Pacific Clinic opens location in Morgan Hill

On April 18, Pacific Clinics celebrated the grand opening of its Morgan Hill location, which includes themed rooms such as travel and jungle, along with a couple of rooms for telemedicine;

On hand to welcome Pacific Clinics to the Morgan Hill community were several Santa Clara Family Health Plan employees. They were, from left, Mala Sharma, Manager, Case Management, Clinic Services; Janet Gambatese, Director, Provider Network Operations; Chelsea Byom, Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Outreach; Jamie Enke, Behavioral Health Program Manager, and Angela Chen, Director, Case Management & Behavioral Health.

Pacific Clinics is California’s largest community-based nonprofit provider of behavioral and mental health services and supports. Its team of more than 2,000 employees speak 22 languages and are dedicated to offering hope and unlocking the full potential of individuals and families through culturally-responsive, trauma-informed, research-based services for individuals and families from birth to older adults. The agency offers services in multiple California counties.

We launched a new Healthy Cooking Program!

There is a new popular program at our Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center – Cooking with Heart.

After months of planning and preparation between our Health Education & Community Engagement team, the new hands-on, 6-week program emerged called – Cooking with Heart. It began its inaugural instruction on February 21 in recognition of American Heart Month.

The interactive program is split between two different series to support language inclusivity (Vietnamese & Spanish). It is led by a culturally competent culinary chef and nutrition to empower members and residents to practice healthy eating habits at home become savvy shoppers, practicing healthy cooking skills and preparing adorable and healthy recipes.

With over 50 members and residents enrolled, the program has maintained a high retention rate and expected to conclude March 30th. A new program cycle will begin in May 2023.

South County Community-led Assessment Process

With over 25,000 Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) members living in South Santa Clara County (Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy), SCFHP is set to develop a strategy to increase access to health and wellness programs, services, & resources in South County by June 30, 2023.

A Community-led Assessment Process began in December to support the development of a strategy that is centered on the unique identities and lived experiences of our members, future members and groups who have been marginalized.

The process will engage hundreds of South County residents & members and dozens of community & system partners to understand the barriers that are impacting the health and wellbeing of our members and future members. A community engagement process is critical to advance the health equity of South County residents. Systemic inequities have long contributed to root causes, such as low socioeconomic status and poor health outcomes.

The Resident Advisory Group launched on Jan. 25, 2023 with 26 residents including 19 SCFHP Medi-Cal members. The group will:

• Inform SCFHP about the health and social needs of communities living in South County
• Support the design and implementation of a community health and social needs survey
• Review and evaluate data and explore potential solutions for improving the health and well-being of communities

Special thanks to the Community Engagement team for leading this effort – Jocelyn Ma, Magaly Fernandez, Daisy Montoya, Sal Lopez, and Mike Gonzalez.

Something your fellow employees might enjoy or find helpful?

Then we want to hear from you

The Equity Council encourages employees to share their stories, pictures, or videos. Email Kris Cameron (kcameron@scfhp.com) with questions, ideas, or submissions.

Thank you!

April Birthdays

April Anniversaries

Cheers for Peers

New HR Members

New Hires

Promotions

Anniversaries

This is your chance to be heard

Employees are strongly encouraged to submit topic suggestions and/or content to newsletter@scfhp.com.

Any questions can be directed to Liz Sullivan - Manager, Communications – lsullivan@scfhp.com.

Pacific Clinic opens location in Morgan Hill

On April 18, Pacific Clinics celebrated the grand opening of its Morgan Hill location, which includes themed rooms such as travel and jungle, along with a couple of rooms for telemedicine;

On hand to welcome Pacific Clinics to the Morgan Hill community were several Santa Clara Family Health Plan employees. They were, from left, Mala Sharma, Manager, Case Management, Clinic Services; Janet Gambatese, Director, Provider Network Operations; Chelsea Byom, Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Outreach; Jamie Enke, Behavioral Health Program Manager, and Angela Chen, Director, Case Management & Behavioral Health.

Pacific Clinics is California’s largest community-based nonprofit provider of behavioral and mental health services and supports. Its team of more than 2,000 employees speak 22 languages and are dedicated to offering hope and unlocking the full potential of individuals and families through culturally-responsive, trauma-informed, research-based services for individuals and families from birth to older adults. The agency offers services in multiple California counties.

We launched a new Healthy Cooking Program!

There is a new popular program at our Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center – Cooking with Heart.

After months of planning and preparation between our Health Education & Community Engagement team, the new hands-on, 6-week program emerged called – Cooking with Heart. It began its inaugural instruction on February 21 in recognition of American Heart Month.

The interactive program is split between two different series to support language inclusivity (Vietnamese & Spanish). It is led by a culturally competent culinary chef and nutrition to empower members and residents to practice healthy eating habits at home become savvy shoppers, practicing healthy cooking skills and preparing adorable and healthy recipes.

With over 50 members and residents enrolled, the program has maintained a high retention rate and expected to conclude March 30th. A new program cycle will begin in May 2023.

South County Community-led Assessment Process

With over 25,000 Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) members living in South Santa Clara County (Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy), SCFHP is set to develop a strategy to increase access to health and wellness programs, services, & resources in South County by June 30, 2023.

A Community-led Assessment Process began in December to support the development of a strategy that is centered on the unique identities and lived experiences of our members, future members and groups who have been marginalized.

The process will engage hundreds of South County residents & members and dozens of community & system partners to understand the barriers that are impacting the health and wellbeing of our members and future members. A community engagement process is critical to advance the health equity of South County residents. Systemic inequities have long contributed to root causes, such as low socioeconomic status and poor health outcomes.

The Resident Advisory Group launched on Jan. 25, 2023 with 26 residents including 19 SCFHP Medi-Cal members. The group will:

• Inform SCFHP about the health and social needs of communities living in South County
• Support the design and implementation of a community health and social needs survey
• Review and evaluate data and explore potential solutions for improving the health and well-being of communities

Special thanks to the Community Engagement team for leading this effort – Jocelyn Ma, Magaly Fernandez, Daisy Montoya, Sal Lopez, and Mike Gonzalez.

Something your fellow employees might enjoy or find helpful?

Then we want to hear from you

The Equity Council encourages employees to share their stories, pictures, or videos. Email Kris Cameron (kcameron@scfhp.com) with questions, ideas, or submissions.

Thank you!

April Birthdays

April Anniversaries

Cheers for Peers

New HR Members

New Hires

Promotions

Anniversaries

This is your chance to be heard

Employees are strongly encouraged to submit topic suggestions and/or content to newsletter@scfhp.com.

Any questions can be directed to Liz Sullivan - Manager, Communications – lsullivan@scfhp.com.

Getting and staying in shape is a challenge for many of us. Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) wants to make that challenge a bit easier.

As an SCFHP employee, you and your family are eligible to join the YMCA at no cost to you, just like all of our members can!

“YMCA of Silicon Valley is excited to offer SCFHP a welcoming and inclusive space to grow in health, learn about community resources, and empower themselves and those around them to live their fullest lives,” said Jim Hori, President and CEO of YMCA Silicon Valley.

Q: How do I sign up for my YMCA membership?
A: See the email sent on September 1 by HR.

Greetings SCFHP employees,

We are excited to announce that we have partnered with the YMCA of Silicon Valley to offer employees and their household members a YMCA membership starting September 1, 2022. With this membership, you can take advantage of many programs, classes, and health & fitness activities offered at YMCA locations in Silicon Valley.

We hope you will enjoy this new benefit as we endeavor to support the wellness needs of our workforce!

For more information about YMCA locations and benefits, visit https://www.ymcasv.org/.

• To sign up, complete the SCFHP employee registration form.
  • You'll need your ADP employee ID number. You can find this number by logging in to ADP and viewing a pay statement. The "File" number is your ADP employee ID.

Feel free to reach out to HR with any questions at hr@scfhp.com.

Thank you,

Human Resources Department

At SCFHP, we are committed to helping our employees achieve their best health. You are our greatest asset, and we know that high-performing, healthy, and happy individuals are those with high levels of well-being.

Q: What do I get with my membership?
A: With your membership, you get access to:

• Exercise equipment
• Fitness studios
• Group exercise classes
• Swimming pools
• Basketball gyms
• Wellness programs, wellness coaching, and more! Non-standard services with additional fees are not included.

Q: Where can I use this membership?
A: You can use your no-cost YMCA membership at any YMCA of Silicon Valley location. In addition, you can visit any Y location nationwide as a guest. To find a location near you or learn about nationwide membership, visit www.ymcasv.org.

Q: Will I be charged for this membership?
A: You will not be charged for accessing the YMCA as long as your application was approved by the YMCA, you are in good standing with the Y, and you remain an employee of SCFHP. If you are no longer eligible for this benefit, your membership will end. For questions about your membership, please contact membersupport@ymcasv.org.

Q: Where can I learn more about this program?
A: You can take a look at our press release here. You can also take a look at YMCA’s website for details about the plan here.

Hope to see all of you having fun at the Y!

Gray skies and the chance of rain couldn’t dampen the happy spirits of those attending the Lunar New Year Celebration at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center on Feb. 4.

This year marks the Year of the Rabbit/Cat.

Special thanks to: Bay Area Community Health and Stanford School of Medicine for providing health screenings and vaccinations during the event; Vietnamese Lasallian Youth Troupe (VLYT) for performing Taiko (Drums); youth performance group Nhóm Việt Trẻ for singing; the amazing Lion Dance performers, and all of the community partners that provided resources at our health fair.

And to our elected officials for their honorable recognition – California State Senator Dave Cortese, California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee, and City of San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz.

Check out photos from the event in our Facebook album.

Wishing everyone health and prosperity in 2023.

In the spirit of giving

In the spirit of giving, the IT department began January by collaborating with a local nonprofit, “The Foundation for Hispanic Education” to help collect coats and warm clothing.

IT collected 180 coats and 140 miscellaneous items as a result of the generosity of SCFHP employees.

Thank you to everyone who donated.

Update your email signature to show SCFHP is Great Place to Work Certified™!

Our marketing team created an updated email signature template with the Great Places to Work logo included. Please find the new template in SharePoint email templates here, and update your email signature.

