Jan 26, 2024 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Regence
If your New Year’s resolutions include improving your health, here are 10 things you can do this year with a little help from Regence:
- Make sure you have a personal doctor or primary care provider. Having a personal doctor makes it easier to get care when you need it. It can take a while to get in for an initial appointment, so schedule it right away. If you need help finding an in-network doctor, try our find a doctor tool or call us at the number on your member ID card.
- Get an annual wellness visit, which is covered by most Regence plans with no out-of-pocket costs. Your doctor can assess your overall health and give you guidance on how to improve. This baseline can be very helpful as you plan health and fitness goals for the year.
- Take care of your mental health. Make self-care a priority. If you’re struggling and need help, most Regence plans cover a variety of mental health care services and resources, such as one-on-one counseling, group therapy, medication, as well as self-guided well-being tools and virtual care options. If you have questions about your mental health benefits or need help finding a provider, sign in to your account to chat online or call us at the number on your member ID card.
- Get all your recommended health screenings, such as screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. Most screenings are covered with no out-of-pocket costs if you meet criteria. Talk to your doctor about which screenings you should get this year and sign in to your account at regence.com to learn more about your coverage. It may take a few months to get in for some screenings, so get them scheduled early.
- Get vaccinated. Getting all your recommended vaccinations for diseases like flu, COVID-19, RSV and pneumonia will help you avoid illness so you can focus on improving your health. Most vaccinations are covered with no out-of-pocket costs if you meet criteria. Some vaccinations, like the flu shot, are covered annually. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist for help deciding which vaccinations you should get. Sign in to your account at regence.com to learn more about your vaccine coverage.
- Stop using tobacco. Most Regence health plans cover up to eight face-to-face tobacco use cessation counseling visits during a 12-month period to help you kick the habit. Learn more on regence.com.
- Participate in a wellness program. Many employer groups insured by Regence offer a wellness program that provides incentives like gift cards and cash for participation. Programs invite you complete a health assessment, then provide personalized programs and activities that can help you reach your self-identified goals. Check your account at regence.com to learn what’s available to you.
- Take advantage of any fitness and wellness benefits included in your health plan. Some plans include discounts on health-related products and services like fitness devices and gym memberships. You may also be able to use funds from your Health Savings Account or Flex Spending Account to help pay for some of these services. Check your account at regence.com to learn what fitness and wellness benefits are included in your plan.
- Familiarize yourself with all the care options covered by your health plan. Make sure you know when you should head to the emergency room instead of an urgent care or your doctor’s office, versus the virtual care and telehealth options available with your Regence plan. Knowing the difference could save you time and money, and it’s better to figure it out now instead of when you’re sick.
- Get help making healthier choices. For example, most Regence plans cover one-on-one nutrition counseling with a dietitian to help you improve your diet. The counseling can be especially helpful if you have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or renal kidney disease. You can also get help managing your substance use, including alcohol, drugs and other substances. Many Regence plans include access to traditional and virtual substance use disorder treatment providers such as Boulder Care and Hazelden Betty Ford. To learn what’s available for you, sign in to your account to chat online or call us at the number on your member ID card.
Log in to your account at regence.com or call the number on the back of your insurance card to learn more about all what’s covered by your health plan.
Jan 24, 2024 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Deterra
Drug overdose deaths increased 76% in Oregon from 2011-2021, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Recently, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are driving an increase in fatal and non-fatal overdoses, with deaths from synthetic opioids increasing 83% from 2020-2021.
Counties in Oregon are working diligently to combat this crisis by providing drug deactivation and disposal tools to reduce the supply of unused prescription medications and illicit drugs that can contribute to misuse and overdoses.
In Clackamas County, District Attorney John Wentworth launched an initiative this summer to provide at-home drug deactivation and disposal pouches to encourage proper disposal of unwanted drugs.
The DA debuted the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal Pouches at the Clackamas County Fair in August. Wentworth plans to distribute the plant-based drug disposal pouches across the county as a simple way for everyone to help prevent drug misuse and overdoses.
The pouches safely deactivate and destroy prescription and over-the-counter medicine, opioids, fentanyl, illicit drugs and vape fluid.
