A Monthly Publication for Native American Health Center Employees Vol. 4, Issue 5 — May 2011 Page 1 In this issue: Running is My High Event & & &. & & & & ..... & Page 1 HR Buzz: Meet the HR Crew & &.. &. & & & &.. Page 2 Grants and Contracts Team & & & & & & & .. &. Page 2 Employee Spotlight: Courtney Cumings..........Page 3 Employee Anniversaries & & & & & & & . &. & &.Page 3 New Faces at NAHC & & & & & . & & ..... &.. &.. &Page 3 Green Corner: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Page 4 NAHC Upcoming Event Flyers. & &.. & & & & ....Page 4 Reflecting on Running Is My High By Laura McLively, RD On the sunny morning of March 12th, 2011, hundreds of people gathered at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland to walk, run, or cheer on their community at the tenth annual Running Is My High. We had over 275 people take on the Lake Merritt loop and give it their best effort, including an 81 year-old woman! The theme was “Return to Traditions,” which inspired a focus on the long list of healthy traditions in Native American culture. The various booths and activities complimented this theme by focusing on healthy mind, body, spirit, and environment through traditional practices. Some of the new features this year included a speech by Janet King on the history of Running Is My High, a booth put on by WIC with samples of water flavored with fruit and mint, as well as the very popular Stress Management booth put on by FCGC. Here people were able to learn about yoga, sage burning, meditation, relaxation techniques, and even get massages. This year we were privileged to have many youth participants, including over 30 middle school students from United For Success where NAHC hosts a school-based clinic. For almost all these students, this was a first-time experience and they were very excited and proud to complete the walk. With all the problems facing today’s youth, including a tripling of the childhood obesity rate in the last 30 years, we were honored and proud to have these students at the event and getting excited about physical activity. With environmental concern growing across the globe, we made this year’s Running Is My High greener than ever. All the cups and utensils were biodegradable so that nearly all the waste from the event could be composted. We also gave participants 100% organic cotton t-shirts and an organic jute tote bag so that people can bring their own bag to the grocery store and stop filling our landfills with plastic bags. We would like to thank the Native American Health Center’s Family & Child Guidance Clinic and Nutrition & Fitness Departments for co-sponsoring this event. We would also like to extend a BIG thank you to all of the NAHC staff who volunteered and participated. From our wonderful emcee Gloryanna, to our do-everything-man Larry, we thank you for making this even happen. Several participants commented that it was great to see so many staff at the event, including the seven medical providers who volunteered or participated (the most ever!). Thank you to all – we could not have done this without your help and support! Employee Spotlight: Which one of these ladies is Courtney Cummings? HR Buzz: Retraction from April 2011 Article.
Transcript
A Monthly Publication for Native American Health Center Employees Vol. 4, Issue 5 — May 2011 Page 1
In this issue: ⇒ Running is My High Event……….………….....… Page 1
⇒ HR Buzz: Meet the HR Crew……..….………….. Page 2
⇒ Grants and Contracts Team…………………..…. Page 2
⇒ Employee Spotlight: Courtney Cumings..........Page 3
⇒ Employee Anniversaries………………….….…….Page 3
⇒ New Faces at NAHC…………….…….....…..…..…Page 3
⇒ Green Corner: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Page 4
⇒ NAHC Upcoming Event Flyers.……..…………....Page 4
Reflecting on Running Is My High By Laura McLively, RD
On the sunny morning of March 12th, 2011, hundreds of people gathered at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland to walk, run, or cheer on their community at the tenth annual Running Is My High. We had over 275 people take on the Lake Merritt loop and give it their best effort, including an 81 year-old woman!
The theme was “Return to Traditions,” which inspired a focus on the long list of healthy traditions in Native American culture. The various booths and activities complimented this theme by focusing on healthy mind, body, spirit, and environment through traditional practices. Some of the new features this year included a speech by Janet King on the history of Running Is My High, a booth put on by WIC with samples of water flavored with fruit and mint, as well as the very popular Stress Management booth put on by FCGC. Here people were able to learn about yoga, sage burning, meditation, relaxation techniques, and even get massages.
This year we were privileged to have many youth participants, including over 30 middle school students from United For Success where NAHC hosts a school-based clinic. For almost all these students, this was a first-time experience and they were very excited and proud to complete the walk. With all the problems facing today’s youth, including a tripling of the childhood obesity rate in the last 30 years, we were honored and proud to have these students at the event and getting excited about physical activity.