February birthdays

February anniversaries

Ngoc Bui-Tong promoted to newly-expanded position of Chief Health Equity & Strategies Officer at Santa Clara Family Health Plan

SCFHP employees participate in homeless person count

Before dawn on a mid-30-degree weekday was an unusual time for more than a dozen SCFHP employees to be out and about. But for some homeless residents, it’s an everyday reality.

Volunteers tried to capture that reality on Jan. 24-25 by giving their time to participate in Santa Clara County’s biannual “point-in-time count,” or PIT count. The PIT count is a multi-day event where volunteers travel up and down the county to count people experiencing homelessness. The PIT count helps the county better understand the size of its unhoused population, and is a federal requirement. The results dictate how state and federal funds are dispersed for homeless services and programs, and used in grant applications.

“It’s just eye opening the things that residents of some areas of our county experience, and sometimes it can be so subtle and you don’t even realize it,” said Gaya Amirthavasar, Manager, Social Determinants of Health, Community Based Programs. She said she saw approximately 15 instances of homelessness in her area of the count, which was primarily residential. “With the pandemic, we’ve had an increase in the amount of people struggling to pay rent. To be good partners with the housing sector, I think it’s really important that we show our support when we did this count.”

According to 2022 county PIT numbers, there are approximately 10,000 homeless individuals in the county, and we know that many may be our members. As part of SCFHP’s mission, we look to improve our members well-being by getting them the resources they need to live healthy lives. That includes connecting unhoused people with not only Medi-Cal and Medicare, but also to community resources and organizations to support their needs.

In January 2022, SCFHP launched two important programs that expand our ability to serve members who are experiencing homelessness: Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports. These programs offer community based case management delivered by community based organizations with experience with this population to enter members into the prioritization system to find housing, assist with move-in related costs, and provide support to maintain housing.

“We have members who are low-income individuals since they’re on Medi-Cal, and a lot of them might be going through housing insecurity,” said Laura Munoz, Community Based Services Specialist in Community Supports. “Having us go out there and helping with this count shows that [SCFHP] isn’t just all about providing [traditional health care] services, but also cares about ensuring people in our community get the help they need.”

For more information on homelessness resources & services that SCFHP offers, visit our Community Supports page at https://www.scfhp.com/for-providers/communitysupports-cs-healthhomes-hhp/. To learn more about the county’s efforts to combat homelessness, visit the Office of Supportive Housing’s page at https://osh.sccgov.org/solutions-homelessness/permanent-solutions/homelessness-prevention.

Supporting Pink Goes Red event

Congratulations to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Emmanuel Baptist Church for hosting their annual Pink Goes Red event on February 4, in recognition of American Heart Month.

The free annual event was brought back in person and invited over 200 people (95% African American Females) to connect and explore ways to lead a more heart-healthy lifestyle - the event featured interactive workshops, a resource fair, and space to build togetherness.

A proud sponsor of the event, Santa Clara Family Health Plan also wants to recognize its Director of Vendor Management, Pamela Lowe, for serving as a planning member for the event.

We look forward to next year's Pink Goes Red event!

Community support

Ngoc Bui-Tong, Chief Health Equity and Strategy Officer at Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) accepted an award on behalf of the plan from Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC) during an event on Feb. 3 in recognition of our support of their clinic renovations.

The SCFHP Governing Board voted in April 2022 to provide just over $249,000 of our Board Innovation Fund to ARCC for this project, which expands their current youth counseling programs, invests in clinic staff, and provides new equipment to increase telehealth access.

“We saw it as an opportunity to work with a trusted community partner to fortify and expand access to behavioral health services in East San Jose,” said Bui-Tong. “And it aligns with our commitment to support local organizations that provide equitable programs for county residents.”

Sharing a moment at the event were, left to right, Ngoc Bui-Tong; Steve Eckert, CEO, ARCC; Kathleen King, Chief Executive Officer, Healthier Kids Foundation; Bob Brownstein, Strategic Advisor, Working Partnerships; Michele Lew, Chief Executive Officer, The Health Trust and SCFHP Governing Board chair; and Chelsea Byom, Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Outreach, SCFHP.

What's happening at the CRC

Click here to find out what’s happening at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center.

Suggestion box highlights!

Thank you, everyone for your great suggestions!

As a reminder, the Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) receives a few different types of suggestions in our Suggestion Box. They include:

• Requests for general company info or updates
• Benefits questions
• Suggestions for services or process improvements

Each month, the EEC partners with HR to review all new suggestions and to share EEC recommendations when applicable. When process improvements are suggested, we share the suggestion directly with the appropriate management team. The highlighted suggestion below has been forwarded to IT management.

Stay tuned for more suggestion box updates at our All Staff meetings, and in future issues of the Inside the Plan!

Congratulations to all staff at SCFHP!

As mentioned in a recent email, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is now Great Place to Work Certified™!

SCFHP scored 77 on the Trust Index Survey, sent by Activated Insights. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey.

To learn more and review the survey results click here.

If you'd like to tell your family and friends about our new status, you can share our Great Place to Work Review on your own social media. You can find and share our review here.

Our marketing team created an updated email signature template with the Great Places to Work logo included. Please find the new template in SharePoint email templates here, and update your email signature.

We will also be sharing our certification status on social media channels (FB, LinkedIn, and Instagram). Please like and re-share our posts. We appreciate the support! #GPTW_US #GPTWCertified

Thank you for everything you do to make Santa Clara Family Health Plan a great place to work!

URL to our GPTW certification page: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/certified-company/7014556.

Well done SCFHP team!

Learn about Lunar New Year

Submitted by Anh-Thu Nguyen, Medical Management Personal Care Coordinator Lead

Lunar New Year or TET NGUYEN DAN, is Vietnam’s most significant celebration. Across Vietnam, during this time, families reunite and honor their ancestors, while praying for luck, prosperity and health in the New Year.

Throughout Vietnam and in my family, preparations begin weeks in advance, as cleaning, decorating, and sprucing up is a big part of holiday tradition. We shop for new clothes, get haircuts, cook special traditional dishes, buy flowers, and even wash my house. Vietnamese people believe Kumquat trees or peach blossoms will be set in a place of honor. We do believe the bigger the kumquat trees, the more prosperity and health the family will receive in the New Year.

It is important within our family to bring prosperity and luck to the New Year, but also having a chance to reconnect with our family and relatives back in Vietnam. By celebrating Tet, we welcome luck into our household as well as grand-children a glimpse into their roots.

Note:

On February 4, Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center will host its Lunar New Year Celebration from 10 am-2 pm. All are welcome to attend. If your team or department is interested in volunteering at this event please contact: Trinh Nguyen tnguyen3@scfhp.com.

Photos, and a recap of the celebration, will appear on SCFHP and CRC social media channels and in the February Employee e-Newsletter.

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Vice President, Human Resources Teresa Chapman and her husband Andre' traveled to Washington, D.C. over the recent Martin Luther King Jr. three-day holiday weekend and visited the National African American Heritage Museum and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

“To see the museum, to observe MLK day, and honor his legacy was very impactful and meaningful as it pertains to the history of Blacks in America and his role in defending freedom and defining freedom,” said Chapman. “It was an opportunity to reflect on the man, the leader, his call and legacy.”

January 15 would have been King’s 94^th birthday. One of the most prominent leaders in the U.S. civil rights movement, and winner of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968 while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

“We are his legacy!” added Chapman. “May we carry forward the charge of democracy, peace, progress, and equality for all.”

As you know, here at Santa Clara Family Health Plan, we are always looking to grow our teams with talented people, just like you. That’s why we are excited to announce our Employee Referral Bonus Program.

Refer qualified candidates, and as a “thank you,” you may be eligible to receive a referral bonus of $500 per hire.

Who’s eligible?

All regular full‐ and part‐time employees except for the below employee and candidate exclusions:

Employees:

• Employees of the Human Resources department;

• Employees involved in the hiring decision for the specific placement;

• Hiring supervisors, managers, and directors may not receive a referral bonus for filling a position within their department;

• Members of the Executive Team are not eligible to receive a referral bonus.

Candidates:

• Previous SCFHP employees;

• Current individuals working for SCFHP as a temporary contractor or consultant or who have worked as a temporary contractor or consultant within the last 12 months;

• Candidates under consideration from another source or on file with SCFHP as previously referred candidates.

How does the program work?

• An employee who refers an applicant hired into a regular full‐time or part‐time position, whose name appears on the employment application as the referring source when submitted to the Human Resources department, is eligible to receive a referral bonus of $500.

• Referrals must be received prior to the candidate’s hire date and verified by Human Resources during the hiring process.

• Employee referrals must be submitted via the Employee Referral Portal.

• The employee referral portal is a custom page that can be accessed via a link that allows employees to submit referrals directly into the applicant tracking system, and the referring employee’s name is matched to the candidate.

• The referral bonus will be paid when the individual successfully completes six months of employment.

• Referral bonuses for part‐time positions will be prorated.

• There may only be one referral per candidate.

If you know someone who you think would be a good fit for SCFHP, please tell us about it by using the Employee Referral Portal!

Also, don’t forget to check our external careers page for openings.

Thank you,
The Human Resources Department

January birthdays

January anniversaries

Giving back at Christmas

Our 2nd Annual Holiday Toy Giving Program was held at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center on December 14. Over 300 gifts were distributed to children of the health plan who enjoyed decorating their own stockings and ornaments.

We are thankful to all our SCFHP staff who coordinated this event, bought gifts, or volunteered their time.

Click here for photos from this magical day.

Staff celebrate holidays with Ugly Sweater Competition

On December 21, before staff came together for a holiday luncheon from Maggiano’s at the San Ignacio facility, staff participated in an Ugly Sweater competition both in person or virtually.

More than 30 employees participated and the winners of a gift certificate are (in no particular order): Sue Won, Pamela Lowe, Carole Ruvalcaba, and Janet Smith.

The judges also announced honorable mentions because of the time and thought employees put into the competition. They are: Jenny Arellano Morales, Nicole Bell, Yolanda Rivera, Tim Wilson, and Dennise Ong.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Volunteering at Second Harvest food bank

SCFHP Compliance team gave back to the community on January 24 by spending a few hours preparing food boxes at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley food bank.