Neighboring Multnomah County has also had success addressing youth substance use by increasing access to proper drug disposal resources. The county health department partners with Big Village Coalition on the “Keep It Safe” campaign to provide youth and families with prevention education and at-home drug deactivation pouches. Each pouch has a custom label adhered to it with a QR code linked to an informational website translated into six languages.
The efforts in Clackamas and Multnomah counties address fentanyl and prescription drug safety in a way that empowers community members to help prevent drug misuse and protect the environment from the impact of unused drugs. Several counties in other states have started mailing Deterra Pouches directly to households as part of community prevention campaigns.
Opioid settlement funds and grants support prevention and disposal efforts
Opioid settlement funds and grant dollars are available to help counties implement evidence-based prevention strategies.
As the result of a national lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, Oregon is expected to be awarded around $325 million over 18 years. These funds can be used for evidence-based opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies.
Participating local governments will receive 55% of these funds, and making an investment in prevention is essential to stop misuse before it starts. One of the most effective ways to quickly reduce the risk of drug misuse is a direct-to-household mailing of educational materials and drug deactivation pouches. A household mailing campaign is ideal for efficiently distributing prevention tools and reaching rural or underserved communities with limited access to other disposal methods.
To see the impact a prevention education and at-home disposal campaign can have on your county, request a free custom assessment.
Contributed by: Senior VP of Marketing Erica Webb
Jan 24, 2024 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Hampton Lumber
Northwest Oregon is home to some of the most productive and sustainably managed forests in the world. These forests have made Oregon the top U.S. producer of renewable building materials.
Local sawmills rely on a steady and sustainable supply of timber from surrounding public and private forests. Unfortunately, uncertainty over the trajectory of the 70-year Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for State Forests turned into alarm and disappointment for the industry and the Forest Trust Land Counties in 2023 when the Oregon Department of Forestry announced the proposed HCP will result in harvest levels as much as 34 percent lower than current levels. While the forest products sector is accustomed to short-term market disruptions, the long-term outlook for timber supply in the state remains a source of concern for local companies that must decide whether continued investment is tenable. Looking to the future, Oregon elected leaders and policy makers will need to prioritize, protect, and enable working forestlands in the state to not only support exiting wood manufacturing capacity but also create new opportunities for value-added mass timber manufacturing.
Sawmills are often the most visible component of a healthy forest sector, but Oregon’s working forests also support hundreds of family-owned logging and hauling companies that specialize in the safe and sustainable harvest and transport of wood products. Indeed, most local benefits that arise from timber harvests come not from the revenues associated with timber sales, but the work that active forest management generates year after year. We estimate that for every $1 million in revenue created by a timber sale, an additional $1.4 million is generated locally to harvest, transport, and create lumber. Additional revenue and employment are generated through lumber sales and secondary manufacturing facilities, including those that produce plywood, particleboard, and pulp and paper. This economic activity trickles through local communities, to stores, restaurants, and service providers and helps keep rural areas resilient.
Active forest management also creates climate-friendly building materials. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, lumber, plywood, particle board, and hardboard manufactured in Oregon each year can store an estimated 18.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtco2e) in the built environment. In 2021, total emissions in Oregon amounted to 60.1 mtco2e, which means building materials produced in Oregon have the capacity to store roughly 30 percent of the state’s emissions each year.
The local wood products industry also helps address other social issues from workforce development to community livability and access to affordable housing. Currently, Oregon produces enough lumber and plywood each year to frame around 375,000 single-family homes. Housing is a priority issue for our company, and we know Oregon’s cities and counties are equally committed to increasing housing access and affordability. The scale of the issue is enormous, and collaboration will be key. We look forward to working with private and public sector partners in the coming years on ways to better address these needs in our communities.
If you’d like more information on Hampton Lumber’s commitment to sustainable communities, visit www.hamptonlumber.com/sustainability.
Contributed by: Director of Public Affairs and Communications Kristin Rasmussen
Jan 24, 2024 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: IT Motives
When you think of hiring, what immediately comes to mind? Stacks of unqualified resumes, having to spend time sorting through them all to get to the qualified candidates, scheduling interviews, making job offers, negotiating back and forth, the list goes on and on.
