and monitor height, and how far the monitor is from your face.”
Ergonomists in DHR have spent years determining proper human factors as well as establishing relationships with vendors to recommend proper equipment. They are also familiar with new technology and practices that could increase worker comfort. In your virtual assessment, the ergonomist will walk you through adjusting your workstation, and recommend any specialized equipment. New equipment must be approved by your supervisor and bought through your department’s regular purchasing process.
It can be challenging to maintain good ergonomic practices when working away from the office. Here are some tips for working from home:
- Maintain a neutral neck position by placing the top of the screen at about eye level or slightly lower if using bifocal glasses.
- Use a laptop stand or place your laptop on a stable support surface, such as monitor risers, reams of paper or books so that the screen height can be adjusted.
- Attach a regular size, external keyboard and mouse to the laptop, and place them on an adjustable keyboard tray or desk. The keyboard and mouse should be positioned at or slightly below elbow height.
- Use a docking station whenever possible to more closely resemble a standard desktop workstation where input devices can be attached.
- Take frequent stretch breaks every 30 to 45 minutes. Visit the University of North Carolina’s Workplace Safety Office Ergonomics website to view additional rest and exercise ideas.
- If your chair needs lumbar support, use a pillow or rolled up towel.
For more information, visit King County’s ergonomic evaluation website.
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Planning for COVID-19 vaccine access at King County
Message from Whitney Abrams, Chief People Officer, & Brenda Bauer, Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Dear employee,
The first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive in Washington state this week. This is an exciting development in the pandemic response, and the county, particularly Public Health staff, are working hard on plans, preparations, and communications to ensure equitable access to the vaccine in King County.
Who will receive the early doses?
Initial doses of the vaccine have strict “ultracold” storage requirements with special freezers that are typically found only in certain hospitals. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) will distribute the vaccine and prioritize the initial limited supplies for high-risk workers in healthcare settings and adults in long-term care facilities in accordance with guidance from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
A relatively small number of doses will come to King County in the first weeks and will mainly be delivered to a small number of healthcare facilities that have the equipment to meet the vaccine’s stringent “ultracold” storage requirements. In the first shipments, there will not be nearly enough vaccine to vaccinate everyone who is eligible, but we have been told to expect supplies to increase each week.
According to the state’s prioritization framework, the first group to be vaccinated are workers in healthcare settings and those working in Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) who meet all of these recommended criteria:
- Have direct patient contact with known or suspected COVID-19 cases
- Unable to telework
- Handle infectious materials
- Have not had a known COVID-19 infection in the 90 days prior to vaccination
King County workers who may be eligible
Public Health workers who meet these criteria will be eligible to receive the vaccine from early shipments. However, the first shipments will be small, so even eligible workers may need to may need to wait more than a week or two. Supervisors will reach out to eligible staff to provide instructions about vaccination.
Larger supplies of vaccine are expected to be available in mid-2021, and as supplies of vaccine gradually increase, more people will become eligible for vaccination. The state Department of Health is still working to prioritize all other essential workers for future distributions we receive from the federal government; we anticipate better knowing the state’s priorities and the tiering for employees in the coming weeks. Public Health will update the COVID-19 vaccine website with information about current eligibility and supply. Eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants to get vaccinated.
What you can do to help
Understandably, many people have questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, and unfortunately, misinformation is plentiful. Current and accurate information will be available at Public Health’s www.kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccine webpage and from social media (@KCPubHealth).
A safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 is a major break-through. But vaccine alone won’t end the pandemic right away. Even after a vaccine is available, stopping the pandemic will continue to require (at least for the next few months) everyone – even if vaccinated – to continue to follow all current guidance to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least six feet away from others, limiting activities outside the home and avoiding crowds, washing hands often, following CDC travel guidance, and following quarantine guidance after an exposure to someone with COVID-19.
The effort to make vaccine available to most of the US population in a relatively short time frame is a gargantuan undertaking and there will undoubtedly be bumps along the way. Thank you for continuing COVID-19 safety precautions and for all the work you do for our community. With your help, we will be able to limit the impacts of this virus and move towards more normalcy in our lives.
Whitney Abrams, Chief People Officer
Brenda Bauer, Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Employee News 