With national focus on the sharply-increasing cost of health care coverage, the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council facilitated a multi-jurisdictional Human Resources & Health Care Group. Its members included human resource managers from public agencies throughout Kitsap County. Its goal: to find innovative ways to maintain and improve health and human resource services for public employees while controlling costs for public agencies.

Health Care Coverage Strategies

In January 2006, the Human Resources & Health Care Group sponsored a Health Care Symposium. Its question: Would multi-agency purchase of health care benefits reduce costs and/or improve coverage? Its answer: There are no easy, short-term "silver bullets", but examples do exist. Long term solutions require a true sense of partnership among employees and managers. Its immediate focus: New approaches to wellness in the work place.

For more information, or to request a DVD of the Health Care Symposium, call the Regional Council office: (360) 377-4900.

The Human Resources Brown Bag Lunch Series

The Brown Bag Lunch Series was open to public agencies throughout Kitsap County. Luncheons were held quarterly at the Norm Dicks Government Center and featured speaker panels addressing topics of mutual interest, experts or guest speakers.

Past panels included:

• HR Software: October 20, 2005
• Health Care Benefits Symposium: November 29, 2005:
  (available on DVD through the Regional Council)
• Kitsap County in the "Rain Shadow" of Seattle: Challenges & Strategies for Employee Recruiting & Retention: March 9, 2006
• Shared Training Resources and Knowledge Management: May 11, 2006
  View the "Knowledge Management" PowerPoint (pdf).
• Demonstration of Sungard HR software: May 23, 2006
• Effective Partnering among Public Agencies September 14, 2006
• The Graying Workforce January 15, 2007
• Techno-Tools & Telework June 14, 2007