Suggestion Box Highlights!

Thank you, everyone for your great suggestions!

As a reminder, the Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) receives a few different types of suggestions in our Suggestion Box. They include:

• Requests for general company info or updates.

• Benefits questions.

• Suggestions for services or process improvements.

Each month, the EEC partners with HR to review all new suggestions and to share EEC recommendations when applicable. When process improvements are suggested, we share the suggestion directly with the appropriate management team. Please see this month’s highlighted suggestion below!

Stay tuned for more suggestion box updates at our All Staff meetings, and in future issues of the Inside the Plan!

Our collective efforts toward the health of our community mean many of us are able to gather with our friends and families again and enjoy everything the season has to offer! Through your hard work in partnership with providers and organizations, we’ve been able to rise to the challenges COVID has given us.

Thank you for the compassion you bring to our community and your dedication to serving our members. We look forward to our continued work toward Health for All to eliminate the health disparities that still impact many of our residents.

Wishing you and yours happy holidays and a wonderful New Year!

Dear Santa Clara Family Health Plan staff,

We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who either donated a gift and/or their time to our 2nd Annual Holiday Toy Giving Program at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center on December 17.

With the help of 28 staff and volunteers, over 300 gifts were distributed to children of the health plan who also got to enjoy decorating their own stockings and ornaments. We also gave out over 330 goodie bags.

We are thankful to our SCFHP staff who took the time to go shopping and pick gifts that were truly special.

Make sure to visit us on Facebook/Instagram (@scfhp.crc) for photos and video from during the event. A full recap and additional photos will be shared in the January issue of the Employee e-Newsletter.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy holidays!

-- The staff at the CRC

What fuels your passion for the work you do at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

• Is there a special story or experience you’d like to share?
• Member experience?
• Coworker experience?

Send your thoughts to newsletter@scfhp.com and it will be included in the next Employee e-Newsletter.

We’d like to try a new e-newsletter feature … A day in the life of a…

Ever walk by a co-worker and wonder what their job is at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

Have you ever been curious about what a day as a: care coordinator, customer service representative, pharmacist, communications project manager or compliance coordinator is like?

Yes, us too.

Check out upcoming issues of the employee e-newsletter for this interesting feature.

Where were you?

By Liz Sullivan
Manager, Communications

For Thanksgiving this year, I spent four days in Manhattan, New York witnessing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person, while going to a musical (Phantom of the Opera), a couple of ice hockey games, and a pair of museums.

Lots of action and excitement.

It was the trip to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan on a rainy Friday morning that touched me deeply; something I still think about.

For my generation, anyone not alive when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, this is our “where were you” moment.

On September 11, 2001 I was working as the college athletics writer for the “Daily Local News” newspaper in West Chester, Pa, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia.

It was a Tuesday, with clear blue skies.

Normally I worked 4 pm-midnight. On this day, I was scheduled to interview West Chester University (WCU) Athletic Director Ed Matejkovic in the late morning about cutting the women’s gymnastics program; which was drawing a lot of negative reaction in the community.

By the time I arrived at his North Campus office both World Trade Center towers had already fallen, along with the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crashing in Shanksville, PA.

During the course of the 45-minute interview, the AD’s email sounded like a pinball machine in action, with a pinging sound as email after email landing in his inbox. Both of us were definitely distracted during our chat, and there was the sense that we were potentially experiencing what felt like the end of the world.

By the end of that day we, and the rest of the world, would learn the name of Michael Horricks, a 1984 WCU graduate and former quarterback on the football team, who was the co-pilot of the plane that struck the south tower; the first to fall.

This wasn’t just some random terrorist attack on foreign soil thousands of miles away. This was the United States of America under attack and it happened about 90 miles from where I called home.

For me it was even more personal as I was born in Manhattan and have a strong connection to New York City and Long Island.

Fast forward 22 years and I felt as American it was time to visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and pay my respects.

As stated on the museum’s website:

“The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is the country’s principal institution concerned with exploring 9/11, documenting its impact, and examining its continuing significance. Honoring those who were killed in the 2001 and 1993 attacks is at the heart of our mission.

Located at the World Trade Center in New York City, the 9/11 Memorial Museum tells the story of 9/11 through media, narratives, and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts, presenting visitors with personal stories of loss, recovery, and hope.”

This reminder of that days, those events and the aftermath, contains more than 40,000 images, 14,000 artifacts, more than 3,500 oral recordings, and over 500 hours of video.

The museum didn’t disappoint; far from it.

I chose the self-guided audio tour and for the next almost three hours was completely immersed in the moments of that day and subsequent days after the planes struck that are preserved in time.

The events of that day changed the world forever.

I probably could have spent all day at the museum, and walking around the outdoor memorial, if it were not for a lunch date with a high school friend up town to watch World Cup soccer.

One part of the museum left its mark in my mind. (So much so I bought a poster and a magnet of its saying.)

It is a piece of art called -- “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning” by artist Spencer Finch. It is easily one of the museum’s most recognizable pieces that runs prominently through the museum.

The piece is comprised of 2,983 individual watercolor squares—each representing a victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks—and symbolizes the idea of memory.

Many people remember the beauty of the clear blue sky on the morning of 9/11.

According to the museum’s website, “but, our own perception of the color blue might not be the same as that of another person. However, just like our perception of color, our memories share a common point of reference.”

What struck me the most was the quote within the piece -- “No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time” from Book IX of The Aeneid by Roman poet Virgil. Each letter was forged from recovered World Trade Center steel by New Mexico artist Tom Joyce.

WOW.

To me, this piece perfectly describes the feeling of that day, from beginning to end. It forces you to stop and contemplate the bigger picture.

What an amazing way to honor and remember the innocent victims.

My visit to the museum and the memorial made the events of September 11, 2001 even more real for me.

I highly recommend everyone visit this museum. I’m very glad I did.

457 Tax-Deferred Compensation Plan

(Participation in the 457 Plan may be elected at any time.)
Fill out the 457 enrollment form and email it to hr@scfhp.com

• All SCFHP employees are eligible to participate in the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, an optional savings program that allows employees to tax-defer income and invest for the future.
• The annual contribution limit is $22,500 in 2023, up from $20,500 in 2022. Individuals above the age of 50 are also eligible for catch-up contributions. The catch-up contribution limit is $7,500, up from $6,500 in 2022
• All funds contributed to the 457 Plan are held by Mission Square Retirement in a trust for the exclusive benefit of the contributing employees and their named beneficiaries.
• An employee may contribute specified dollars up to the maximum amounts for a given calendar year permitted under IRS law.
• Pre-tax contributions are deducted from each paycheck.

Don't miss out on the PTO Cash out program!

In December of each year, employees can elect to cash out a portion of their Paid Time Off (PTO) earned in the following calendar year. This program is designed to give employees flexibility in the use of their PTO benefit. Employees may cash out up to a maximum of 80 hours, providing that at least 40 hours of leave remain to cover unanticipated absences.

If you are interested in participating in this program, please submit the attached form by December 31, 2022.

• Send completed forms to Payroll, PayRoll@scfhp.com

For specific details on the program, please refer to the attached policy. You may also contact HR at hr@scfhp.com if you have any questions.

New Employee Referral Portal - Coming in January 2023!

Santa Clara Family Health Plan is a “Great Place to Work”

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) has earned the distinction of being a “Great Place to Work” as a result of a recent survey completed by staff.

The marketing department is creating graphics for our ‘email signature’ to include the Great Places to Work logo.

Please feel free to update your email signature when you receive them in the next few weeks.

We’ll also be sharing our certification status in a press release, our website and on social media channels (FB, LinkedIn, Instagram) please like and re-share our posts and we appreciate your engagement support on social media.

Thank you for everything you do to make this a great place to work!

December birthdays

December anniversaries

New hires/promotions

Work anniversaries

25^th Anniversary – Felt Wall

It’s not too late to get your flu shot; find out how

The flu (influenza) is a serious disease and can be dangerous, especially for young children and older adults. Flu shots are covered benefit at no cost to you. Flu shots are the best way to prevent the flu and its dangers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older get the flu shot every year.

Peak flu season in the U.S. is from November to March. An updated flu shot becomes available each fall. Be sure to get your shot early to help prevent the flu for the whole season. Even a late flu shot is better than no flu shot.

According to the CDC it is safe to get your flu shot and your COVID-19 vaccine at the same time. With the flu season approaching while we are still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic it is important to be well protected against both.

You can get your flu shot at your doctor’s office, even if you are visiting for another reason. You can also get a flu shot at any of these pharmacies in Santa Clara County:

• CVS Pharmacy
• Lucky Pharmacy
• Rite Aid
• Safeway Pharmacy
• Walgreens
• Wal-Mart Pharmacy
• Valley Health Center Pharmacies

Use this tool to find where to get a flu shot near you.

Remember to call first before visiting.

The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is hosting flu clinics for adults and children 12 years and older, Monday through Friday. No appointment required. Visit Valley Medical Center’s 2022-2023 Flu Clinic Schedule for more details.

Kaiser members should visit kp.org/mydoctor/flu to get information on the flu shot clinic nearest you, or call Kaiser's recorded flu hotline anytime day or night at 1-800-573-5811.

Learn more about the flu from SCFHP’s Health Library. For more information about the flu vaccine, visit http://www.vaccineinformation.org/influenza/ or http://www.flu.gov.

*Always ask your doctor (or other qualified health care provider) for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For example, talk with your doctor first before trying something new, like exercise or a change in diet.

Show us your flu vaccine photos

In an effort to promote the importance of getting a yearly flu shot, Santa Clara Family Health Plan staff are encouraged to take a selfie photo after receiving your shot.

It can be as simple as a photo showing off the band aid you received after the injection.

Photos can be sent to newsletter@scfhp.com.

QI-HE volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank

On December 14, staff members from the Quality Improvement-Health Education Department spent the day volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank as part of their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Team Building activity. The department was joined by Bianca Ibarra from Case Management.

