Mental Health First Aid: “CPR” for Wellness Support
Pictured: The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)-Eastside provides a MHFA training to Eastside Human Service Agencies in Redmond.
Have you ever run into a stranger on the street that looked like they may be in crisis? Or do you know a family member or friend who struggles with mental health or substance use conditions? Do you wish you knew more about how to help? The Department of Community and Human Services Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) is implementing a series of “Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Trainings,” a nationally recognized public education campaign to decrease the stigma associated with having a behavioral health condition, such as a mental health and/or substance use condition.
The goal is to increase the public’s awareness, support, and most of all, acceptance of individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, just as other individuals with any other chronic illness such as cancer or diabetes are supported. The Mental Health First Aid website explains that “Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis.
Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well.”
It goes on to share that in the Mental Health First Aid course, individuals learn about risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. The training covers topics including depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychosis, and substance use disorders.
BHRD has made these trainings available to other King County departments and divisions, community stakeholders such as community based organizations, faith based organizations, schools and members of the public. Individuals or groups can sign up to receive free, eight hour MHFA trainings at external training sites in the community. There is both a MHFA training focusing on adults and a separate training focusing on children, which provides adult attendees with information on children and mental health and substance use. There is also an option for individuals to become trainers themselves by participating in a three day training and committing to provide the MHFA training at least three times a year in the community. These public education trainings are free and open to everyone. Sign up for a training here.
To learn more about MHFA trainings and how you can help be a part of the awareness, support and acceptance of individuals with behavioral health disabilities, please visit the MHFA website at www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
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Tech Tip: Email safety through Attachment Protection system
Did you know King County employees are not only frequently targeted by malicious phishing emails trying to get our logon information, but are also often targeted by emails containing malicious attachments? Our employees get hit with about 150 emails containing malicious attachments every day. The types of malicious attachments we are frequently hit with include PDFs, Word and Excel files. If one of our employees’ accounts got infected malicious files, it would not only affect their computer, but potentially the entire county system.
Lately, you may have experienced a delay opening attachments that is related to our new Attachment Protection system. When you open the message, the attachment will show “Scan in Progress.” The Attachment Protection system is taking time to ensure the attachment is safe prior to allowing you to open it. While most scans complete fairly quickly, it could take from two to five minutes. This is normal. If you need to view the attachment immediately, you can do this by clicking on the attachment placeholder and clicking on “Preview.” This will allow you to view the attachment safely in the body of the message while the scan is completing.
Another option is to use the collaboration features that are available in SharePoint and OneDrive. As opposed to sending the file as an attachment, you can send it as a link following the Sharing Files from OneDrive and SharePoint instructions.
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Breaking down barriers with Supported Employment: Janet Mejie
King County’s Supported Employment Program matches job seekers with developmental disabilities to jobs by identifying efficiencies and unmet needs throughout King County government.
One of the new hires is Janet Mejie, who recently started working in Transit Safety & Training section. “It’s made us more efficient and more effective as a safety staff in general in the Safety office to have this type of backing and support from Janet,” said Michael Marks, Superintendent Transit Safety.
Watch the short video below that highlights Janet in the Supported Employment Program and contact Christina Davidson to learn more about ways you can take advantage of this program.
King County is celebrating Disability Awareness Month in October and recognizing the work that County employees do to serve and support people with disabilities in our community, including the Supported Employment Program. Many divisions have partnered with Christina Davidson, Supported Employment Program Manager, to hire through the Program to meet their business needs. Over the last year, Transit has increased positions in the Supported Employment Program by hiring 5 new employees into various sections. Big thank you to Transit leadership for their commitment in building an inclusive workforce!
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Helping employees get back to work
King County’s Return-to-Work (RTW) Program assists employees who have been injured or ill transition back into the workforce, a program that benefits both employees and the County.
