Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa Welcomes Workers' Compensation Claims Advocate, Jim Malone

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services is pleased to announce the hiring of Jim Malone, a Workers' Compensation Claims Advocate.

Jim began his workers’ compensation career as an injured worker in the late 1980s. He was unable to return to his construction career after his work injury and, through vocational rehabilitation, was hired by a workers’ compensation insurance company and trained to be a workers' compensation claims adjuster.

Jim then became certified with the California Office of Self-Insurance Plans through the Department of Industrial Relations and became the workers’ compensation claims administrator for the San Diego Transit.  Jim subsequently started Workers' Compensation Consulting, providing services and guidance to employers, physicians, attorneys and injured workers.

7th Inning Stretch Recognized by Community Member

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services recently received a lovely card from a local Santee bus driver named Patti (bus #125).  She wanted to acknowledge Rancho Mesa's commitment to health and wellness through its 7th Inning Stretch daily walks.

"Just a quick thank you. I've seen a group walking each day. It has be noticed and appreciated. Thank you for being such good examples for the children and adults in the community. Patti Bus 125"

Thank you, Patti.  We're honored to be an example for our community.

Excerpt from "Rancho Mesa Encourages Employees to Stay Healthy with the "7th Inning Stretch": 

"Twice a day, music fills the air of Rancho Mesa's office.  The hum of keyboards, the clicking of calculators and the various phone conversations come to a halt.  A song signals that it's time to take to the sidewalks of Santee, CA, a song in which is alternated from each of the staff's personal playlist.This ritual is part of Rancho Mesa's Health and Wellness Program.  The daily walks, also known as the "7th Inning Stretch," provide an opportunity for the staff to get away from their desks, get moving, and enjoy the outdoors."

Client Spotlight: Family Health Centers of San Diego and Rancho Mesa Support Health Fair & Back to School Kickoff

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Saturday, August 19, 2017, the 79th Assembly District's 5th Annual Health Fair & Back to School Kickoff, presented by Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber, MD in partnership with Senator Toni Atkins and City Council President Myrtle Cole, was held at the O'Farrell Charter School in San Diego, CA.  The event was designed for families and friends to enjoy a fun-filled day with a wide variety of health screenings, educational activities and free give-a-ways at nearly 50 different booths.

Family Health Centers of San Diego participated in the event by providing free health screenings to attendees.  They also distributed almost 50 backpacks, provided by Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., to children who attendee the fair.  

"We are very excited to be a part of the event," said Katie Gomez, Development & Special Events Manager for Family Health Centers of San Diego.  The event included "free health screenings, the YMCA, local law enforcement with the low-rider, and other local non-profits and community orgs."

The Annual Health Fair & Back to School Kickoff offered no-cost screens for dental, vision, blood pressure, cholesterol, and HIV, as well as information on Covered California.  Attendees enjoyed free backpacks and school supplies, arts & crafts, face painting, music, healthy food trucks, CPR/AED lessons and so much more!   

Family Health Centers of San Diego
For more than four decades, Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) mission has been to provide affordable, high-quality health care and support services to all people, with a special commitment to the uninsured, low-income and medically underserved. Annually, the staff provides care to more than 190,000 unique patients—a third of the region’s low-income patients—through more than 800,000 encounters. For more information about the Family Health Centers of San Diego, visit www.fhcsd.org.

Rancho Mesa Hosts Employee Benefits Online Platform Workshop

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa clients gathered at the Employee Benefits: Using the EaseCentral Platform Workshop on Thursday, August 24, 2017 held at the San Diego Christian College campus in Santee.  EaseCental's, Dana Thompson, gave an instructional demonstration of Rancho Mesa’s online employee benefits enrollment portal, EaseCentral.

The EaseCentral platform makes it simple to set up and manage benefits, onboard new hires, stay compliant and offer employees one destination for all their human resources information.

The workshop was streamed live online and is available to clients within the Risk Management Center.

To learn more about Rancho Mesa's Employee Benefits Platform, contact us at (619) (619) 937-0164

Dana Thompson, EaseCentral

Click video image to log into the Risk Management Center. The video is in the Resources/Risk Management Library/Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. Content/Workshops & Webinars folder.

Client Spotlight: The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa is pleased to highlight the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County. Jim Floros from the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and Anahid Brakke from San Diego Hunger Coalition discuss San Diego's Hunger Awareness Month in September.

^{Video courtesy of Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank}

About Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County. Last year, the Food Bank distributed 22 million pounds of food, and the Food Bank serves, on average, 370,000 people per month in San Diego County.  The Food Bank receives food from the USDA, food manufacturers, food retailers, the agricultural sector, food drives, and through financial contributions that enable us to purchase protein-rich foods, fresh produce, and dry staple foods such as beans, oatmeal, and rice. We also benefit from the generosity of more than 28,000 volunteers annually that help to sort and distribute donated and purchased food products.  For more information, visit www.sandiegofoodbank.org.

