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Currents To Medical Center Employees: I am pleased to report the exceptional results of our Step Up program.  At the end of the second week, 268,844 customer service behaviors were reported. We have a large number of employees who naturally step up on a day-to-day basis, and many frequently go the extra mile.  We are well on our way to exceeding our November goal of 399,750 Step-Ups.   On another matter, the Medical Center will re-administer the organizational assessment survey the week of Dec. 2.  Your individual participation in this survey is greatly needed: we must have a high survey response rate to gather meaningful data on which to base decisions. Please make every effort to complete the questionnaire. Because it is a lengthy survey, I am especially grateful to you for providing candid feedback and responses. Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center   STAR Productions SpotlightPresenting: ‘Batman and Robin’ starring Nesmith, Moss, and JCAHO Mock Survey results The Nov. 19 communications meeting began with a “Bang!”, “Pow!”, and “Zap!” as Al Nesmith, director of Safety, Security, and Volunteer Services, and Paul Moss, manager of Medical Center Security, cascaded down the Amphitheater stairs dressed as Batman and Robin. Complete with capes, masks, and chest emblems, the two received thunderous applause as they turned an otherwise ordinary meeting into ‘Got-them’ city.   Nesmith and Moss delivered a presentation packed with Batman and Robin-esque lingo on the Hospital Authority’s Environment of Care. The presentation began with PowerPoint slides identifying members of the Environment of Care Committee, the Hospital Injuries Review and Recommendation Subcommittee, the Construction Task Force, and the Workplace Violence Prevention Subcommittee.   In conjunction with other preparations for next November’s JCAHO survey, Nesmith and Moss detailed current situations that require attention.  1. Address security issues in pharmacy. 2. Demonstrate and document measurable success in any P.I. program. 3. Penthouse: Remove stored glycol piping, remove handwritten items on switching gear, inventory electrical panel and panel schedule, and eliminate cross-outs or white-outs on electrical panels. 4. 10th floor: Clean or replace ceiling grids and two sprinkler caps in catering kitchen, repair game room and Elevator D hallway doors, check eye wash stations quarterly, ensure PM records for all emergency lights are completely documented, and replace fire alarm panel in generator area. 5. 5th floor: Repair or replace warped door between rooms 563 and 561. 6. STICU: Replace molding for medical gas control panel next to room 478. 7. Children’s Hospital: Maintain dust-free environment, maintain medical related audio and visual alarms, and address potential patient safety and patient confidentiality issues. 8. Storm Eye Institute: Include annual review date and signature on all MSDS hard copies. Incorporate MSDS changes based on annual review into unit-specific orientation program. 9. Leinbach: Remove records from hallway, and lock all doors for re-entry permanently except main doors. 10. IMPACT: Remove records from present location and install special safety electrical plugs where children present. 11. Youth Programs Center, Leeds Avenue: Conduct sprinkler tests or obtain record of test from building owner.    The dynamic duo also mentioned some EOC questions that all staff must know, including a five-step fire plan, information concerning Material Safety Data sheets (MSDS), all seven environment of care plans, information concerning annual drills, and the phone numbers for facility/building maintenance (792-4119), radiological or HAZMAT incidents and chemical spills (792-3604), security (792-4196), and equipment problems (792-3984).    Nesmith and Moss closed the presentation with a request from the caped crusaders and ‘Commissioner Gordon’ (a.k.a. Stuart Smith) to cooperate and support efforts to make ‘Got-them Hospital Authority’ a safe and secure environment of care. Organizational Assessment Survey… again Hal Currey, administrator for Facilities and Capital Projects, delivered the news that the organizational survey distributed earlier this year should be re-administered to medical center employees. Due to an error in the distribution and return methods, the responses collected in the first survey contained an element of bias.    “The bias may have been introduced in some answers because individuals gave questionnaires back to their immediate supervisors, which may have altered how accurately they answered the questions,” Currey said.     New copies of the surveys are scheduled for distribution to each department and unit on Dec. 2 and 3. To avoid the previous mistake, each survey will be attached to a return envelope pre-addressed directly to the Survey Research Center. Employees are responsible to complete the survey and return it in the provided envelope rather than giving it to their supervisors.     “The administration incorporates this type of data when making major decisions,” Currey said. Since the response rate will be critical to the use and validity of the survey results, employees must understand the importance of the questionnaire and why it is being done again.     “This is not a quick survey, but we need you to encourage the staff to participate one more time,” he said. “We want the truth as they see it, so we can take those opinions into account when making decisions.” Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.