“This year I’m looking to place two employees with temporary medical restrictions in Renton with the Elections team during their upcoming busy election schedule,” said Jamie Christensen, Disability Services Consultant with King County’s Disability Services, Leaves and Supported Employment section in the Department of Human Resources. “If I can find employees for departments requesting transitional duty workers, then that’s interviews that departments don’t need to do and it saves the County money while also giving the ill or injured employee the opportunity to learn transferable skills and stay connected with King County.”
Pictured: This image is from the 2017 Disability Services Annual Report, page 6.
The program placed a total of 147 employees into a transitional duty assignment in 2017. Some 130 of those placed employees, or 84%, returned to working full duty in their regular positions after working in a transitional duty assignment. This year the program has already placed 131 employees into transitional duty assignments. According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine returning to work improves lower back pain and functional recovery. “Workplace support, particularly efforts to offer and coordinate temporary job modifications, has been shown to facilitate an early RTW.” Therefore, returning to work early should be encouraged, not only to reduce long-term disability but also to improve health recovery.
“The RTW program has helped me stay mobile and productive,” said Zeola Beasley, who regularly works as a Transit Operator, but has been working transitional duty while she recovers from her injury. “The site supervisors have been very accommodating, ensuring that if my injury is aggravated to let them know. They were happy to have someone fill the assignment even temporarily. I had the ability of utilizing the equipment to fit my needs I was able to work at my pace.”
There are many benefits of the RTW Program for King County employees while working a temporary duty assignment including: earning sick/vacation time, saving their protective leave entitlements if working full-time, employees return to work faster than if not placed, they pay into retirement, obtain a sense of worth, and gain transferrable skills and experiences that can be used if returning to their regular position is not possible.
“I was transitioned to the Office of Executive Dow Constantine, as a Front Desk Clerk,” said Zeola. “I was trained in Excel and Outlook, answered phones, and greeted people as they had meetings with the different executives in the office. I will also be training the next person taking on this job. I love bringing a smile to everyone and making their visit to the office a memorable one.”
The Return-to-Work Program aligns with the Investing in YOU strategy to make King County a place where employees have the tools, support, and opportunity to do their best work.
If departments are interested assisting King County employees with returning to work and have transitional duty work need, they can reach out to Jamie Christensen for placement requests at JaChristensen@kingcounty.gov.
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Reaching out to diverse job seekers at career fair
Teams from around King County, including the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Public Health, Transit, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Sherriff’s Office, and Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, spent the day at the recent Pacific NW Public Sector Diversity Career Fair in Renton help build pipelines and networks with job seekers from diverse communities.
“It was part community outreach and part straight recruiting,” said Julie Dunn, Employment Manager with Department of Human Resources. “We were asked to participate as one of the sponsors, and they wanted to get a bunch of our departments to talk about all the different things we do.”
During the career fair Julie gave a 15 minute presentation open to all event goers on the many services that King County provides and having representation from so many departments allowed attendees to hear what each team does and about the vast array of career opportunities the County offers.
“I started off the presentation talking about how public service makes a difference in the world,” said Julie. “If you want to find a way to give back to the community, we have something that will fit your needs and that will inspire you. We are so large that you can have an entire career at King County and do lots of different things.”
During the four-hour career fair Julie’s team was able to connect with more than 200 guests and showcase King County as a desirable employer.
Other participating agencies included City of Seattle, City of Bellevue, City of Renton, City of Auburn, City of Everett, Snohomish County, Community Transit, and the Port of Seattle.
Besides connecting with employers, the career fair also featured resume and interviews assessment, NeoGov application system assistance, and a class on how to apply for public sector jobs.
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Don’t forget to vote!
Dear Colleagues,
It’s election time! You should have received your ballot for the November 6, 2018 General Election. If you haven’t, make sure to get a replacement ballot online or call 206-296-VOTE.
