Employee Success Story

The Sun Walkers Shed Light on Their 14,000-Mile Victory

Throughout the County’s 12-week HealthTrails Team Challenge, 78 teams traveled around world in the spirit of good health.

One such team was The Sun Walkers, a group of fiscal office specialists in the Tax Collector-Treasurer-Revenue Services, who traveled the furthest around the world—14,213.9 miles to be exact.

"We all like to be on the same team with each other,” says Janice Romanini. “We were all neck to neck with each other throughout the entire program!”

Read The Sun Walkers' story.

Wellness Classes and Events

YouMatter! Be Healthy

Mindfulness Meditation for Stress Reduction
Develop more positive responses to stress in your daily life and regain a sense of well-being and personal control through mindfulness meditation and movement exercises.

Eating Strategies for Surviving the Holidays
Learn the most impactful nutrition tricks you can incorporate into the holidays so that you prevent the usual weight gain that occurs between Thanksgiving and the New Year. This class will be livestreamed!

Women's Health: Managing Our Changing Bodies
Get up-to-date on two key women’s health issues ~ menopause and osteoporosis ~ with a thorough review of these conditions and ways to best manage our changing bodies. This class will be livestreamed!

Am I Living on the Blood Sugar Edge?
Everything from diagnosing and treating pre-diabetes and diabetes, medical measures, nutrition changes, and lifestyle improvements. Attendees will receive complimentary 1-on-1 health coaching. There will also be a door prize!

Find more classes in the sidebar or in the Wellness Events Calendar.

Upcoming Health & Benefits Fairs

Good Health is FUNdamental!

Swing by our booth for healthier snacks, crafts, games, prizes, and information about our programs and services. You'll discover everything from health club discounts to Weight Watchers reimbursements, to our corporate lactation program, and much more.

All of us from the Employee Wellness Team and Wellness Committee look forward to meeting you!

Mark your calendar with one of the upcoming fair dates:

• RWC: Wed, Oct. 15, 455 County Gov’t Center Courtyard, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  
• SMMC: Thurs, Oct. 16, 222 W 39th Ave, 2nd Floor Lobby, 1 – 4 p.m.
  

You may attend the Health & Benefits Fair on County time with your supervisor’s approval. As an alternative, ask to flex your workday so that you can attend on your own time.

Be a Protector!

Annual flu vaccination clinics are conveniently onsite

Just how the common cold can spread from one person to another, the flu can spread in the same way. For this reason, we provide onsite flu clinics every year at no cost for all employees as we approach this year’s flu season. Your visit will take less than 15 minutes, and is conducted on County time with supervisor approval.

Choose from a variety of dates and times: 

Employees who work at Correctional facilities, SMMC and Clinics, and Mental Health Clinics should check with their nursing manager about flu shots that will be available at their work locations.

Note: Bring your County or Courts photo I.D. card, and wear loose-fitting sleeves that can roll up to the shoulder. Waits are the longest at the beginning of the clinic, so plan accordingly!

For more information about the flu, visit the CDC flu webpage at www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2014-2015.htm.

Ongoing Support from College Coach

Schedule a personalized counseling session at no cost!

San Mateo County partners with College Coach to offer you a personalized meeting with college admissions/financial aid expert to discuss your unique situation with the following:

Starting Applications. Our professionals can discuss how your child can get a head start on application timing, essays and organization. 

Visiting Colleges. What should you look for in a campus? What are good questions to ask and notes to take? Contact the admissions office.

When and how to apply for loans, scholarships and work study (including the Parent Plus loan).

To schedule a meeting:

1. Visit passport.getintocollege.com
2. Click the link at the upper right-hand corner: "SIGNING UP IS EASY. START TODAY."
3.  Enter passcode: smcgov
4. Complete the registration form.

Upcoming class:  "Paying for College"  on Nov. 3 in RWC and SMMC. Register through the College Coach portal.

Healthy Tips: Fun and Creative Ways to Use Halloween Candy

Where will the bulk of your Halloween haul go?

Halloween night hasn’t arrived yet, but imagine it now. By the end of this month, you just might be buried by buckets of candy, wondering what to do with it all! If this is likely to happen to you, a little planning can go a long way.

Sure you can enjoy some of it, but if you're looking for ways to deal with the rest, these ideas can help:

Talk to your Wellness Champion. He or she might decide to run a candy donation drive at your department.

Donate it. Groups like Operation Gratitude and Halloween Candy Buy Back, which both support our troops, will gladly take donations.

Make your own trail mix. Open bags of little candies like M&Ms and add pretzels, nuts, and dried fruit.

Save and use next year for a Halloween wreath.

Get crafty and make super-sweet holiday ornaments.

Decorate a gingerbread house.

Use the wrappers for holiday cards or decoupage.

Make a board game and use the candy as playing pieces.

Create candy jewelry necklaces.

Compost it. You can add excess food and some sweets to your compost pile. Just remove the wrappers first!

Dispose of it! Although throwing food away might feel wasteful, think of it this way: if you decide you want to get rid of the candy, an alternative to using your stomach (or your coworker’s) as a garbage disposal is to use an actual garbage. What a relief!