Kudos! Public Health Preparedness gets perfect score in CDC review
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded Public Health’s Preparedness Section a perfect score of 100 in a recent assessment of its ability to receive, stage, store, distribute, and dispense medications during a public health emergency. In 2004, the CDC established the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) to increase preparedness for biological disasters and protect the public if there is a public health emergency in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. A public health emergency could include an anthrax attack, an influenza pandemic, or a natural disaster that affects the health of a… Read More
Responders help King County achieve world’s highest cardiac arrest survival rate
King County’s emergency responders have long been recognized as among the best in the world and that standing was enhanced even further this week when it was revealed that the cardiac arrest survival rate in King County, already the world’s best, has reached an all-time high. Someone who has a cardiac arrest in King County has a greater chance of survival than anyone else in the world, with the survival rate in King County up to 62 percent in 2013, according to the latest analysis by county officials. By comparison, the cardiac survival… Read More
Weddings at Brightwater Stories Go Global
Wastewater Treatment Division recently had great success getting information out about its Brightwater Treatment Plant when a story posted on its Facebook page about weddings at Brightwater went viral. A KIRO-7 story about wedding availability at Brightwater’s Environmental Education and Community Center led to coverage from FOX News, Huffington Post, TIME.com, and newspaper websites galore including the Washington Post, New York Daily News, the UK Daily Mail, the Times of Malta and the Irish Examiner. WTD was even interviewed for A3 Radio’s morning show in Melbourne, Australia! The context was playful but… Read More
Annual Report Highlights Employees’ Work to Help Solve Crimes Using Fingerprints
The King County Regional AFIS Program, or Automated Fingerprint Identification System, just published its 2013 annual report. AFIS is a regional levy-funded program that has been operational since 1986 under the administration of the King County Sheriff’s Office that provides criminal identification services to all cities and incorporated areas of King County. Program employees collect and search the fingerprints of arrested individuals to locate unknown aliases and warrants prior to their release. Staff also recover, process, search, and compare fingerprints from crime scenes. The AFIS Program aids in solving crimes throughout King… Read More
Solid Waste and KCIT making strides in small business contracting
When King County’s Solid Waste Division (SWD) put out a contract to build the new Shoreline Recycling and Transfer Station eight years ago, there wasn’t a specific goal or target for including small businesses in the project. “We paid a contractor $24 million, but we don’t know what went to a small firm,” said Ann McFarlane, a contract specialist for SWD. Today, King County agencies are working to make sure that there are more opportunities for small, disadvantaged, and minority- and women-owned businesses to compete for and obtain County contracts – a… Read More
Employees Are Key Players in Improving Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates
Way back in 1974 the TV show “60 Minutes” declared Seattle “The Best Place to Have a Heart Attack.” That remains true even to this day. The Seattle & King County Emergency Services System, MEDIC ONE, consistently achieves survival rates for witnessed out of hospital sudden cardiac arrest higher than anywhere else in the world. In 2013 the rate was 57% compared to an overall national survival rate of approximately 10% across the U.S. “One of the many reasons behind this success is that we’ve taken a collaborative and comprehensive approach to… Read More
Five Questions with Mark Isaacson, Director, Water and Land Resources Division
1. What was your first role with King County? I came to the county in the early 1990’s in the heady days after the Growth Management Act became state law. I worked in the director’s office of the Department of Public Works as a program analyst on plans to meet the state mandated concurrency requirements for public facilities. I came to that job as a city planner – and the attraction was taking the color maps of the county and working to build infrastructure considerations into the planning process. 2. What does… Read More
Community Activism and the International District – Thursday, May 15, noon – 1 p.m.
To celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Program, King County is hosting a lunch and learn discussion for employees with Bob Santos called “Community Activism and the International District.” Robert “Bob” Santos is the most publicly-recognized spokesperson and leader of the movement that began in the 1970s to preserve Seattle’s Chinatown/International District. He served as president of the Catholic Interracial Conference, HUD Regional Director, and was Executive Director of Inter*Im from 1972 to 1989, and 2002 to 2006. Santos will describe the local civil rights movement related to the Asian American Community in… Read More
Sheriff’s Office Honors Young Victim of Gang Violence
King County Deputy Brian Barnes wanted to make sure that a young victim of gang violence was not forgotten – so he worked to post a permanent reminder outside the King County Sheriff’s Office West Hill storefront. KING 5 News recently featured the story of 12-year-old Alajawan Brown who was shot and killed four years ago in Skyway in a case of mistaken identity, and the work of Deputy Barnes in getting a sign dedicated in Alajawan’s honor. Watch the story. (Image courtesy KING5.com).
Meet King County’s Small Business Advocates
Four years ago King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an Executive Order that aimed to reform the County’s procurement and contract business processes, and included a goal of providing greater opportunities for small, disadvantaged, and minority- and women-owned businesses to compete for and obtain County contracts. As we get ready to celebrate National Small Business Week from May 12 – 16, we spoke to some of King County’s small business advocates in the Business Development and Contract Compliance group in the Department of Executive Services to see what the County is doing… Read More
Employee News 