Getting in the Christmas spirit

Showing off the finished product are, from left, front row: Lloyd Alaban and Carole Ruvalcaba. Back row, Chelsea Byom and Cristina Hernandez.

On November 25, members of our team decorated SCFHP's tree at Christmas in the Park, located in Downtown San Jose's Plaza de Cesar Chavez! Getting together with friends and family is what makes the holiday season so special.

Volunteers who are looking to make an impact needed

Employee Engagement Committee Update

Suggestion Box Highlights!

Thank you, everyone for your great suggestions!

We receive a few different types of suggestions in our Suggestion Box.

1. Requests for general company info or updates
2. Benefits questions
3. Suggestions for services or process improvements

Each month we partner with HR to review all suggestions and to share EEC recommendations when applicable. If process improvements are suggested, we share the suggestion directly with the appropriate management team. Please see December’s highlighted suggestion below!

Stay tuned for more suggestion box updates at our All Staff meetings, and in future issues of the Inside the Plan!

Stay tuned to the January Employee e-Newsletter for a full recap and pictures from the CRC Holiday Toy Drive. Thank you to all who participated.

Still time to volunteer for

You haven’t missed your chance to volunteer or provide a gift for the 2022 Holiday Toy Giving Program being held Saturday, December 17 from 9 am-1 pm at the CRC!

There’s still time to support an estimated 300 children (0-17 years of age) who are members of SCFHP this holiday season.

We recognize that our members with young children have faced and continue to experience an overwhelming amount of economic hardship. This is an opportunity to increase our engagement with health plan members and respond to their socioeconomic needs during the holiday session.

We invite all SCFHP staff to participate by donating a toy/gift(s) valued at ~$25-30.

WE STILL HAVE GIFTS TO BE PURCHASED

Participation Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022CRCToyGiving

After signing up: Participating staff will receive an email with the child’s first name, identified gender, and toy/gift preference.

Where to send gift(s): Hand-deliver or ship unwrapped gifts to the CRC (408 N. Capitol Ave. San Jose, CA 95133) or HQ (to the offices of Carole Ruvalcaba or Chelsea Byom) by December 12.

Like to volunteer? Help is needed between 9 am-1 pm. If you like to support the Annual Toy Giving Program @ the CRC on December 17, please email Trinh Nguyen.

As previously mentioned, SCFHP is celebrating our 25^th anniversary. To join in the celebration of this milestone, we invite you to use a new set of templates that highlight our special edition logo! The templates include a Zoom background, email signature and PowerPoint slide deck and can be used until February 2023.

You can find the templates and instructions to update your signature here: http://icat/Library/Templates/25th%20Anniversary.

Please take a moment to review your email signature to ensure it is consistent with our templates. If you need to update, be sure to only use the template options as formatted in the instructions. Our email signatures are an important part of SCFHP’s branding, and should not be altered beyond the addition of your contact information.

Our vision is Health for All and that means creating opportunities for every member of our community to be healthy. This includes the ones who are often ignored or forgotten – individuals experiencing homelessness. One of the major obstacles to helping those experiencing homelessness is understanding how widespread the problem really is. That’s one of the main reasons the Santa Clara County Continuum of Care (CoC), a regional planning body that coordinates housing and services funding to homeless families and individuals, conducts a bi-annual count called the Point-In-Time (PIT) count.

What’s exciting about this year’s count is that it will also help SCFHP work towards the Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) metric to earn dollars from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) that will be invested in the community to help those currently experiencing homelessness or those are risk of losing their housing.

The PIT count will take place on January 24th and 25th from 5am to 9am. You will be provided with training on where to go, what to do and how to stay safe. If you are interested in participating, please contact Gaya Amirthavasar, Manager, Social Determinants of Health (gamirthavasar@scfhp.com) with the subject line “PIT Count Volunteer”. It is recommended that the PIT count is completed in groups of three. If you’ve got a group in mind, please include that information in the email.

Come out and show this vulnerable population that SCFHP has not forgotten them and is committed to ensuring they are able to access the same opportunities to achieve a healthy life.

What fuels your passion for the work you do at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

• Is there a special story or experience you’d like to share?
• Member experience?
• Coworker experience?

Send your thoughts to newsletter@scfhp.com and it will be included in the next Employee e-Newsletter.

We’d like to try a new e-newsletter feature … A day in the life of a…

Ever walk by a co-worker and wonder what their job is at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

Have you ever been curious about what a day as a: care coordinator, customer service representative, pharmacist, communications project manager or compliance coordinator is like?

Yes, us too.

Check out upcoming issues of the employee e-newsletter for this interesting feature.

November birthdays

November anniversaries

Show us your flu vaccine photos

In an effort to promote the importance of getting a yearly flu shot, Santa Clara Family Health Plan staff are encouraged to take a selfie photo after receiving your shot.

It can be as simple as a photo showing off the band aid you received after the injection.

Photos can be sent to newsletter@scfhp.com.

Halloween contest winners

Congratulations again to everyone who participated in our Halloween decorating contests. It was amazing to see the creativity,

Click here for photos.

Dia de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican & Central American tradition embraced by Santa Clara County communities to remember and honor loved ones who have passed.

Check out the altar set up at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center to help with reflection and healing.

Getting ready to deliver training packets

Provider Network associates, from left, Jessica Jimenez, Abby Baldovinos, and Art Shaffer create swag bags to take out to our providers as they deliver annual training packets.

Leading with Action

Photographed at the luncheon were, from left to right: Thien Ly, Liz Sullivan, Christine Tomcala, Trinh Nguyen, honoree Rudy Tenes, and Magaly Fernandez

Santa Clara Family Health Plan is proud to support People Acting in Community Together (PACT) at their “Leading with Action” annual luncheon on November 4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

PACT works to mobilize communities to make real change. Together we can better support each other as we work toward equity and health for all.

Employee Engagement Committee Update

Suggestion Box Highlights!

Now that the Employee Engagement Committee is reviewing Suggestion Box entries, we will begin sharing submissions and recommended actions monthly. Here are some highlighted submissions for this month.

Stay tuned for more suggestion box updates at our All Staff meetings and in future issues of the Employee E-news!

Last Saturday, October 22, amid the backdrop of East San José, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) celebrated its 25th Anniversary of providing affordable, quality health care to Santa Clara county residents.

Community members, leaders, volunteers, and staff joined the Health for All: Community Health Event at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center.

With over 1,000 visitors, it was a community health event to remember! We celebrated with a Zumbathon, provided free health screenings, hosted an informative resource fair, and cultural performances. Community residents met Santa Clara Family Health Plan's amazing service teams at our one-of-a-kind Health Pavilion. Special shout out to the teams who participated in the SCFHP Health Pavilion, including - Behavioral Health, Case Management, Community Engagement, Customer Service, Grievance & Appeals, Medicare Outreach, Pharmacy department/Diabetes program, and Long Term Services & Support.

Our friends at Telemundo 48 Bay Area helped spread the word and promote the community health event by broadcasting a Public Service Announcement (PSA). Click here to view it.

A special thank you to Telemundo 48 Bay Area television anchor Flavio Lacayo, who served as the event's emcee. And to the groups who performed, including - Ballet Folklórico Mexicano Fuego Nuevo, Mariachi Tapatio, The Vietnamese Lasallian Youth Troupe (VLYT), Vietnamese youth performance group Nhóm Việt Trẻ, Zumba with Rosario Aboytes and everyone who joined our resource fair to provide necessary resources to our community.

This event was special for a variety of reasons.

The welcoming ceremony with Christine Tomcala and Governing Board Chair Michele Lew was a stand-out moment. During the ceremony, Christine officially recognized and honored our 25th Anniversary and announced SCFHP's scholarship program, a $500,000 (half a million dollars) board-designated fund to provide scholarships to individuals pursuing higher education for a healthcare career in Santa Clara County. This announcement was joined by Senator Dave Cortese, Supervisor Cindy Chavez, representative from Supervisor Otto Lee’s office, Evergreen & San José City College Trustee Tony Alexander, Deputy Consul General of Mexico Rafael Bernal Cuevas, Chief Medical Official at Bay Area Community Health Dr. Harsha Ramchandani, and Deputy Director at Santa Clara County Public Health Department Rhonda McClinton Brown.

Check out photos from the event on Facebook HERE.

As mentioned at the All-Staff meeting on October 13, SCFHP is celebrating our 25^th anniversary. To join in the celebration of this special milestone, we invite you to use a new set of marketing templates that highlight our special edition logo! The templates include a Zoom background, email signature and PowerPoint slide deck and can be used until February 2023.

You can find the templates and instructions to update your signature here: http://icat/Library/Templates/25th%20Anniversary.

Please take a moment to review your email signature to ensure it is consistent with our templates. If you need to update, be sure to only use the template options as formatted in the instructions. Our email signatures are an important part of SCFHP’s branding, and should not be altered beyond the addition of your contact information.

On the evening of September 13, Santa Clara Family Health Plan lost a beloved friend and colleague medical director Dr. Jeff Robertson when he perished in a one-car accident.

Prior to bringing his talents to SCFHP, where he served as Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director, Dr. Jeff worked as Chief Medical Officer for New York Life, BlueShield of Washington, and First Choice Health. His clinical practice was in the area of Family Medicine, including three years with the Peace Corps and Mother Teresa’s mission of Charity in Kathmandu, Nepal. He often shared that Mother Teresa taught him everything he needed to know about managed care – how to distribute limited resources compassionately.

Words cannot express how much Dr. Jeff will be missed by those he worked with and those he served.

To honor his memory plans are underway to install a bike rack at the San Ignacio Avenue building. When more information becomes available it will be shared with staff.

Celebrate the Life of Jeffrey Robertson, M.D.

Open House: Thursday, November 3^rd, 5-9 pm

The Ranch at Silver Creek: 4601 Hill Top View Lane, San Jose, CA 95138

Please join us to celebrate the life of Jeff Robertson: doctor, cyclist, pilot, world traveler, and beloved father, brother, and partner.

Remembrances beginning at 6 pm. Dinner buffet and desserts. (Business casual attire)

What fuels your passion for the work you do at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

• Is there a special story or experience you’d like to share?
• Member experience?
• Coworker experience?

