Supporting you this Mental Health Month
Whitney Abrams, Chief People Officer, King County Executive Office
Dear King County employee,
May is Mental Health Month, an opportunity for us to not only learn more about how we can help those affected by mental illness, but also strengthen our own mental health and resilience.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed our everyday lives – at home, at work, and in the community. It’s brought new fears and anxieties, and interrupted many of the things we love. But it has also a brought new opportunities to strengthen our personal connections, to look at how we can help our community through this challenging time, and to take time to reflect on our own health and self-care.
As we have experienced these sudden changes that are evolving into a new way of living, it is important to pause, and take some time to tend to our emotional well-being. Mental health is an integral part of overall health and well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. So it is important that we use Mental Health Month to learn about mental health and the resources available to us and the people we care about.
Throughout the month we will share information, resources, and stories with you about mental health during this stressful time. Some highlights include:
- A letter to your home detailing the many resources King County makes available to support your mental health.
- Weekly themes in emails and toolkits that highlight skills and practices that are helpful especially now:
– Own your feelings
– Creating healthy routines
– Connecting during social isolation
– Supporting each other
- Webinars
- Posters and handouts at sites where employees are working.
Whether you’re seeking support for yourself or your loved ones, there are many tools, programs, and resources available. You can find a comprehensive list of resources in this guide, and please look for special information coming out throughout this month on the Balanced You webpage, Employee News, and common areas at worksites.
I am proud of the care for one another that I see across our workforce each day, and am especially grateful for this during this extraordinarily challenging time. So many of you are making sacrifices to help our community overcome this virus and recover stronger and more resilient. Let us honor ourselves, our colleagues, our families, and friends by acknowledging our emotional and mental health and safety, as well. Thank you for supporting one another and the people we serve.
All my best,
Whitney Abrams
Chief People Officer
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Employee profile: Stepping up highlights commitment to public service
During this difficult time, King County employees continue to be examples of true leadership and dedication to our public service mission. From nurses to front-line staff, the current situation has provided an opportunity for employees from all different backgrounds and abilities to continue giving their time and energy to overcome this virus.
One such employee is Angela Jimenez, a nurse in the Children with Special Health Care Needs program (CSHCN) within Public Health – Seattle & King County. A Seattle native, Angela has been with King County since 2018 and has enjoyed being able to use her skillset to give back to some of the most vulnerable populations in the community.
Angela recently shared her passion for helping others by stepping forward to assist COVID-19 patients at the King County Isolation and Quarantine facility in Kent, a care site where several coronavirus patients are in quarantine. Nurses were asked to volunteer and Angela came forward, ready to help. She worked at the Kent site for a short time before being placed at the Issaquah Isolation and Quarantine facility. Here she currently serves as a charge nurse, ensuring quality of care, nurse schedules, and checking on patients.
“For me, working with King County in helping address COVID-19 is extremely important because this virus is impacting all of us, and our community is looking to Public Health for guidance,” Angela said. “Our response to this pandemic is true public health work, and I want to be able to go home each day and feel confident that I did my part to support the cause.”
In her health professional role, Angela is proud to use her abilities to strengthen and support her community.
“As a nurse, I feel that I have a duty to use my knowledge and skillset for the greater good of the community, and this is what keeps me returning to this work every day,” she said.
Angela’s regular CSHCN duties prior to the COVID-19 virus included case management working with families that have children with chronic health conditions. She worked to support them in finding resources, provided teaching, and ensured they received successful care. A typical day for her used to involve visiting clients in their homes, tracking their progress, and contacting community partners.
Now her work has changed, both in how she carries out her current caseload and in how she supports the ongoing virus response. She has stopped doing home visits indefinitely, and is preparing for other work, which includes working at the King County Novel Coronavirus Call Center (206-477-3977), or staffing the Isolation and Quarantine sites.
“The presence of COVID-19 in our community has drastically changed my day-to-day work,” she said. “At this point I’ve been working on contacting all my clients on my caseload and ensuring they have adequate support during this challenging time, as my job may shift into providing COVID-19 support full time.”
While addressing the coronavirus response can be challenging, Angela reminds employees that each person can make a significant impact, regardless of their job title or duties. She references a quote by popular television personality Fred Rogers to illustrate her point – “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Angela continues, “Everyone has a part to play and everyone can be a helper during this time. Whether you are a medical provider, first responder on the front line, buying groceries for your elderly neighbor or family member, sewing masks to support the PPE shortage, or even just staying home to help limit the spread of the virus, we are all making a difference!”
