April 2, 1998

Dr. William Anderson McLees, who served as executive director for the Medical Center from 1970 to 1987, passed away recently. His memorial service was held March 31. In thinking back on Dr. McLees and the contributions he made to our hospital, I believe one of the biggest changes he brought about was in raising expectations, or “raising the bar.” Dr. McLees, who had a Ph.D. in hospital administration, was among the first to bring credibility and academic credentials to hospital administration.

He believed in the importance of planning, and he recognized the need to recruit and hire good, skilled professionals to run the hospital. Some of those he hired who went on to be very successful include: Frank Butler, executive director of University of Kentucky Hospital; Frank DeMarco, division president of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation; Charlene Stuart, former MUSC vice president for clinical operations and CEO of MUSC Medical Center, and former MUSC vice president for finance and administration; and Marion Woodbury, CEO of University Medical Associates and former MUSC vice president for finance and administration.

Dr. McLees also gave me my first chance when he started the administrative resident program here in 1973. He was a good, kind, gentle man, and he will be missed.

W. Stuart Smith Interim Vice President for Clinical Operations Interim CEO, MUSC Medical Center

Recognition

• Marilyn Schaffner, director of the MUSC Digestive Disease Center, Medicine and Oncology, thanked all who participated in last week’s “balloon bust.” The effort raised more than $2,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. q Vicki Marsi, business manager of the MUSC Digestive Disease Center, had an abstract for a poster session accepted by the Academic Practice Assembly of the Medical Group Management Association. It will be presented at the association’s April meeting in New Orleans.
• Colleen Corish, nurse manager for Oncology Services, was elected treasurer of the local oncology nursing society.
• Winnie Hennessey, research nurse for the MUSC Digestive Disease Center, was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau for academic excellence.

Group Exposure—Streamlining Evaluations

• Laurie Zone-Smith, manager of special projects in Clinical Services, updated the management team on how to handle communicable or infectious disease evaluation of Medical Center employees.
• Recently, a group of 18 employees from one area needed to be evaluated for potential exposure. When all arrived at WorkMed Carolina for evaluation at the same time, it caused delays for both the employees and for the people who had scheduled appointments at the office.
• Zone-Smith asked that the following procedures be used when a group of employees needs evaluation:
• Visits to WorkMed Carolina should be staggered so there will be less waiting for the employees and for scheduled patients. (If the symptoms are acute, however, employees should report immediately to Emergency Services for care.)
• Managers should fax a list of the employees involved to 2-1200 right away so that charts can be pulled and preregistration can begin ahead of time.
• All employees should arrive at WorkMed Carolina with a completed, signed (by the supervisor or designee) “first report of injury” form. This form is the authorization to be seen.
• Zone-Smith said if an employee is exposed to an infectious or communicable disease at work, he should be evaluated by WorkMed Carolina and should follow the procedures listed above to assure fitness for duty. However, if an employee is exposed at home, he should be seen by his private physician and will need to provide his manager with a “fitness for duty” note from the doctor. She said if that is not possible, the employee should get a fitness for duty evaluation at WorkMed Carolina. Authorization to be seen at WorkMed Carolina requires a completed, signed (by the supervisor or designee) “first report of injury form” with “fitness for duty evaluation” requested on the form.

JCAHO Supplemental Recommendations Addressed

• Consultants from Wilson, Cunningham, Kerr Associates recently visited the Medical Center to review the supplemental recommendations received during the August 1997 Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations survey and to look at how we are proceeding with making corrections. In the supplemental recommendations, our score was “significant compliance,” but the commission found areas where we need to improve.
• Zone-Smith distributed a detailed report on the supplemental recommendations received, the current status of each, a list of what actions need to be taken and the method being used to measure results of those actions. She thanked several people for their help in compiling the report: Joan Herbert, Rachel Herbert, Jodell Johnson, Nathan Johnson, Al Nesmith, Jackie Russo and Peggy Simmons.
• The supplemental recommendations were in the following areas: documentation of restraint and seclusion; evacuation procedures in some ambulatory clinics; some portable fire extinguishers not clearly identified; space constraints limiting patient care services in the level II nursery, cardiothoracic intensive care unit, burn unit ICU, hemodialysis, endoscopy and electroconvulsive therapy unit; documentation of advance directives; operative report documentation (at the time of the survey, operative reports were current; this recommendation was based on historic data); infection control (a few instances of inadequate biohazardous waste disposal, expired blood collection tubes and inadequately secured sharp object containers); treatment planning; and, individual and family education and responsibilities.
• Zone-Smith said that procedures and actions to correct all recommendations are either already in place or being put in place.

Announcement

• The MUSC Board of Trustees will be meeting on April 9 and 10. After the board meeting, a summary of actions taken will be issued through this newsletter.