Send your thoughts to newsletter@scfhp.com and it will be included in the next Employee e-Newsletter.

We’d like to try a new e-newsletter feature … A day in the life of a…

Ever walk by a co-worker and wonder what their job is at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

Have you ever been curious about what a day as a: care coordinator, customer service representative, pharmacist, communications project manager or compliance coordinator is like?

Yes, us too.

Check out upcoming issues of the employee e-newsletter for this interesting feature.

Community Outreach

By Mike González - Director, Community Engagement

October birthdays

October anniversaries

Cheers for peers

New hires and promotions

SCFHP welcomes new board members

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) Chief Executive Officer Christine Tomcala and SCFHP Governing Board Chair Michele Lew are pleased to welcome Jennifer Cloyd, Lisa Hernandez, and Sara Jeevanjee, to its governing board.

Cloyd is CEO of FIRST 5 of Santa Clara County. Hernandez is Health Officer, City of Berkeley: Health Housing & Comm. Serv. Public Health Division. Jeevanjee is interim medical director, Valley Homeless Healthcare Program, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

With the healthcare industry rapidly evolving, SCFHP benefits greatly from the innovative ideas and perspectives of this diverse group of people with backgrounds in business, finance, managed care, hospital administration, medicine, healthcare policy, and law.

Governing Board meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in attending, please visit our Meetings and Agendas page for calendars and for meeting agendas

2022 Santa Clara County Binational Health Week (BHW) Kickoff event

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) was proud to be among the hosts of the 2022 Santa Clara County Binational Health Week (BHW) Kickoff event at Eastridge Mall on October 1.

Residents enjoyed an interactive resource fair, free health screenings, cultural entertainment, and more.

The purpose of Binational Health Week is to raise awareness of and respond to our Latino community's unique health and social needs. We were able to promote health for all during this event thanks to the many community organizations that made this event possible.

Additional hosts included: County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, Consulado General de México en San José, Bay Area Community Health, American Heart Association Northern California, and On Lok PACE.

Check out the photo link from Facebook.

Lights, Color, Action!

By Caroline Tambe, PharmD

Diwali (or Deepawali), the five-day festival of lights, is celebrated by over a billion people worldwide of different faiths, including Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. It is marked by the lunar calendar so the date changes every year and falls between September and November. This year Diwali falls on October 24th (and the days surrounding it). While each culture and religion has its own origin story and way of celebration, it generally represents the start of a new year with the symbolic victory of the light of good over spiritual darkness.

During Diwali, family members and friends get together, dress up in their fanciest cultural attire, and eat specialty sweets. Special clay diwas (or diyas) are lit to banish darkness and celebrate the victory of light, and rangoli (colored powder) is fashioned into colorful patterns outside the home. Each religion has their own practice: in Hinduism the Lakshmi Puja, a prayer to the goddess of wealth, is performed in gratitude and to ask for good fortune in the coming year.

My husband grew up Hindu, and in his household Diwali was equal to (and sometimes bigger) than Christmas and Thanksgiving. I have had many opportunities to celebrate with his family and friends and learn about the tradition. Now, I have enjoyed watching my daughter dress up in Indian outfits, eat the traditional sweets (like pedha, jalebi, and gulab jamun), and try her hand at her own rangoli patterns.

If you celebrate Diwali, we hope that you have the sweetest of mithai (sweets/desserts). And if you don't, take this as an opportunity for self-care and have a small sweet yourself! We hope that you are having a good time this holiday season, get some time to spend with your loved ones, and Happy Diwali!

Luncheon for a good cause

Staff from Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) attended the Grail Family Services Annual Fundraising Luncheon on September 22 at Villa Ragusa in Campbell.

The mission at Grail Family Services is to partner with families, schools and communities to promote children’s success and well-being.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan is proud to partner with Grail Family Services.

Pictured at the luncheon are, from left: Magaly Fernandez, Community Health Worker and Daisy Montoya, Coordinator, Community Resource Center.

Welcome!

Congratulations to Gaya Amirthavasar, Manager, Social Determinants of Health on the birth of Sahnthiran Dapp.

Welcome to the SCFHP family.

Representing SCFHP in Iceland

Travel pictures from Provider Network Associate, Long-Term Services and Supports Irene Walsh in Reykjavik, Iceland celebrating Pride and Diversity – at Rainbow Road and at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland in her SCFHP Pride Parade T-shirt!

Traveling through Italy

By Jas Barring, Marketing Coordinator

My family and I went to Italy for two weeks in September to celebrate my nephew's and my birthday.

Italy is full of rich history and fantastic food!

I will start with the first city we explored, Florence. While in Florence, we saw the beautiful Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We walked around the city at night and came across street vendors, which was surreal. Our hotel was right next to it. Also, Florence is close to Tuscany and Pisa. We took full advantage of that and took a beautiful tour out to the county side to Tuscany and then to Pisa to see the Leaning Tour.

After Florence, we took a short train ride to Milan. In Milan, we took an amazing tour of the Milan Cathedral. The cathedral is the second-largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The architecture and details in the columns and arches of the windows are something to see. We even went to the rooftop of the cathedral!

After Milan, we took a short train ride to Venice. While staying in Venice, we took a walking tour of the city. We visited the Basilica of St. Mark, located in St. Mark square, Piazza San Marco. All of the buildings in Venice are unique and stunning. I felt like I was in a different world. As there was no room for cars to get around, we took water taxis or gondolas to get from one island to the other, so, needless to say, we walked a lot.

We took a long train ride to Sorrento from Venice. It took a whole day to get to our hotel. We were stuck in traffic for 4 hours on the winding cliff roads. We were exhausted when we arrived. The hotel was run by a lovely family, who made a delicious four-course meal for us at 11 pm! Did I mention there were 9 of us?!

While in Sorrento, we took a boat trip out to the Amalfi Coast and visited Capri and Positano, which is by far the most picturesque town in all of Amalfi Coast. From Sorrento, we also got to visit Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Walking through the streets of Pompeii was truly a spiritual experience. The way the volcanic ash preserved the town is truly phenomenal.

Lastly, we explored Rome. We walked all around the ruins of Rome, The Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the incredible Colosseum.

I enjoyed every moment of the trip, from having gelato every day to being amazed by the country's beauty. I highly recommend Italy to everyone! It blows my mind that we traveled and saw so much within two weeks. There's still so much to see in the most wonderful country, Italy.

Well done team!

This message was received on SCFHP Facebook page on October 12 and deserved to be shared.

Make sure to follow SCFHP and SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center on Facebook and Instagram -- @scfhp or @scfhp.crc.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan is turning 25! To celebrate, we’re hosting Health for All: Community Health Event, a 25^th anniversary health fair at the Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC). The event will be on Saturday, October 22 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

In partnership with Bay Area Community Health and Roots Community Health Center, we will be providing:

• Blood pressure
• Glucose
• Vision
• Dental
• Skin Health

We will also be hosting a COVID-19 and flu vaccine clinic. Entertainment will feature Mexican folk dance, mariachi, and Vietnamese drummers. The event is free and open to the public.

A Zumbathon will start at 9 a.m. Live entertainment will begin at 11 a.m.

Hope to see you there!

After you click and go on the website, enter your SCFHP email address. Then, click "Create or Reset Password,” then click the "Continue On>>" button to receive an email with a link to update your password. You’ll receive a temporary password in your inbox to access the store. Enter this password and follow the on-screen instructions to access the store.

Items can take up to 2-3 weeks to ship. At this time, no cash or credit card purchases are accepted. For questions or assistance, please contact store@scfhp.com.

What fuels your passion for the work you do at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

• Is there a special story or experience you’d like to share?
• Member experience?
• Coworker experience?

Send your thoughts to newsletter@scfhp.com and it will be included in the next Employee e-Newsletter.

We’d like to try a new e-newsletter feature … A day in the life of a…

Ever walk by a co-worker and wonder what their job is at Santa Clara Family Health Plan?

Have you ever been curious about what a day as a: care coordinator, customer service representative, pharmacist, communications project manager or compliance coordinator is like?

Yes, us too.

Check out upcoming issues of the employee e-newsletter for this interesting feature.

Marketing Production

As told by Lisa FitzPatrick - Manager, Marketing Production

September Birthdays

September Anniversaries

SCFHP shows its pride

On August 28, more than three dozen Santa Clara Family Health Plan staff and their families and friends participated in the Silicon Valley Pride Parade through the streets of San Jose.

As the largest Medi-Cal managed care plan in Santa Clara County, we are committed to building a welcoming and inclusive community where our members, team members, and residents feel safe, respected, and valued in being themselves and expressing all aspects of their identities.

We look forward to exploring and expanding our commitment to our LGBTQ community and becoming an ally to advance the health of all our members and residents. Special thanks to the Pride parade planning volunteer group: Mike Gonzalez, Victor Hernandez, Jocelyn Ma, April Pitt, Yolonda Jimenez, Sal Lopez, Charmaen Herrera, Jenny Beyer Cornell, Michelle Dumont, Nicole Bell, Jenny Arellano, and Carole Ruvalcaba.

Celebrating 10 years of helping families in East San Jose

Taking a moment were, from left: Judith Sanchez, M.D., Amigos de Guadalupe Board Member; Mike González, SCFHP Director, Community Engagement; Maritza Maldonado, Amigos de Guadalupe Executive Director; Rita Duarte Herrera, long-time East San Jose advocate, and Chelsea Byom, SCFHP Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Outreach.

On September 8, Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice & Empowerment marked its 10th anniversary of helping local families meet their basic needs in East San Jose.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) was a proud sponsor of the anniversary event.

Being a Champion for Change

In the photo, Blanca Alvarado is joined by: Carole Ruvalcaba, Director, Marketing & Communications; Chelsea Byom, Vice President Marketing, Communications & Outreach, and Mike Gonzalez, Director, Community Engagement from Santa Clara Family Health Plan.

On August 25, Santa Clara Family Health Plan sponsored the Champions for Change partnership celebration by Working Partnerships USA, where former Supervisor Blanca Alvarado was honored with the Movement Champion award for working tirelessly to improve the health and well-being of all people in our county.

2023 SCFHP Holiday Schedule

SCFHP will observe the following holidays in 2023.