For more information about the novel coronavirus, and how to protect yourself and your community visit www.kingcounty.gov/coronavirus. For information about the Children with Special Health Care Needs program visit www.kingcounty.gov/cshcn.
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Featured job: Epidemiologist I – Analytics and Informatics-COVID-19
Salary: $37.42 – $47.43 Hourly
Location: Seattle, WA
Job Type: Special Duty Assignment or Term Limited Temp (TLT)
Department: DPH – Public Health
Job Number: 2020AB11601
Division: Prevention
Learn more about this position or view all available positions.
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Interactive webinar series for managers and supervisors kicks off May 26
The Learning and Development Team within the Department of Human Resources is offering a live, interactive webinar series for managers and supervisors entitled Leading the Way. The first webinar in this series, Staying Steady for Yourself and Your Team, will be held Tuesday, May 26.
This first webinar will focus on how being a leader is a tough job during the best of times. In order to effectively lead a team, it is helpful to use self-care skills that can enable leaders to stay steady during the COVID-19 response- and beyond. By the end of this session, participants will be able to describe the importance of self-care as a leader, identify ways to support their team, and customize a plan of action to take back to their team.
- Tuesday, May 26, from 1–3 p.m., register here.
The webinar is free but space is limited. For more information, contact the Learning and Development Team at KCTraining@kingcounty.gov or visit www.kingcounty.gov/learning.
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Making meaning of the COVID-19 race and ethnicity data: A conversation with our health officer and our equity officer
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
A recent analysis of updated data by Public Health shows that in King County, COVID-19 is disproportionally impacting communities of color.
Our recent blog post dives into the data. We found rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases that are significantly higher for Hispanic/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders and Blacks and higher for American Indian/Alaskan Natives (though not statistically significant due to the low population numbers) as compared to Whites.
To gain a better understanding of disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 by race, we sat down with Matías Valenzuela, Equity Director for Public – Seattle & King County and Director of COVID-19 Community Mitigation and Recovery, and Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Read more from Public Health Insider
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Keeping you updated on COVID-19 personnel guidance
Last week, King County extended its mandatory telecommuting for Executive Branch employees who have been telecommuting through Sunday, May 31, 2020. Gov. Jay Inslee has also extended Washington’s stay-at-home order through May 31 and released plan for a phased approach for re-opening the state’s economy.
Here is a reminder of our key guidance for County employees. This guidance is subject to change and will be reissued if conditions warrant, and we will update you of any changes:
Telecommuting through May 31: King County has extended mandatory telecommuting for Executive Branch employees who have been telecommuting through Sunday, May 31, 2020. Our guidance remains the same for first responders and mission-critical employees for the Executive Branch until further notice. This applies to Executive Branch employees. Employees in other branches of County government will receive guidance from their leaders. Please see the full guidance here.
Non-essential travel ban: All non-essential work-related travel for all Executive Branch employees must be canceled and will not be approved through Sunday, May 31, 2020. This includes previously approved travel. Essential Travel is travel required to support critical life, health, and safety functions and cannot be delayed or handle remotely. Exceptions will be rare and must be approved by your department director and the Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams. The situation is evolving and subject to change. This applies to Executive Branch employees. Employees in other branches of County government will receive guidance from their leaders.
Accessing leave: King County offers a variety of leaves to help employees support our community and take care of themselves and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak. You can learn more about available leaves for COVID-19-related issues and their eligibility criteria on this webpage. There is also more information about other types of leaves on our Benefits website.
Temporary Leave and Telecommuting Policy: Please see our Temporary Leave and Telecommuting Policy to help answer your questions, talk to your manager or supervisor, or consult your department’s Human Resources Manager. This applies to Executive Branch employees.
Temporary reassignment: Employees who would not normally be able to telecommute but are provided a temporary reassignment or work arrangement and decline, must first use their leave accruals and then will be placed in leave without pay. Learn more about our Emergency Deployment Program.
Coverage expanded for COVID-19 medical care: King County employees and their family members enrolled in Kaiser (SmartCare) and Regence (KingCare and KingCare Select) medical plans will not have to pay copays, coinsurance, or deductibles for medical services and medications related to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Find out more.
Don’t forget: Our new one-stop webpage, www.kingcounty.gov/employees-coronavirus has health information, telecommuting resources, benefits updates, frequently asked questions, and more. This webpage can answer questions for King County employees about how their work is impacted by the coronavirus.