I know that voting can be stressful, even downright intimidating with all the instructions and information. Here’s the good news. You’re not going to do it wrong. Whether you use a pink glitter pen, forget to use the security sleeve, make a mistake or skip some races, no problem – we’ve got you covered. We can securely count your ballot regardless of ink color, corrections or security sleeves. So, while you might feel stress about your decisions on candidates and ballot measures, you absolutely should not feel stress about the process, including how you return your ballot. It’s easier than ever with 66 ballot drop boxes across the county AND prepaid postage! That’s right, you no longer need a stamp to vote.
Well, honestly, I guess there is one thing you can do wrong and that is to not vote. Midterm elections are critical. There are so many important issues and races on the ballot this year, from statewide initiatives to congressional seats to your local state legislators. These are the decisions that will determine the direction of our community, state and nation in the years to come. So please vote and encourage your friends, family and neighbors to let their voice be heard and vote.
To learn more about what’s on your specific ballot, see your voting history and registration information, or to track your ballot, check out our new My Voter Information application. Questions? You can always call us at 206-296-VOTE (8683). You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our blog to get the latest on King County Elections.
Thanks and happy voting!
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Honoring the victims of Pittsburgh synagogue attack
Dear fellow King County employee,
On Saturday morning we woke to the terrible news that 11 innocent people had been killed by a gunman in a hate-filled anti-Semitic attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue.
We grieve for those who lost their lives celebrating their faith among family and friends. We stand with the people who lost loved ones and the entire city of Pittsburgh.
This horrifying event is another tragic reminder that we can no longer accept the status quo. When not even our places of worship are safe from gun violence – not our schools, our malls, our movie theaters – we know we must act. We must stand up to hate and intolerance, and stand up for those who have had their lives brutally taken.
King County is a welcoming place that values all people. We embrace diversity – of people, beliefs, backgrounds, and religions. We celebrate what makes us different because it is what makes us special. We will fight to protect our diversity, our rights and freedoms, and the fundamental American ideal that all are created equal.
To honor the 11 victims of this attack, I have ordered flags at all King County facilities lowered from now through the close of business Wednesday.
If you would like to speak with someone about how this event makes you feel, you can access two free services that offer professional support and advice: the Employee Assistance Program and Making Life Easier. Both resources are free and confidential.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Training Spotlight: Building Change Management and Effectiveness and Basic Data Visualization
Building Change Management and Effectiveness, Nov. 5: In this 2-day program and learning lab for change agents and teams responsible for stewarding a change initiative or program for their department or division, we will focus on the tools and processes necessary to produce change acceptance and help the initiative make progress. Designed for teams and team leaders responsible for making a change be successful, we will work through the Change Acceptance Process Model (CAP) and each team will directly apply the tools to their change project, thus making actual team progress over the two days. Rather than spending time learning the theory behind the CAP model, we will spend our time applying it and learning from the application to the real projects and challenges we face with building stakeholder commitment. Learn more and register.
Basic Data Visualization, Nov. 7: Our ability to gather and collect data has steadily increased over the past decade. But data alone is not information and does not easily convey a compelling story. This half-day introductory course will allow participants to understand why data visualization is important, explore ways to tell a story with data and mock up data visualizations in whiteboard exercises, using tips explored in class. Learn more and register.
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SNOM phones replacement project
KCIT is completing the SNOM phone replacement project that began at the beginning of this year. Since January, more than 1,200 devices manufactured by SNOM have been replaced.
There may still more SNOM phones around King County yet to be found, and KCIT needs help locating them. Employees are asked to check their workspaces, and if any of these phones are found in service or sitting around as a spare, contact KCIT at the number below or send an email to ZZGrp, KCIT Production Ops UCM with subject line “SNOM REPLACEMENT.” KCIT will arrange for the replacement of phones still in use and pick up any that are unused. Thanks for your help.
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Pet of the Week: Hershey
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
We have a sweet one for Pet of the Week: meet Hershey!
This young girl was brought in by her previous owner because they had too many cats. Hershey can be pretty shy at first, but when she knows that she can trust you she will melt in your arms! Her personality color is “Bashful Blue,” meaning she is a gentle and loving cat who likes to take things slow.
Read more at Tails from RASKC
Employee News 