*When a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is observed on the preceding Friday. Holidays that fall on a Sunday are observed on the following Monday.

**Per the MOU, SCFHP will observe the day after Christmas as a holiday since Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday.

The Employee Engagement Committee is seeking new teammates! Our committee is made up of volunteer staff who are invested in our work experience, and are motivated to contribute to the work/life quality of everyone at SCFHP. Time commitment is approximately 2-4 hours per month.

Our current responsibilities are:

• Reviewing the SCFHP Employee Survey and recommending improvement actions to the Executive Team.
• Reviewing suggestion box submissions and routing to appropriate departments, and/or recommending actions in response.
• Supporting activities and initiatives to enhance employee engagement and positively contribute to SCFHP culture.

If you would like to be a part of the Employee Engagement Committee, we’d love to have you! We have 5-7 openings available. If you’re interested, please contact your manager and ask them to submit your name to hr@scfhp.com.

Pharmacy

As told by Tami Otomo, PhamD

Health Services Department holds first in-person team meeting in more than two years

By Dr. Laurie Nakahira, Chief Medical Officer

Health Services Department held its first in-person team meeting on Aug. 10, after a 2.5-year absence due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The meeting included over 80 staff members, who gathered in the San Ignacio Avenue office.

We introduced all of the staff and found that we have welcomed a lot of new faces in the last 2.5 years (and new babies too).

We had a group quiz that included: information on Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect, organizational departments and goals, and for fun we had a scavenger hunt (then ice cream).

We did have a few hiccups with this new process during the pandemic but thanks to IT, facilities and the administrative staff things continued on.

Thank you all for participating.

Health Services Department interns conclude their time at SCFHP

In group shot, from left, Quynh, Ella, Dr. Laurie Nakahira, Mai Chang, and Lucille Baxter

Congratulations to Ella Ramirez and Quynh Nguyen on the completion of their 10-week healthcare internship at SCFHP! The pair joined SCFHP through a program called Health Career Connections (HCC).

On August 18, Ella and Quynh shared insights from their project to understand SCFHP members' access and engagement in preventative healthcare.

Originally from Vietnam and now residing in San Jose, Quynh is a 2022 graduate of the University of California-Berkeley with a degree in molecular cellular biology. Ella also lives in San Jose and is a senior at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, where she is a public health major. Both Ella and Quynh want to pursue careers in the medical profession.

Celebrating babies at CRC

On July 29, the Health Education team reached its one-year anniversary of the Baby Shower Health Education Class. The team celebrated this milestone by hosting a Welcome Baby Event at the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center.

This gathering provided staff the opportunity to invite the families back and meet the babies. Members learned about well-woman and well-child exams, connected with community organizations and learned about services they offered. The event also featured interactive games for the families.

Joining the gathering were SCFHP CEO Christine Tomcala and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Laurie Nakahira, D.O.

SCFHP’s Baby Shower classes offer pregnant women a fun way to learn more about what to expect during their pregnancy, how to keep themselves and their babies healthy, and connect them to community resources. Last year, there were 142 expecting mothers who attended and the Health Education team hopes to help more moms and babies stay healthy this year.

News from SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center

Participates in National Night Out

Staff from the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center participated in National Night Out activities on August 2.

National Night out is a nationwide event held every first Tuesday in August to help encourage the building of a safe, more caring space for all. Staff helped spread the word that it’s important to work together to protect the health and well-being of our community.

Hosts first COVID-19 vaccination clinic for young children

On August 16, the CRC hosted the first of two special COVID-19 vaccination clinics for infants and toddlers.

These special clinics are intended to create a fun and welcoming environment for children to get vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccination clinics are offered by Bay Area Community Health (BACH).

Show off (25^th Anniversary swag)

Communications Manager Liz Sullivan in her 25^th Anniversary SWAG at a recent SF Giants game

As shared in the recent all-staff meeting, this year, we are celebrating the silver anniversary of our establishment and striving for health for all in Santa Clara County.

Part of our 25^th anniversary celebration means SWAG.

Each employee has been given a $40 credit to spend in the newly opened SCFHP online store. Some have already received their 25^th anniversary-branded apparel or fun accessories.

Now, it is time to share photos of you wearing or using your new SWAG. Please send photos to newsletter@scfhp.com for inclusion in upcoming newsletters.

(Remember, to redeem this credit, click on this link and enter your SCFHP email address. Then, click "Create or Reset Password,” then click the "Continue On>>" button to receive an email with a link to update your password. You’ll receive a temporary password in your inbox to access the store. Enter this password and follow the on-screen instructions to access the store.

Items can take up to 2-3 weeks to ship. At this time, no cash or credit card purchases are accepted. For questions or assistance, please contact store@scfhp.com. )

As our CEO Christine Tomcala shared, “Thank you again for the work that you do. Serving more than 300,000 residents is a difficult task, and I am grateful to you for helping SCFHP provide equitable health care to our community every day!”

SCFHP is celebrating our 25^th anniversary!

For 25 years, we’ve worked on expanding our vision of health for all. With a strong commitment to integrity, outstanding service, and support for our community, SCFHP has grown to serve more than 300,000 people in Santa Clara County. We’re grateful for the opportunity to expand health care access to our neighbors and communities, and we look forward to a healthier future for all.

As a thank you for contributing to this milestone, you’ll get to choose from a selection of SCFHP-branded items, including jackets, backpacks, hats, and more! Other 25^th anniversary-branded materials and templates will also be available. The Marketing & Communications Department will send detailed information soon.

Stay tuned for future updates and events to celebrate this significant milestone over the coming months. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and events.

This year, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is celebrating our 25 years of service to our members, providers, and community by sharing our commitment to our vision – health for all!

As an important part of this process, we’re looking for staff members to be interviewed on video about the work they do and their contribution to SCFHP’s mission.

Please send an email to 25years@scfhp.com with the subject line: 25^th Anniversary Interview if you’re interested in participating.

If you’re not comfortable being interviewed on camera, you can also share your stories by sending them to 25years@scfhp.com.

Some questions to consider:

1. Why did you join the SCFHP team? How have things changed since you started?
2. Do you recall any special events or important milestones within your department that you would like to share?
3. What SCFHP value resonates the most with the work you do?
4. What do you like about the people you work with or what you do?
5. What is your hope for the future of the organization?

We look forward to receiving your shared stories and memories, as well as any photos or information that might be of good value!

Questions? Email 25years@scfhp.com.

Escape to Mexico

By Robert Scrase, Process Improvement Manager

Enrollment and Eligibility

Answered by Mauro Oliveira, Director, Operations

Remember to swipe your badge

As more and more Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) employees return to the San Ignacio Avenue location everyone is reminded to swipe their badge when entering; even if you are walking in with your SCFHP colleagues.

Our badged entry system is so that we are assured that everyone in the building is supposed to be there and has checked in with the front desk or keyed in via the badging system. Also, with different staff working in the office each day under our hybrid work environment, we want to keep track of the number of staff in the building each day for space planning purposes.

All staff must work together to protect against unauthorized individuals entering the building by tailgating or piggybacking. Tailgating, also known as piggybacking, is a physical security breach occurring when a person tags along with another person who is authorized to gain entry into a restricted area.

Swiping your badge when entering helps prevent this from happening.

Save the date -- Volunteers needed!

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) staff members are needed August 27 & 28 as SCFHP participates in the two-day Silicon Valley Pride 2022 event.

Volunteer opportunities include:

• Saturday – 8/27 6-11 pm-Night Festival
• Sunday – 8/28 10 am-12 pm Parade or
• Sunday – 8/28 12-6 pm Day Festival

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Jocelyn Ma, Manager, Community Outreach at jma@scfhp.com.

Learn more about the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) established the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center to improve the health and well-being of our members and the surrounding East San José community. Although the member and non-member pathways may be different, we are here to serve and provide an inclusive space for all.

The video and description presented here break down aspects of our framework which guides how we approach improving the health and well-being of East San José communities.

SCFHP empowering communities to address health inequities

The Community Engagement (CE) team at the Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC) brought together Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) members and residents of East San Jose to host a community conversation about health inequities. This conversation supports the Health Equity Agenda, a group of organizations dedicated to advancing health equity, which includes Santa Clara Family Health Plan on its Steering Committee.

A critical activity for the Health Equity Agenda is to engage hundreds of community members within identified zip codes and/or people who have been historically marginalized to listen, learn, and understand their experiences and ideas about addressing health inequities in our county.

With the deadline of hosting these conversations by July 30th, the Health Equity Agenda requested the assistance of SCFHP’s CE team to host community conversations at the CRC. In June, the CE team met with the Health Equity Agenda and identified the collective impact opportunity.

Within 2-weeks, the CE team was able to plan and successfully host a community conversation on July 16th that included 51 participants, including members of the Consumer Advisory Committee/Board. The large community group was split into three groups based on their language preference - English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Since the opening of the CRC in November 2021, the CE team has been able to build and foster trusting relationships with community residents and health plan members, which enabled SCFHP to respond and host the session quickly.

The community conversations were facilitated by CE Community Health Workers, including Lidia Valencia, Hong Hoang, and Magaly Fernandez.

The information gathered from these conversations will inform the creation of a multifaceted Health Equity Agenda to address health inequities over the next 5-10 years.

*The Health Equity Agenda constitutes a multi-year, four-phase plan to develop, implement, and evaluate county-wide health equity interventions over the next 5-10 years.

*Health inequities are systematic differences in the health status of different population groups. Certain groups may experience worse health and increased difficulty accessing healthcare due to the systems that influence their lives.

On June 3, the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC) hosted Health for All! Celebrating Partnership to Advance Health Equity in East San José. The program featured a lineup of powerful speakers who dedicated their time, passion, and leadership amid the pandemic to position the CRC to advance health in East San José.

Over 100 guests gathered to hear compelling remarks from our CEO Christine Tomcala, Governing Board chair Bob Brownstein, resident advisors, system partners, and elected officials. Also in attendance were State Senator Dave Cortese and representatives from the offices of County Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Otto Lee, and a representative from the office of Assemblymember Ash Kalra, and San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco.