With environmental concern growing across the globe, we made this year’s Running Is My High greener than ever. All the cups and utensils were biodegradable so that nearly all the waste from the event could be composted. We also gave participants 100% organic cotton t-shirts and an organic jute tote bag so that people can bring their own bag to the grocery store and stop filling our landfills with plastic bags.
We would like to thank the Native American Health Center’s Family & Child Guidance Clinic and Nutrition & Fitness Departments for co-sponsoring this event. We would also like to extend a BIG thank you to all of the NAHC staff who volunteered and participated. From our wonderful emcee Gloryanna, to our do-everything-man Larry, we thank you for making this even happen. Several participants commented that it was great to see so many staff at the event, including the seven medical providers who volunteered or participated (the most ever!). Thank you to all – we could not have done this without your help and support!
Employee Spotlight: Which one of these ladies is
Courtney Cummings? HR Buzz:
Retraction from April 2011 Article.
A Monthly Publication for Native American Health Center Employees Vol. 4, Issue 5 — May 2011 Page 2
The HR Department would like to welcome back its Human Resources Director, Natalie Aguilera.
We would like to thank Sandra Tavel for all her hard work and devotion for temporarily managing the HR Department and acting as the HR Manager. Sandra will be transitioning out of the HR Department and will be working 100% in the Grant & Contracts Department which involves administrative support for existing grants & contracts, as well as planning, grant seeking and grant writing. We will miss you Sandra!
With this transition we would like notify you of our revised onsite schedule effective April 4, 2011:
Location: 3124 International, Room 316 Location: San Francisco Clinic, 3rd Floor Day: Every Wednesday Day: 2nd & 4th Friday of every month Time: 8:30am – 12:00pm Time: 8:30am – 12:00pm Team Member: Michelle/Jennifer Team Member: Jennifer/Michelle Phone number: 510-434-5403 Phone Number: 415-621-1170
*The remaining days, HR staff can be reached in Alameda.
Additionally, HR would like to remind you of our duties and contact information: Natalie Aguilera, Director of HR 510-747-3035 Provides expertise in all functional areas of Human Resources, including staffing and recruitment, employment law, employee relations, benefits administration, compensation planning, performance management, training and career development. Provides support and direction to employees at all levels of the organization and supervises all employees within the HR Department.
Jennifer Luna, HR Generalist 510-747-3038 Handles the following HR functions: benefit administration (enrollment/termination/ and all benefit related questions), leave of absences, workers compensation and ergonomic evaluations, consultant agreements, performance evaluation review and special projects.
Michelle Shawnego, HR Assistant 510-747-3052 Handles the following HR functions: staffing and recruitment, new hires (and new hire orientations), appointment forms and salary allocation change forms, process terminations, management of personnel files, TB/Physical/CPR compliance, and manage volunteer, extern and interns.
NAHC’s Grants & Contracts Department Highlight By Sandra Tavel, Grants & Contracts Administrator
The staff of the Grants & Contracts department at NAHC are: Greg Harmon, Assistant Execu-tive Officer; Lillawa Willie, Development Associate/Grants & Contracts Administrator; and San-dra Tavel, Grants & Contracts Administrator. Collectively, we help manage the agency’s current 66 grants & contracts which currently total over $10 million in grant monies, excluding third party revenue. We help grant supervisors manage budgets; check budgets for accuracy; submit required documents and reports to funding agencies; provide staff training on grants manage-ment; maintain grant files for auditing purposes; verify staff salary allocations on grants; coordi-nate with grant supervisors in meeting program goals/objectives and program compliance. We also assist in submitting renewal and new grant applications. In a nutshell, we manage all pa-per aspects of the programs. We also serve as liaisons between the fiscal department and grant supervisors. When a supervisor requests a new hire, we check and approve contract funding so Human Resources can generate an appointment form, which also impacts the Payroll department. We assist the agency in grant-seeking to make sure the monies we apply for build on existing programs; can be managed with the resources at hand; and are aligned with our mission. Managing the paper side of grants requires extreme and meticulous attention to de-tail, as well as sound general knowledge of NAHC’s mission and operations. In regards to grants management, Greg would say, “It’s not hard, but it’s very time consuming.” Our work enables grant supervisors to do what they do best—run their programs while we steward the documentation side of the programs. One of the best aspects of working in the grants & con-tracts department is to witness successful events and see how our administrative efforts drive our mission forward. We work on-site at the San Francisco and Oakland clinics weekly and our “home base” is in Alameda.