Now, let me ask you, do you find that enjoyable? Is it the best use of your time and talent?
Chances are there’s a million other things you would rather be doing than trying to hire and especially so in this job market. With the unemployment rate at 3.7% it makes recruiting one of the most challenging aspects of being a manager.
Here is a pro-tip and best practice: don’t go it alone.
Hiring is hard enough, much less doing this all by yourself.
The “post and pray” method of recruiting…i.e., posting your job and praying that qualified candidates will start rolling in…is not a great strategy. Actually, it’s not even a good strategy.
Failed recruitments are a real thing. So, what do you do?
Three things:
- Utilize the recruiting help you do have. Make your first stop to visit your HR department and talk to them about how they can help you. If you’re a larger government entity, it’s likely there are some external staffing partners that you can work with, and they can refer you to. Reach out to these companies proactively, find out who they are, how they work, and build a relationship with them. Here are questions to ask to make sure you are using them to the fullest effect:
- What do you need from me in order to help us conduct a successful recruitment?
- How can I streamline my hiring process, so we don’t lose candidates?
- From your experience, how does the compensation we are offering compare to the current market? Are we competitive comp-wise?
- If your government agency does not have staffing partners to work with, work with another government agency to leverage the cooperative agreement language in their contract. If you’re not familiar with the “co-op” model and the time you can save using it, here is a link to the ORS regarding co-op agreements https://shorturl.at/uFGLV. Your procurement team can help you with this. No need to reinvent the wheel if someone else has done the work for you!
- Lastly, engage with your team to see if they might know of someone they could refer. Some of the best hires you’ll ever make are the one’s internally referred. Birds of a feather flock together as the saying goes. Leverage your team and their network and find out who they know.
Recruiting in this modern world is not easy and that’s why you want to turn to the experts such as HR, procurement, and third-party recruiters who do this work every day. Partner with them, get to know them, build relationships with them; and most importantly, do this before you need to hire again.
Contributed by Tony Seminary, CEO of IT Motives, a Native American-owned staffing and recruiting company based in Portland, Oregon. IT Motives has successfully made placements with government agencies such as the City of Portland, Portland Public Schools, and Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. Tony can be reached at tony@itmotives.com if you would like to engage him in a conversation.
Jan 24, 2024 | AOC Business Partner
Exciting news is buzzing around the Local Government Personnel Services (LGPS) community, and we want YOU to be a part of it! Introducing the LGPS Blog Naming Contest – your chance to contribute to the identity of our new blog and win bragging rights!
To enter the contest, simply send your creative blog name suggestions to us at **asklgps@lcog.org** by March 1, 2024. Your imaginative input could become the official name of our blog and earn you the ultimate accolade – bragging rights all over Oregon!
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the birth of the iconic candy, Snickers. Named after one of the Mars family’s favorite horses, this chocolate bar has become synonymous with satisfaction. The whimsical backstory proves that a name can carry a legacy, and we believe your creativity can achieve the same for our new blog.
Now, imagine proudly boasting about being the mastermind behind the blog’s name that will resonate across LGPS and beyond. This is your chance to contribute to the story of our organization in a unique and memorable way.
Some reminders about what the Local Government Personnel Services does:
Labor Relations
- Contract Negotiations
- Grievances
- Training for Managers
- Arbitration Representation
Human Resources
- Classification & Compensation Studies
- Workplace Investigations
- Executive Recruitment
- Pre-Employment Background
- HR Technical Support
- Executive Evaluations
Fiscal Consultation
- Interim Assignments
- Budget Consultation
The entry that not only captures the essence of LGPS but also leaves a lasting impression will be crowned the winner. Bragging rights aren’t just a title; they’re a testament to your creativity and connection to our shared mission of supporting local governments throughout Oregon. Along with bragging rights, your name will proudly be a part of our very first blog post! Our team will announce the winner March 4, 2024, on our social media and via email to the winner.
Thank you for your continued support of LGPS. Let’s make this blog naming contest a showcase of our collective brilliance. Get ready to seize those bragging rights and leave an indelible mark on LGPS history and generations to come!