Leading up to this event, we identified the social and physical determinants that impact health and quality of life outcomes for under-resourced communities working with our community partners and advisory group members. This process resulted in a Community Framework for the CRC that will seek to improve health equity, now and post-pandemic.

“This Community Resource Center (CRC) reaffirms our commitment to improving the health and well-being of members and residents by addressing the vital needs of the East San José community,” said Mike Gonzalez, Director of Community Engagement. “Here, we’re going to be addressing food insecurity. We’re going to be addressing housing insecurity. We’re going to ensure health care access, healthy lifestyles – a one-stop shop.”

The event served as the culmination of all the work our partners and staff put in to make sure East San José gets the impactful health and social resources it deserves.

Staff worked hard to put together the event, with everything from tents, balloons, and posters to serving lunch. Damian Trujillo of NBC Bay Area served as emcee for the entire event.

And to top it off, the event concluded with comments from La Madrina herself, former San José vice mayor, county supervisor, and eastside advocate Blanca Alvarado!

“The struggle to make sure that equity and equality continues throughout the next decades and into the future requires vigilance, advocacy and strong presence from all of us,” Alvarado said.

If you want to learn more about the event, check out:

• NBC Bay Area’s coverage of the event.
• A link to various posters describing the community-led Framework
• A selection of photos from all the day’s activities on June 3
• A video stream of the entire event

Staff is currently working on a framework report that will be released in the coming months.

Fruitful Year for SCFHP

Today, we mark the completion of a successful 2021-22 fiscal year for Santa Clara Family Health Plan – all taking place during the continued global pandemic.

We demonstrated leadership in improving the health of communities impacted by disparities, exceeded our benchmark for quality as measured by our Medi-Cal HEDIS performance, implemented innovative new programs such as Community Supports and Enhanced Care Management as part of CalAIM, and improved our service levels to support our growing our membership. We did all of this while keeping our focus on compliance, meeting our budgeted financial performance, and committing to be an employer of choice.

Reflected in each of our achievements this fiscal year are our values: Members First; Excellence; Better Together; Integrity; Equity; Diversity & Inclusion; Culture of Caring; and Accountability & Stewardship.

Thank you for being a part of this team that made it all possible!

This year, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is celebrating our 25 years of service to our members, providers, and community by sharing our commitment to our vision – health for all!

As an important part of this process, we’re looking for staff members to be interviewed on video about the work they do and their contribution to SCFHP’s mission.

Please send an email to 25years@scfhp.com with the subject line: 25^th Anniversary Interview if you’re interested in participating.

If you’re not comfortable being interviewed on camera, you can also share your stories by sending them to 25years@scfhp.com.

Some questions to consider:

1. Why did you join the SCFHP team? How have things changed since you started?
2. Do you recall any special events or important milestones within your department that you would like to share?
3. What SCFHP value resonates the most with the work you do?
4. What do you like about the people you work with or what you do?
5. What is your hope for the future of the organization?

We look forward to receiving your shared stories and memories, as well as any photos or information that might be of good value!

Questions? Email 25years@scfhp.com.

Trip to Cuba

Experiencing life through a completely different lens.

By Teresa Chapman, VP, Human Resources

New Hires

June Celebrations and Observances

Pride Month

Celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising Protests, a tipping point for the modern gay rights movement, that took place on June 28, 1969. Original Pride flag was created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, who was commissioned by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay U.S. politician, to create a flag for San Francisco’s Pride parade.

SCFHP will be participating in the Silicon Valley Pride Parade & Festival 2022 in downtown San Jose on August 27 - 28.

Juneteenth – June 19, 2022

Became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021 to commemorate the emancipation of all enslaved African-Americans in the U.S.. June 19th marks the day when federal troops arrived to Galveston, Texas, in 1865, to free 250,000+ slaves by executive decree.

SCFHP will be participating at African American Community Service Agency’s (AACSA) 41st Annual Juneteenth in the Streets event on Saturday, June 18th.

World Refugee Day – June 20, 2022

It was originally known as Africa Refugee Day, before the United Nations General Assembly officially designated it as an international day in December 2000. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2021, at least 82.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.

Compliance

Answered by Tyler Haskell, Interim Compliance Officer

Marching for Babies

On May 21, over 100 Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) staff members and their families joined the March of Dimes ‘March for Babies’ walk at History Park in San Jose. Santa Clara Family Health Plan is proud to support the health of all moms and babies.

Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC) Opens

SCFHP Manager of Community Outreach Jocelyn Ma joins Edwin Tan, Director of Advocacy and Community Relations at San Jose State University at the opening of the Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC) at Oak Grove High School.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is proud to support and offer congratulations to San Jose State University on the opening of their first Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC) at Oak Grove High School on June 3. The clinic will provide free health screenings, evaluations, and mental health services for children up to age 18.

American Older Adult Month

Every May is Older American Month, and in celebration, the Community Engagement Team partnered with internal cross-departmental teams to host a successful event at the Community Resource Center.

The past three years have been extremely challenging for our older adult population. According to the National Institute of Health, older adults are at the highest risk of severe illness from COVID‐19, and 80% of reported US deaths from COVID‐19 occur in people over 65. The pandemic has brought stresses that may be even more impactful for older adults, including job losses, scarcity of food, and basic household supplies. All this has increased the rates of anxiety and depression in older adults.

Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 on our older adult population, on May 14th, SCFHP hosted an Older Adult Resource Fair & Conference at the CRC, and over 150 older adults attended the event, with 30% being health plan members. The free event brought services to one location, including a resource fair, interactive health workshop sessions, physical activity, and a healthy cooking demonstration. The resource fair included dozens of organizations centering on our Medicare Outreach and Case Management team.

Thanks to the following teams for hosting this event: Community Engagement, Medicare Outreach, Case Management, and the Marketing & Communications!

During the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), Medi-Cal beneficiaries have been able to keep their coverage regardless of any changes in their circumstances. However, once the COVID-19 PHE ends, Santa Clara County will check to see if they still qualify for free or low-cost Medi-Cal. Let’s help our SCFHP members keep their health care coverage!

To prepare our members for the end of the PHE and their possible redetermination, we are spreading the news about the importance of reporting current contact information to us or Santa Clara County Social Services Agency (SSA). Updated and accurate contact information, helps our members get important Medi-Cal coverage information from us, the county and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).

Members can report updated contact information, such as their phone number, or home address, to SCFHP by calling Customer Service. They should also contact SSA by phone at 1-877-962-3633 (TTY: 711) or talk to their eligibility worker about any possible changes.

Once the PHE ends and redetermination resumes, members should reply to all requests for information from the county. It will ensure that they keep their Medi-Cal coverage.

Want to go a step further to ensure no one loses coverage?

Become a DHCS Coverage Ambassador and help our Medi-Cal members retain their coverage after the end of PHE. As a Coverage Ambassador, you will get the latest updates on the PHE unwind and access to the latest DHCS toolkits.

This year, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is celebrating our 25 years of service to our members, providers, and community by sharing our commitment to our vision – health for all!

As an important part of this process, we’re looking for staff members to be interviewed on video about the work they do and their contribution to SCFHP’s mission.

Please send an email to 25years@scfhp.com with the subject line: 25^th Anniversary Interview if you’re interested in participating.

If you’re not comfortable being interviewed on camera, you can also share your stories by sending them to 25years@scfhp.com.

Some questions to consider:

1. Why did you join the SCFHP team? How have things changed since you started?
2. Do you recall any special events or important milestones within your department that you would like to share?
3. What SCFHP value resonates the most with the work you do?
4. What do you like about the people you work with or what you do?
5. What is your hope for the future of the organization?

We look forward to receiving your shared stories and memories, as well as any photos or information that might be of good value!

Questions? Email 25years@scfhp.com.

Take time for rest and renewal

By Christine Tomcala

New Hires

Santa Clara County's COVID-19 Community Level

According to the CDC, Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 Community Level is low.

COVID-19 Community Levels are a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Take precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 based on the COVID-19 Community Level in your area.

• In Santa Clara County, the following prevention steps should be taken:
  • Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
  • Get tested if you have symptoms
  • If you are immunocompromised, learn more about how to protect yourself.

What are the on-site requirements for SCFHP?

While on SCFHP premises, complete a self-screening at the temperature check kiosk before entering the work area, and follow the below guidelines:

Vaccination remains a critical component in combating COVID-19 and its associated harms. All eligible persons are strongly urged to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 as soon as possible.

• If you have received your booster, please send your up-to-date vaccination record to hr@scfhp.com

Please contact Human Resources for any questions or concerns regarding this communication – Email HR@scfhp.com or phone (408) 874-1778, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.

The health and safety of our employees are of the utmost importance. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Case Management

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

COVID-19 has had a major effect on all our lives over the past 2 years. Many of us experienced stress, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness and isolation due to the pandemic.

In observance of Mental Health Awareness Month, take time to focus on your mental health. SCFHP offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that provides FREE confidential counseling by experienced clinicians who are available 24/7. Visit portal.BHSonline.com (Login information: user name = SCFHP) or call (800) 327-2251.

Let’s join the national movement to raise awareness and fight the stigma about mental health! Click here to learn more from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month

May is also Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Did you know that in Santa Clara County, people who identify as Asian are now the largest racial group at 39%! This high percentage is reflective with our members and staff as well, in which 29% and 41%, respectively, are AAPI.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

In honor of AAPI month, join us in celebrating and paying tribute to the generations of AAPI who have enriched American history and continue to be instrumental in its future success. Click here to learn more about AAPI Heritage Month and find events, exhibits, and other ways to celebrate AAPI Month.

Introducing DualConnect (HMO D-SNP) – SCFHP’s D-SNP Coming January 1, 2023

Drum roll, please!

We are excited to announce that our new dual eligible special needs plan (HMO D-SNP) will be called DualConnect! The name emphasizes how the plan will connect both Medicare and Medi-Cal services under one umbrella, continuing our commitment of making health care easy for our members.

DualConnect, or Santa Clara Family Health Plan DualConnect (HMO D-SNP) as it will be officially known, will be introduced to our community this summer. Our Cal MediConnect members will transition to the new plan on January 1, 2023.