HR Buzz:
Grants and Contracts Team Lillawa Willie, Greg Harmon
and Sandra Tavel.
A Monthly Publication for Native American Health Center Employees Vol. 4, Issue 5 — May 2011 Page 3
Martin Waukazoo CEO 05/09/1983 (28 Years)
Jerridine Davis Fiscal 05/20/1987 (24 Years)
Peter Schlichting WIC 05/23/2005 (6 Years)
Charlene Harrison Admin 05/03/2006 (5 Years)
Serena Wright FCGC 05/07/2007 (4 Years)
Rita Prado Medical 05/01/2008 (3 Years)
Shirley Begay Medical 05/31/2008 (3 Years)
Tommy Orange FCGC 05/24/2010 (1 Years)
Adriana Arrendondo Medical 05/01/2010
(1 Year)
Loraine Caruso Dental 05/17/2010 (1 Year)
Kyle Nelson FCGC 05/24/2010 (1 Year)
Rene Gonzalez, Jr Youth 05/10/2010 (1 Year)
Margaret Walter Medical 05/25/2010 (1 Year)
Phyllis Waukazoo Youth 05/17/2010 (1 Year)
May Employment Anniversaries Employee spotlight: Courtney Cummings, FCGC ~ Richmond By Catherine A. Marin-Wisdom, Administrative Officer
Tell us a little about your job: As a Prevention Assistant in Richmond, I am giving daily opportunities to help the Native community with their needs and connecting them to resources/additional help if needed.
What is the most enjoyable part about your job? When I help a person one-to-one; which may mean, offering a cup of water, asking “how is your day going?”, offering Kleenex, or if they are hungry sharing my snacks. And going home at the end of the day knowing I tried to make a difference. I also enjoy teaching the “Shawl class” on Mondays.
What do you do to relax on the weekends? If I have no personal volunteering assignments and it is the baseball season, you can catch me at a Oakland A’s game or walking around a flea market/yard sale with my headphones on.
What is your ideal vacation? A cross-country road trip with my family (again)
What three things would you take on a deserted island? Computer w/Skype to talk with my family, A cell phone and Diet coke.
New Faces @NAHC:
Amelia Snow Medical Assistant 7D
Claudia Valdivieso-Defaz Data Assistant IV
Dr. Paul-Ryan Lake On-Call Dentist
Julia Echeverria Mail Clerk Maintenance
Laura Cedillo Prevention Specialist (HIV)
Parke Ballantine Media Assistant FCGC
Sandra Elvira Elvira On-Call Dental Receptionist
Tangeria Oliver Referral Coordinator 7D
A Monthly Publication for Native American Health Center Employees Vol. 4, Issue 5 — May 2011 Page 4
Attention Staff: Do you want to contribute to @NAHC?? If you have an article, suggestion, or comment about
future newsletters, please contact Cathy Wisdom at 510-434-5481 or via email: [email protected]
Use cleaner transport • Walk, bike, or take public transit whenever possible. • Avoid allowing your car to idle. If you'll be waiting for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine (except in traffic). And don't take the drive-through! Park the car and walk inside instead. (You will use close to a tank of gas a month if you drive-through more than 3X a week) • Have your vehicle serviced regularly to keep the emission control systems operating at peak efficiency. Check your car's air filter monthly, and keep the tires adequately inflated to maximize gas mileage. Avoid short airplane trips-take a bus or train instead. Adjust your food habits • Eat more local, organic, in-season foods. • Plant a garden-it doesn't get more local than that. • Shop at your local farmer's market or natural foods store. Look for local, in-season foods that haven't traveled long distances to reach you. • Choose foods with less packaging to reduce waste. Eat lower on the food chain-going meatless for just one meal a week can make a difference. Globally, it has been estimated that 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions are associated with meat consumption.
Green Corner Reduce your Carbon Footprint
The Native American Health Center, Inc. Would like to wish all of our hard working mothers a