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OESJ is confronting hate and bias by strengthening communities
In response to community concerns over the rise in hate and bias incidents in our region, the Civil Rights Program at the Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) recently launched a new community-based reporting system for communities experiencing acts of hate and bias. This system is unique to the region and focuses upstream on empowering communities, rather than heightening enforcement through the criminal justice system.
Currently, data collected by law enforcement agencies does not accurately portray the realities of hate, bias, and discrimination that many communities face. Underreporting due to tenuous community-law enforcement relationships, lack of education on hate and bias incidents, fear, and a void of standardized data collection methods contribute to this issue. Thus, OESJ is partnering with trusted community groups to combat hate and bias by collecting incident information into a centralized and standardized database.
On March 10, 2020, the King County Council approved a suite of emergency legislation to aid in the County’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including $1 million for OESJ to provide flexible resources for engagement and outreach.
OEJS awarded funds to the following community partners to lead this work: The COVD-19 Community Reponses Fund Alliance, the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and the Somali Community Service of Seattle. OESJ was also able to fund a community artist, Matt Echohawk Hayashi with the Headwater People, to provide artwork for this program.
While the current funds were allocated to address COVID-19 related incidents of hate and bias, the long-term goal is to provide King County and its diverse communities a reliable and broad network of support for long after this crisis is over. OESJ is proud and honored to support these community partners in this important work.
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Emergency Deployment Program helps to facilitate donations and address community needs
The Emergency Deployment Program has seen many employees step forward to join efforts to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19), including the deployment of employees to support the King County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
In its response to the virus, the EOC has developed a Donations Management Team to facilitate the donation of hundreds of thousands of masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer, as well as meals and other donations to first responders. The team is also responsible for connecting donation resources with community needs, and has set up the King County Regional Donations Connector to help facilitate this work.
To learn more about this effort, we connected with several employees working on the Donations Management Team at the EOC: Kevin Nuechterlein, Rey Sugui, and Judy Cordova. They each came on board to support the Team when it was created March 16.
Pictured: Kevin Nuechterlein
Kevin deployed from his regular position with King County International Airport (KCIA) to help combat the coronavirus. Prior to deploying with the program, he worked on the engineering team as a capital project manager. He had been in this role for just over a year and with King County since 2016. He responded to a call early on to help stand up the Donations Management Team for the Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 response, and has been with the team since it was founded under the leadership of Janice Rahman, Senior Emergency Management Program Manager.
“The Donations Management Team was set up because there has been tremendous community support for the County’s response to COVID-19,” he said. “It has been an amazing experience seeing this outpouring of support, he said.
Pictured: Rey Sugui
Rey joined the team from his position in the Department of Local Services (DLS), Roads Division as Intergovernmental Relations. He has been with King County for 21 years, since 1999. He was asked by the DLS Chief of Staff if he was interested in joining the Team.
“This is affecting all of us at the County as employees and as a community,” he said. “This program allows those that have the capacity and willingness to play a larger role in supporting the county’s staffing needs in its COVID-19 emergency response.”
Judy has been with the County since 1996, going on 24 years, and currently works for the King County Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) as an Educator Consultant and Trainer. She provides training to law enforcement personnel on fingerprint related process and technology and educates the public about the County’s regional AFIS program. She was redeployed to assist in managing and to coordinate incoming donations of goods, services and cash to the EOC.
Pictured: Judy Cordova
“With every emergency situation there are corresponding needs for the first responders and the community at large,” she explained. “Having an influx of donation offers streaming from individuals and organizations means we were able to respond and resource out offers to where the high needs are.”
The County has had to adapt to meet changing requirements and public health concerns. The Emergency Deployment Program has given employees the opportunity to support these efforts and play an active role in life-saving, essential work.
“Not everyone is able to help with this response in such a way but being a County employee, we have a unique opportunity to roll up our sleeves and lend a supportive hand,” Kevin said. “It gives me a great sense of pride to know that I am lending my skills and expertise to have a direct positive affect on our community’s response to COVID-19.”
Rey adds that while employees have others ways to get involved in the County’s COVID-19 response, such as donating money through the Employee Giving Program or donating leave hours for employees in need, this program offers something different.
“If you have a yearning to have more of a direct impact to helping the community then take one of the many roles needed and be assigned where you are working directly at any of the Assessment Centers/Recovery Centers, Isolation/Quarantine sites or at the King County Office of Emergency Management,” he said.
The Emergency Deployment Program has also provided Judi, Kevin, and Rey, with the opportunity to use their professional skills in a dynamic, changing environment, often collaborating with other departments and organizations. They have been able to work in multiple lines of service, including operations, logistics, donations, and emergency management, as well as witnessed firsthand the dedication of their fellow employees.