We considered dozens of names and only one cleared our requirements for being simple, member-friendly, a good segue from Cal MediConnect, and available to trademark. This meant we were unable to offer an employee contest for the name, but we still want to hear from you!

Help us shape our DualConnect messaging by sharing your Cal MediConnect success stories! Stories can be about your collaboration as part of the SCFHP team or about a member benefiting from health care made simple. Other opportunities to contribute to the DualConnect brand will be announced soon.

Please send your stories to: newsletter@scfhp.com. Include “Farewell CMC” in the subject line. We will review success stories monthly to use both within the organization and in our member and prospect marketing efforts.

Supporting Pacific Clinics

From left: Jamie Enke, Jocelyn Ma, Christine Tomcala, Shawna Cagle, Jessica Bautista, Laura Munoz, and Trinh Nguyen at the Pacific Clinics Hearts and Hands event.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is proud to support Pacific Clinics (formerly Uplift Family Services) in their work to help children and families get the behavioral and mental health services they need.

On April 22, SCFHP CEO Christine Tomcala joined a group of team members attending the Hearts and Hands event to benefit Pacific Clinics’ programs and services that meet the needs of our community.

Mammograms for Mother's Day Event

On May 6, Jeanette Montoya, Health Educator – Quality Improvement, left, joined other members of the SCFHP Health Education team in partnering with Bay Area Community Health (BACH) for their Mammograms for Mother’s Day event in San Jose at the BACH family clinic. Our team did an amazing job completing 8 scheduled mammograms and 4 walk-ins.

Helping to heal families and inspire youth -- (ARCC)

Enjoying the event were, from left, front row: Jocelyn Ma, Manager, Community Outreach, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP); Blanca Alvarado, and Christine Tomcala, CEO, (SCFHP). Back row, from left: Sparky Harlan, CEO, Bill Wilson Center; Mike Gonzalez, Director, Community Engagement (SCFHP); Rebecca Gallardo, guest of Blanca Alvarado; Brandon Engelbert, Manager, Provider Network Operations (SCFHP) and Angela Chen, Director, Case Management & Behavioral Health (SCFHP).

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is proud to support Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC) in their work to heal families and inspire youth. On April 15, Blanca Alvarado joined SCFHP CEO Christine Tomcala, and others, at the ARCC Annual Luncheon.

Lending a hand

Pictured on left, from left: Cristina Hernandez, Francine Bacchini, Jenny Arellano Morales, Liz Sullivan, Lloyd Alaban. Pictured on right, from left: Jas Barring, Chelsea Byom, and Lynette Topacio.

Members of SCFHP Marketing and Communications team had a great time volunteering at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose on April 21.

The team helped out with their food and clothing distribution program that helps feed and clothe over 500 low-income families every day.

Latest from the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center

Stanford's Office of Community Engagement & Office of Faculty Development and Diversity awarded Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) with an "Outstanding Community Partner" award for its role in being an active and responsive partner through the work of its Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC). The award recognizes SCFHP for supporting the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine and preparing the CRC to advance the health and wellbeing of East San Jose residents post-pandemic.

Since March 2021, the Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center has held over 24 COVID-19 vaccination clinics and continues to engage residents to get vaccinated in a safe and inviting space in East San Jose.

The award also recognized the year-long, community-led planning process that helped us uncover the health and social needs of East San Jose, leading to the collective vision, purpose, goals, and priorities of the CRC.

Stanford identified the CRC as a "beacon of hope to address health disparities for low-income, hardly-reached residents living in Santa Clara County."

Santa Clara Family Health Plan out in the community

Members of our Provider Network Operations department, led by Manager, Provider Performance Program, Stephanie Vielma, far left, and Art Shaffer, Senior Provider Services Representative; Monday Reynolds, Provider Performance Program Manager and Nhi Ly, Provider Performance Program Coordinator visited Dr. Them Huynh.

“What we do today can improve all of our tomorrows.” - Ralph Marston

The Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) Provider Performance Program (PPP) team recently restarted provider office visits. Reflecting on her team’s work, manager Stephanie Vielma writes, “It’s great to be back out on the field visiting our Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) Provider Community.

Everything we do builds upon everything we have already done. The small changes and improvements we make today will make tomorrow easier and enable us to continue to grow and improve care delivery.”

Social media milestones

Not one, but two social media milestones.

Since late April, both the Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) and the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC) eclipsed impressive milestones.

The Santa Clara Family Health Plan Facebook page has reached over 500 followers! In the last year, this page has reached 557,120 people.

For the CRC, in less than a year the Facebook page has more than 200 followers and reached 20,429 people.

Thank you to everyone who has connected to stay informed as we work to address the health and social needs of our community.

Quality Improvement – Health Education & Cultural and Linguistic Team Visits Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center

Quality Improvement Department, from left: Zara Ernst, Kassandra Chavez, Ivy Douangphachanh, Ly Nguyen, Edith Bernal, Cecilia Le, Jeanette Montoya, Lucille Baxter, Tu Le, Justin Diep, Chad Salamat, and CRC Supervisor Trinh Nguyen.

SCFHP’s Quality Improvement – Health Education & Cultural and Linguistic Department visited the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC) on April 22. It was an opportunity for the department to better understand the concepts and ideals upon which the CRC’s goals were created. In addition, the group learned how the CRC is able to serve our members in the East San Jose community.

According to department manager Lucille Baxter, “A community resource center is an asset in a community that can be used to host health education meetings and collaborations with other organizations for the benefit of SCFHP members. Coming to the CRC Blanca Alvarado location was refreshing to experience what the community of East San Jose has available to them. The experience helped us all remember the difference that we are able to make when we come together.”

If your team would like to visit the CRC, please contact Trinh Nguyen, Supervisor, Community Resource Center.

SCFHP Offices closed on May 30 -- Memorial Day

On behalf of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) executive team, I want to welcome you to our premiere SCFHP Employee e-Newsletter.

This monthly e-Newsletter is a collaborative effort of many people, including: Employee Engagement Committee; Executive Team; Human Resource Department; Marketing, Communications, and Outreach Department and many others who have and will contribute to its content. It is also a result, in part, from the Employee Survey conducted in 2021 and guided by the goals and values found in the 2021-23 SCFHP Strategic Plan.

As stated in one of our eight company values, a Culture of Caring, we want to work together to create a culture that supports, develops, and recognizes team members. In our commitment to each other, we want to create and foster a cohesive organizational identity and make our values clear through the work we do. This e-Newsletter, I believe, will help us achieve that.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the contributions each of you continues to make to the critical work we accomplish every day. Together, we at Santa Clara Family Health Plan are committed to providing access to high-quality health care, and driving equity and inclusion for the communities we serve.

So, has “Insert Name Here” atop the banner of this e-Newsletter sparked any interest or curiosity?

This e-Newsletter needs a name. Not just any name, a name picked by the employees of Santa Clara Family Health Plan.

To encourage employee participation and foster team/company unity, you are encouraged to submit name suggestions for this e-Newsletter.

The rules are:

1. Email your suggested names to newsletter@scfhp.com by noon on April 22
2. The names will be reviewed by the Executive Staff.
3. The top names will be emailed to every employee to vote for their favorite. You have until EOD on May 6 to vote.
4. The votes will then be tallied and a winner will be announced by our CEO Christine Tomcala.
1. At the same time, the name of an employee who voted will be drawn at random and receive a gift card.

New Hires

SCFHP 2022 Employee Survey runs April 11 through May 6.

Take this opportunity to share your opinions about working for SCFHP by completing the 2022 SCFHP Employee Survey. Go to this link: https://www.employeesurveys.com/SCFHP2022.php

Live webinar for Stress Awareness Month

April 19 at 11 am and 1 pm. Be on the lookout for the invite.

Ways to Wellness at SCFHP spring campaign – Coming Soon!

Registration opens for Santa Clara Family Health Plan’s Feel Like a Million campaign Monday, April 18 If you’re ready to feel your best, you won’t want to miss this retro game board-themed campaign.

Santa Clara Family Health Plan Equity Council announced

On March 17, Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) announced the staff members named to its Equity Council. (See list below). The focus of the council is to promote a culture of inclusion and belonging at SCFHP, making it an employer of choice.

The Equity Council was developed in conjunction with the SCFHP Equity Steering Committee and Councils, which are the organization-wide structure to raise health equity for our members and create an equitable and inclusive workplace. It was announced at the December 2, 2021 All Staff Meeting.

According to Ngoc Bui-Tong, Vice President, Strategies and Analytics and executive team sponsor, there were more volunteers than seats, and final selections were made with the goal of having a broad representation of departments and job levels. The remaining staff volunteers will be kept on the list for the second term.

Congratulations to those named.

SCFHP Equity Council

+ Ngoc Bui-Tong, Teresa Chapman, Strategic Planning PM (vacant)

Steering Committee Members at Large

+ Ngoc Bui-Tong, Johanna Liu, Karen Fadley, Claudia Graciano, Strategic Planning PM (vacant)

Quality Improvement – Health Education & Cultural and Linguistic

Quality Improvement & Health Education Team, from left: Chad Salamat, Jeanette Montoya, Ly Nguyen, Zara Ernst, Lucille Baxter, Tu Le, Ivy Douangphachanh, and Justin Diep.

Told by Lucille Baxter, Manager, Quality Improvement & Health Education

Lunar New Year Celebration

On February 12, amid clear skies and warm temperatures, more than 200 residents and health plan members attended the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center Lunar New Year celebration. This is one of the most important celebrations of the year among East and Southeast Asian cultures, including Chinese and Vietnamese communities. The celebration allowed CRC staff to further engage and foster trust with the East San Jose community.

Check out images from the event on the CRC’s Facebook and Instagram pages -- @scfhp.crc.

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics

From: Mike Gonzalez, Director, Community Engagement

Here’s a quick summary of the COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the CRC in the first two months of 2022. Overall, we continue to experience good and steady engagement at our events due to our incentives and thoughtful community outreach efforts. In comparison, other vaccine clinics throughout Santa Clara County are experiencing an average of 70 shots per event. Note that schools and word of mouth are the most significant drivers for reaching and getting residents to the CRC.

Outreach (How did you learn about the vaccine clinic?)