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To Medical Center employees:
Currently work is under way to strengthen our training program and to improve methods of documentation. Several training-related initiatives are involved to help in the effort. 
 
As mentioned several weeks ago in this newsletter, a work team is looking into replacement of the defunct deMedici system. A request for proposal (RFP) is being prepared to purchase a new interactive web-based system. The expectation is that training updates for annual mandatory competencies—fire, bloodborne pathogens, hazardous material, and other topics—can be conveniently accomplished and documented through the new system. While no implementation date has been set, progress is being made.
 
Planning also is under way to expand customer service training, which is a key organizational priority. At this point the plan is to target certain areas with particular customer service needs for training. We will seek guidance and support for an external expert in health care customer service to carry out this training.
 
We are seeking to improve managerial training. At this point work is being conducted to develop training for new managers with a focus upon internal operating procedures and policies (e.g., budget management, performance improvement, compliance, accreditation standards, affirmative action and human resources).  
 
We are also hoping to enhance managerial training through quarterly workshops and seminars, led by well-recognized leaders in training and development.  The goal is to use these training sessions as refresher courses to improve interpersonal relations and communication skills.
 
On a separate matter, everyone employed within the Medical Center should be aware that a JCAHO survey team will visit on Nov. 27. The purpose will be to review Point of Care Testing for iStat in PICU and NNICU and to survey the Andrology Lab at 30 Bee Street.
 
Thank you very much.

W. Stuart Smith
Vice President for Clinical Operations and
Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center
Parking survey shows desire for parking garage close to campus
Results of the recent parking sur vey, conducted by the Division of Finance and Administration, show that MUSC employees favor construction of a parking garage close to campus with a parking capacity of at least 800, according to John Runyon, director of Business Services, who presented the results to the management team at the Oct. 23 communications meeting.  
 
The survey team includes Dan Lackland, Dr.P.H., Pam Ferguson and Lydia King of the Biometry Department.
 
Of the 7,250 surveys that were sent to MUSC employees and students, 2,174 were returned, of which 546 respondents are not currently in the parking system and 1,628 are in the system. Of the total returned, 1,098 include written comments, all of which, Runyon said, he personally read. Of the written comments, 258 indicate dissatisfaction with the MUSC parking system convenience.
 
The survey was initiated to gain insight into the following questions:

  • Where should the garage be located?
  • How much could be charged?
  • What capacity garage should be built?
Runyon said the results have been delivered to the President’s Council, and will be used in the decision-making process regarding future parking plans.
 
The results of the survey are as follows: Sixty percent of all employees who answered the survey work within Quadrant D, which includes Medical University Hospital Authority, Rutledge Tower, College of Medicine and the Quadrangle Building. 
 
Some 36 percent of employees in the system indicate dissatisfaction with the parking system, while 62 percent of employees who are not currently in the system find the system inconvenient.
 
Given the choice of higher cost and higher convenience verses lower cost and lower convenience, 63 percent of employees parking in the system prefer the higher cost, higher convenience option. Half of the employees not parking in the system prefer the higher cost, higher convenience option.
 
The conclusion drawn from these responses is a new garage should be constructed as close to campus as possible, Runyon said.
 
Regarding costs, the conclusion drawn from the survey is MUSC should seek to minimize price increases in the future.
  • 49 percent of those not parking in the system are dissatisfied with the MUSC system price
  • 56 percent of those in the parking system are dissatisfied with price
  • 502 written comments express dissatisfaction with current MUSC prices
  • Based on current and projected demands, the recommendation is to build a garage with a minimum capacity of 600 – 800 spaces, Runyon said. This is based on the following:
    • The current waiting list contains more than 1,300 names and requires more than seven years to reach the top, according to Office of Parking Management files, Runyon said.
    • 22 percent of employees not currently in the system indicate they are on the waiting list and preferred $45/month for convenient parking.  
    • 13 percent of employees already in the system indicate they are on a waiting list and prefer $45/month for convenient parking.
    • Applying these percentages to the total employee parking base, there are approximately 600 potential customers willing today to accept convenient $45/month parking.
    On the topic of cleanliness, 69 percent of those who responded indicate satisfaction with cleanliness. Of the 1,098 written responses, 73 deal with maintenance and cleanliness issues and 61 comment specifically on safety. Sixty-six percent of those who responded indicate they are satisfied with safety. “That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of things that we could do to improve safety and cleanliness,” said Melinda Anderson from the Office of Parking Management.
     
