Health Highlight
Your Weekly Wellness Update
Health Score Ratings
When it comes to food safety, one very vital resource is the health score as determined by the Public Health Department. Health scores are determined by a standardized inspection report and inspection scoring system. After conducting an inspection of a food facility, the Health Inspector will calculate a score based on the violations observed and violations fall into three categories:
- High Risk: violations directly related to the transmission of food borne illnesses, the adulteration of food and the contamination of food-contact surfaces.
- Moderate Risk: violations of a moderate risk to public health and safety
- Low Risk: violations of a low risk to public health and safety.
As the Public Health Department defines moderate and low risks in such a vague way, be sure to read which infractions the restaurant committed, if any. The health inspection report should be displayed in sight of the customers. If it's not, that's another violation!
And, here's how some of your favorite restaurants in Athens stack up:
Big City Bread - 80
2 Story Coffee - 80
Agua Linda - 90
Cali-N-Tito's - 80
East West - 72 (follow-up 87)
Heirloom Cafe & Fresh Market- 96
Hendershot's - 83 (follow-up 92)
Last Resort - 99
Mama's Boy - 96
The Grit - 86
Be advised! Not all franchises are created equal!
- Barbarito's Eastside - 84, Barbarito's 5 pts - 91, Barbarito's Downtown - 84
- Chick-fil-A Beechwood/Alps - 85, Chick-fil-A Eastside - 100, Chick-fil-A Atlanta Hwy - 74 (follow-up 95).
- DePalma's - Westside - 96, Downtown - 85 and Eastside - 80
Find the health score of your favorite place!
Fitness Focus
Don't have a morning routine?! Looking for ways to start your day? Check out these tips below:
1. Set a pleasant alarm. A bell chime, guided mediation or an upbeat song.
2. Drink water! By the time you wake up, you've gone 7-9 hours without water. Water also stimulates your gastrointestinal track and your intestinal walls. If you throw lemon into the mix, it will increase your metabolism and prepare your digestion for up-coming meals.
3. Eat a hearty breakfast, as it will help jump start your metabolism and provide you with the energy you need to start your day. Not all breakfasts are created equal! Aim for something high in carbs and high in protein.
4. Get moving. 10 push-ups, light stretching, or go out for a quick walk.
5. Say "I love you." Reach out to someone close to you by simply saying "I love you" via phone call, email or text. Just saying these three words causes a slight increase in adrenaline, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in your system which increases your heart rate, increasing blood flow and lowering your cortical levels. Alternatively, try saying "thank you" three times before you get out of bed.
Some additional items to add to your routine include:
- Set 3 intentions - either professional or personal - for the day.
- Read or listen to a book, podcast or radio for 10-15 minutes.
- Visualize your day. Think through your goals and to-dos.
- Build a cognitive skill by working on a crossword puzzle, cryptogram or sudoku.
For more ideas, see "How to Create a Feel Good Morning Routine" and "Creating a Routine for Morning and Night."
Pick some of these. Pick none of these. Make your own! The important thing is to do what works for you.
Money Matters
Credit reports affect nearly every aspect of your financial life. Data is analyzed to create credit scores, including your FICO score which is used determine how much interest you'll be charged on a loan, credit card, etc. Additionally, credit reports can affect your ability to rent an apartment or home, get a cellphone and may even influence how much you pay for car insurance.
Consumers are able to receive their credit reports for free annually through annualcreditreport.com and now the agencies must include links to that website on their home pages, as-well-as provide another free report to a consumer after he/she experiences a change in his/her credit reports after initiating a dispute. The settlement also prohibits collection companies from reporting items that did not arise from a contract or an agreement to pay like fines or tickets. Last, the changes will be introduced over the next 3 years, with most changes occurring over the next 6 - 18 months.
DIY Spotlight
Perspective
When people use the term "professional development" they usually mean a formal process such as a conference, seminar or workshop. However, as we are in the process of learning new things every day, we find professional development occurring on many levels - among work colleagues, independent reading and research, observation of a colleague's work, and/or discussion with a mentor. Every occupational field changes as roles fluctuate, studies present new information and experience dictates alternative methods. To remain relevant and effective in our roles, we must learn how to develop our skill-set(s). Furthermore, if we find that our skill-set does not match our role it behooves us to re-evaluate the skill-set and/or the role to ensure we are meeting our personal and professional goals.
Below you will find suggestions on how to set a successful (and I define success as achieving your set goal) personal or professional development program.
1. Discover your natural strengths and interests. You'll learn the fastest, enjoy your work and make the most progress if you're learning and working in the areas of your natural strengths and interests. If you're unsure of where your interests are, think about the activities at work you innately love doing. Additionally, utilize your DiSC assessment and other personality profiling tools if you are stumped and need help initiating the process.
2. Create a clear path. Be the arbiter of your future! Think about what you want your life to look like 1-2 years from now. What are your personal/professional values and desires? What activities would you ideally spend your day doing? Who are your ideal customers/clients/coworkers? What kind of impact do you want to make on your environment through your work? What are the values you want to affirm through your work? Not sure? Try this exercise to establish your individual core values.
3. Look for the gaps. Once you know your 1-2 year goal, look at where you are now versus where you want to be. What is missing in your work right now? What do you want more of and what do you want less of? How much more/less do you want? Most importantly, what will you do to recognize when/if you already have it?
4. Set your development goals. Now you've established your objective and identified the gaps, create a self-directed learning plan by deciding what sources you'll learn from, what programs or classes you'll need, who you'll be mentored by and what other sources of social support and accountability you'll build into your learning program. As you design your program, remember that you'll learn best if you create a program that allows you to learn from other people ahead of you, learn with other people on your level and teach other people who are just beginning.
5. Schedule regular reviews. Decide some parameters for tracking and measuring your progress. For example, mark your calendar with an appointment with yourself, your peer or your mentor to review your progress regularly. Review and feedback are fundamental to learning.
So, where are you now and where do you want to be?!