LGPS offers services to cities, counties and special districts in Oregon. Learn even more about our program by scanning the QR code near this article or emailing asklgps@lcog.org with questions.
Good luck!
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Local Government Personnel Services
Dec 18, 2023 | AOC Business Partner
A new platform called Citizenly will bring constituents and elected officials or political candidates together in a positive way. The platform, which has launched in Oregon, is designed to improve the experience of being a citizen and public servant. We’re hopeful that county officials in Oregon will be willing to try out this early version at citizenly.com and let us know how we can improve the platform to meet your, and your constituents’, needs before we expand nationwide.
Here’s why Citizenly was started and how it’s meant to help government officials, candidates, and members of the public.
Citizenly was created because the internet, for all of the good it’s done, hasn’t necessarily improved the experience of being a citizen or public servant. In fact, the internet has arguably made it worse or harder in some ways. If you are a county official, you may have experienced it firsthand: anonymous Facebook users questioning your motives, X (Twitter) users replying to your post with personal attacks, or messages that may be from bots or non-constituents. These toxic interactions have, especially over the last few years, reduced trust locally and nationally. And it’s probably dissuaded some people from public service.
Additionally, members of the public find it difficult to know who represents them at all levels — from federal through state and county down to cities, school boards, and special districts. Simply put, nowhere before has all of this information existed in one place and been well-organized and easily accessible.
Our goal at Citizenly is to change all of that by creating a single place where citizens can go to get information and where public servants can interact with constituents in a way that welcomes discourse and disagreement, but constructively.
Here’s how it works now, in our “beta” phase, and how we envision it developing in the future. Again, we’d love for county officials in Oregon to sign up and help us find ways to improve it before it expands nationally!
In our first release, any resident of Oregon can sign up for free and immediately see all of their elected officials and candidates, along with key information about each. If you are an elected official or candidate, you can also sign up for free and check your profile.
We’re also really proud to have compiled the world’s first and most complete database of every elected official and political candidate in the country, from the President to school boards and special district officials. Our goal for all states is for our data to always be 99%+ complete and 99%+ accurate at any one time — a standard we’ve already met and exceeded in Oregon. (We’ve aggregated all of this information from public sources and don’t distribute any private information.)
So, what’s our vision for Citizenly, and what’s to come? In the months ahead, we’ll be steadily iterating Citizenly to be a little like a mashup of LinkedIn and NextDoor: where those platforms connect users based on professional network or neighborhood, we’ll connect users based on jurisdiction or constituency, as well as political or policy issues of common interest. As an elected official or candidate, you’ll be able to “claim” your profile and update key fields, like your photo and information about you and your role. We’ll offer various outreach and compliance tools, such as surveys for the former and records retention and public meetings notices for the latter. Underneath it all, as a county official, you’ll be able to see whether the person you are interacting with is actually a constituent or not. We’ll be working hard to balance freedom of expression with a prohibition against personal attacks and clearly false statements. In short, Citizenly is intended to be a one-stop shop for sharing and obtaining reliable information, and interacting with others based on constituency or shared policy interests. It’s also meant to be an inclusive place that welcomes people across the political spectrum.
But first things first. We’re really excited about this early version of the platform; however, like any early version, we know that there will be some things we didn’t anticipate or didn’t fully think through. We’d be enormously grateful to any county official in Oregon who signs up (it’s free) at citizenly.com. We welcome feedback from constituents and everyday users as well.
Thanks to Oregon’s county officials for your service and thank you in advance for giving Citizenly a try.
John Horton is the founder and CEO of Citizenly. Prior to founding Citizenly, he worked at the county, state, and federal levels, first as a deputy district attorney in Multnomah County, then as legal counsel to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee, and later as a White House aide. He subsequently founded an Oregon-based technology company, LegitScript, where he served as CEO and Chairman for 15 years. Citizenly is headquartered in the Portland, Oregon, area and has approximately a dozen employees. Citizenly is not a partisan organization, and its employees’ political views span the political spectrum.
*Sponsored content provided by AOC Business Partner Citizenly