“This has been a wonderful opportunity to learn new valuable and transferable skills, work with a wide variety of people from throughout King County government and give back to my community during this critical time,” Kevin said.
“This is where things are happening,” Judy added. “I have worked with this group for almost 7 weeks now and the reward is amazing.”
“I have witnessed a well-oiled machine that has great leaders in time of crisis and disasters. I think we are lucky to have them,” Rey said.
Through the Emergency Deployment Program, employees can further King County’s efforts to battle coronavirus, and also engage with a part of the community they may not get to usually. This work allows employees to make a significant impact on overall coronavirus relief, and get personally involved in life-changing work. The EOC, like other sites, encourages and promotes safety measures for COVID-19 mitigation, including providing cleaning supplies, promoting physical distancing and related practices, and following other safety recommendations.
Judy sums up the value of the program as twofold, making a significant impact on the fight against coronavirus, and providing employees with insights and abilities they can only develop through their commitment to public service. She explains how employees will work with different County departments and organizations, meet and learn from other staff, and establish camaraderie with other employees who are banding together to work towards a common goal.
“If you are interested in a challenging and rewarding experience while providing assistance during these times of need, please consider getting involved as King County continues to take an aggressive approach to fighting the effects of COVID-19 in our region,” said Judy. “Visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/emergency-deployment to get more information, apply for a temporary assignment, and come work with us!”
For more information and to apply for the Emergency Deployment Program, visit www.kingcounty.gov/emergency-deployment. To donate to the coronavirus relief efforts through the King County Regional Donations Connector visit www.kingcounty.gov/emergency/donate.
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Celebrating your service during Public Service Recognition Week
King County Executive Dow Constantine
Dear fellow King County employee,
Here at King County and around the world, the work of public servants has never been more important or more valued than right now during the global COVID-19 response, so it is fitting that this week is Public Service Recognition Week.
You may be on the front lines, making sure that our community continues to receive the vital in-person services it counts on; or perhaps you have temporarily changed the way you deliver services so people can continue to get what they need without having to leave their homes; or you may have taken on a temporary redeployment to fill a critical service in our efforts to keep people safe. However you are helping us keep King County running during our COVID-19 response, please know that I am grateful for your efforts.
This is a challenging time, one with a lot of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. We worry about the health and safety of friends and family, and the impact our actions are having on our economy and budget. We don’t know when life will return to normal or what the future holds. What we do know is that the actions we have taken have helped to slow the spread of the virus. We know we must continue to listen to our health professionals about what is best for our community. And we know that we are resilient.
Thank you for everything that you do for the people of King County. I have never been more proud to lead this County and to be your colleague in public service.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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New Equity Tool brings community considerations to decision making
King County’s Office of Equity and Social Justice has created a new Equity Impact Awareness Tool in partnership with Headwater People to ensure that impacts on low income communities of color are fully considered by the County in its COVID-19 mitigation strategies and decision making.
The tool was initially created to address the concerns of community members who were worried that the County would make decisions about quarantine and isolation facilities without considering the burden that will fall on communities who are vulnerable to the health and economic crisis.
Janine Anzalota, Equity and Civil Rights Manager for the Office of Equity and Social Justice, worked with Headwater People to help create the tool, collaborating with Tom Koney, Deputy Director for the Department of Executive Services, and Erica Cox, Inclusion Manager for the Office of Equity and Social Justice, who advised on the measures of the tool.
“The impact of public health emergencies to low income communities of color is always severe, particularly to our Black/African American, Native American/Indigenous, and Immigrant and Refugee Communities,” Janine said. “In response to community concerns, I contacted Tom Koney, Deputy Director for the Department of Executive Services, asking if it would be helpful if we were able to create a tool for his staff to use for siting potential quarantine and recovery facilities.”
The tool supports the Facilities Management Division and Real Estate Services with the quarantine sites in Kent, Shoreline, and White Center. It’s important to note that this tool was developed after quarantine sites in White Center and Kent were already announced.
The intention of the tool is to provide awareness of where sites are being concentrated, which allows for staff to see the potential impact to low income communities of color. In addition, Public Health is adding distribution and other types of sites to the tool.
“The tool isn’t perfect, but it gave us an important starting point,” Janine said.
Equity Impact Awareness Tool was developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis and should not replace the Equity Impact Review and other tools that include more inclusive community engagement processes. This tool was developed by Headwater People in partnership with the Office of Equity and Social Justice. To learn more about different resources and tools, visit Office of Equity and Social Justice website.
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