Client Spotlight: Interfaith Community Services

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa is pleased to highlight Interfaith Community Services, an organization that empowers people in need to stabilize and improve their lives through comprehensive programs, in partnership with diverse faith communities and people of compassion.  Here is their story. 

^{Video courtesy of Interfaith Community Services}

About Interfaith Community Services
Interfaith Community Services was founded in 1979 by a handful of diverse faith communities to address the needs of low-income, homeless and under-served people in North San Diego County.  Separately, these congregations were providing relief to people in need, but by creating Interfaith they were able to collaborate to make a bigger impact on the needs of the people in our community.  For more information, visit www.interfaithservices.org.

Rancho Mesa Hosts Workers' Compensation Anti-Fraud Workshop

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa clients gathered at the Fraud Within the CA Workers' Compensation System Workshop on Thursday, August 10, 2017 held at the San Diego Christian College campus in Santee.  ICW Group’s, Christopher Dill from the Special Investigations Unit, gave an informative presentation.

ICW Group' Special Investigations Unit has been nationally recognized for its significant contribution towards the prosecution of, what California Department of Insurance deemed to be, one of the largest cases of Workers’ Compensation health care fraud in state history.  

Christopher provided an overview of the elements of the cases which made up “Operation Back Lash,”  the role of advanced analytics in the identification of patterns associated with the criminal schemes,  and what can potentially be learned from those patterns.

To learn more about Fraud within the CA Workers' Compensation System, contact Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. at (619) (619) 937-0164

Client Spotlight: UCP Annual 35th Golf Classic Raises $57,000

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

For the 35th year, golfers rallied their support at the annual United Cerebral Palsy Golf Classic on Monday, July 10th, 2017 at the El Camino Country Club in Oceanside, CA.  After a challenging day out on the course, participants raised $57,000 for United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. was honored to be the title sponsor for the event and would like to thank all of the associate sponsors for their support: The Land Stewards, Rose Munns and Chin, Location Edit, Enterprise Truck Rental, and Bob Stall Chevrolet – La Mesa.

Visit the event's facebook album for pictures from the event.

^{Video courtesy of United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County}

Rancho Mesa Supports Family Health Centers' Mobile Medical Unit

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance is pleased to support the Family Health Centers of San Diego's (FHCSD) Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). Donating nearly $1,000,000 to various community organizations throughout San Diego, Rancho Mesa continues to support local nonprofits like FHCSD.

"For over 20 years, Rancho Mesa Insurance has continually supported the mission of FHCSD, particularly our pediatric exam rooms, homeless healthcare services and multiple capital campaigns for new clinics. Recently, they pledged to support our Mobile Medical Units to keep them operational and providing quality health care to those who lack transportation," wrote the Family Health Centers of San Diego in the June 2017 issue of Adelante. "We thank Rancho Mesa Insurance for their continued support and commitment to helping the patients of FHCSD!"

Family Health Centers of San Diego
For more than four decades, Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) mission has been to provide affordable, high-quality health care and support services to all people, with a special commitment to the uninsured, low-income and medically underserved. Annually, the staff provides care to more than 190,000 unique patients—a third of the region’s low-income patients—through more than 800,000 encounters. For more information about the Family Health Centers of San Diego, visit www.fhcsd.org.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. Named "Best Practices" Agency for 11th Consecutive Year

Author Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., a leading Southern California-based commercial insurance brokerage firm, for the eleventh consecutive year, has been included in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (IIABA) elite group of “Best Practices” agencies. 

Of the roughly 38,000 independent insurance agencies in the country, only 241 retained their “Best Practices” agency status in 2017. In California, Rancho Mesa is one of only fourteen agencies to earn the distinction.

An agency must first be nominated by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big I); then, it must submit detailed financial and operational information which is analyzed, scored, and ranked objectively based on operational excellence, including: outstanding customer services, growth, stability, and financial management.

Each year, the IIABA publishes its "Best Practices Study" using financial and operational data collected from agencies throughout the United States. The 2017 Best Practices Study will be available later this year. It will include a list of all the Best Practices Agencies by state and the results of the study.

To learn more about what it takes to be a "Best Practices Agency," read the article "Characteristics of a Best Practices Agency Explained" published by the IIABA.

About Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Rancho Mesa was founded in 1998 and is regarded as a leading Southern California insurance agency with recognized expertise in construction and nonprofit/social services. They provide their clients with risk management services, comprehensive insurance programs, bonding, employee benefits, and industry specific training.