    The following initiatives are under way with many others under consideration:
    Scheduled for fiscal year 2002
    • Remove pilings from A-Lot
    • Replace the expansion joints in Harborview Tower garage
    • Added cameras and call boxes throughout the system (more are being programmed)
    • Enhancing the general cleanliness of all garages though Physical Plant
    • Engineering review of expansion joints in Rutledge Tower Garage and Parking Garage II (looking to replace in fiscal year 2003)
    Scheduled for fiscal year 2003
    • Guard rail replacement for Harborview Tower garage
    • Replace lighting system for Parking Garage I and Harborview Tower.
    • Re-stripe Rutledge Tower Garage.
    • Re-stripe various surface lots (Office of Parking Management purchased a striping machine for Physical Plant). 
    Other items under consideration are:
    • Stain the overhead in Rutledge Tower Garage white to improve lighting
    • New light lenses in Rutledge Tower Garage
    • Improved signage in Rutledge Tower Garage
    • Add a second entrance to Harborview Tower Garage (Safety)
    • Install card reader cameras
    • Re-sign entire system
    Harborview Tower garage is now full in direct response to lowering the parking rates for off-campus facilities to $20. The new Lockwood Drive parking lot has approximately 200 spaces available also at the $20/month rate. Some of the Lockwood spaces have been made temporarily available to students though priority is given to employees, Anderson said.
     
    Also, alternatives are being considered for future use of MUSC properties to create additional parking space.  For example, consideration is being given to possible development of the old Charleston High School to include a new parking deck at the back of the property.

    Anthrax preparedness update  
    MUSC Public Safety and the members of the Bioterrorism Preparedness Task Force offered practical suggestions on how to handle a situation involving a suspicious-looking piece of mail under MUSC’s anthrax response protocol.
     
    “If an employee or staff person receives a letter with a powdery substance, we ask the employee to leave the room, close the door behind, then contact Public Safety at 792-4196,” said Al Nesmith, disaster control officer, who heads the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Team. “We ask that you move away from the item and do nothing to disturb it.”
     
    The employee is asked to return to the area outside the door and wait for Public Safety to arrive to direct them to the area and be available to answer questions. Public Safety will work with Hospital Security and Occupational Safety and Health to manage the situation and assess the threat. Employees may be instructed to wash their hands or possibly take a shower. If Public Safety determines that a threat appears to exist, Charleston City Police Department HAZMAT Team will be called in, along with Infection Control, which will provide counsel concerning exposure.
     
    Mail Services employees are in a state of “hypervigilence,” according to Nesmith, and have been trained three times in the past week on procedures to do a cursory surveillance of suspicious mail.
     
    Public Safety has responded to several calls to investigate suspicious mail. All of them turned out to be benign.
     
    Jodell Johnson, R.N., Infectious Diseases, and a member of the Bioterr-orism Preparedness Task Force, said if a serious threat occurs, the Medical Center would offer antibiotic treatment as a prophylactic measure to employees. Anthrax spores can be washed off the hands with simple soap and water and killed on surfaces with household bleach diluted nine parts water and one part bleach.
     
    Evaluation of possible anthrax requires a criminal evidence level III laboratory, which exists in Atlanta. Nesmith said anthrax hoaxes are a prosecutable offense punishable up to 12 years in prison. “That is something that will be strictly enforced,” Nesmith said. 
     
    A roundtable discussion titled, “Bioterrorism: Is MUSC Prepared?” will be held at noon on Thursday, Nov. 8, in the Basic Sciences auditorium, room 100. Michael G. Schmidt, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology will moderate the discussion.

    State recognizes Human Resources Office
    Janet Browning, manager, Benefits, Records and Training, Katy Kuder, coordinator, Benefits and Records, and the Medical Center Human Resources office were recently recognized by the State Office of Insurance Services for their outstanding service.
     
    Examples of their work include the smooth transition of CMH employees to the state insurance plan, special negotiations to address CMH retiree insurance, new hire benefits briefings, volume of work and a “clean” insurance audit.

    New dress policy cuts fake nails
    Under the revised dress policy, artificial nails will not be allowed as of Nov. 1. “Anything that’s not your own needs to go,” said Marilyn Schaffner, R.N., Clinical Services administrator. Managers were reminded to enforce the dress code policy. The change is needed for infection control safeguarding. The new policy language reads as follows:
     
    “Fingernails must be clean, short, and neatly trimmed. Clear or light colored nail polish is acceptable. Extreme nail polish colors should not be worn in a professional health care setting. Decorative fingernails should not be worn in patient care settings. Artificial fingernails, tips, wraps or fillers may not be worn by direct patient care employees.”