Safe Toys and Celebrations Month

The holiday season is a time for family, fun, and festivity, but it can also be a time of danger. Watch those tree branches, chill your champagne bottles, cover the cork while releasing it, and celebrate safely. If you experience an eye injury, seek medical attention immediately.

Each year, many people suffer from eye injuries caused by unsafe toys and celebrations.

Popular toys that shoot arrows or pellets pose a danger to kids' eyes
While fun to play with, some toys can cause serious eye injuries that last a lifetime. In fact, 1 in 10 children's eye injuries treated nationwide in emergency rooms stem from toys, according to a 2014 study.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends

Health Officials Urged to Prepared for Flu Season

Last flu season was the deadliest in San Diego since the County began tracking the disease. Local health officials will remind San Diegans to prepare for flu season by getting vaccinated for the flu. Last season, 70 San Diegans died due to complications from influenza, five more than the previous year, and the highest number ever recorded by the County Health and Human Services Agency .

Getting vaccinated is the single most important action people can take to protect themselves from the flu. The flu vaccine is already available at doctors’ offices and retail pharmacies. People with no medical insurance can get a flu shot at a County public health center.

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Older Driver Safety Awareness Week

Each year the older driver traffic safety campaign promotes the importance and value of mobility and transportation to ensure older adults remain active in their community by maintaining their access to transportation options. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss with family and friends the topic of older drivers being safe behind the wheel while continuing to be active members of our communities. At the holiday season, this traffic safety campaign will help enhance safety for everyone by addressing the mobility needs of California’s older drivers.

The Older driver Safety Awareness Week was established by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), to promote understanding of the importance of mobility and transportation to ensure older adults remain active in the community and that transportation will not be the barrier stranding them at home.

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National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) in 2005 to raise awareness and advocate for the flu vaccination through the winter season and beyond. NIVW is scheduled for December 7-13, 2014.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends an annual flu vaccine for every person six months and older as the first and best way to protect against the flu. Children younger than five, and especially those younger than two, are at high risk for severe flu complications. Children with chronic medical conditions including asthma and seizures are at even higher risk.

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Polinsky Center Benefits From Pay It Forward Campaign

San Diego-based Millennium Health donated more than 500 pairs of new shoes for youth at the A.B. and Jessie Polinsky Children’s Center on Thursday. The holiday donation is part of the company’s Pay It Forward campaign.

“It is always difficult for children to be separated from family, but especially this time of year,” said Supervisor Greg Cox, County Board of Supervisors, District 1. “This gift to the children at the Polinsky Center is going to help brighten the holidays for them.”

The Polinsky Children’s Center provides temporary emergency shelter for children who must be separated from their families for their own safety or when parents cannot provide care. The center provides a variety of services to the children there, including health, education and support programs. It also provides essential items such as clothes and shoes.

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Winter - Invierno 

When the chilly Indoor Season arrives, it’s cozy to curl up in a blanket in front of the fire. But that way lies weight gain.....not the physical activity we all need year round. And, yes, it’s time to get extra help...

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Get Charged Up For The Holidays

New Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open at the Waterfront Park

The County of San Diego celebrates the grand opening of new electric vehicle charging stations at the Waterfront Park’s underground parking garage. In a nod to the holidays, electric vehicle owners can plug in and charge for free the week of Dec. 22. Several stations are located along the southwest wall of the garage and one ADA station is located on the southeast side near the garage elevator.

In efforts to help curb greenhouse gas emissions, the County applied for and won a $500,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to help pave the way for the installation of electric vehicle stations. ChargePoint installed the stations and will own and operate them for five years. The Waterfront Park stations are the first to be installed in a project that will expand to 10 other County government parking facilities. All are scheduled to open by December 2015.