|
CurrentsTo Medical Center Employees:National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week are celebrated May 6 - 12 and May 7 - 13, respectively. Numerous activities have been scheduled to recognize accomplishments and express appreciation for exceptional service. Activities for Nurses Week will soon be posted on the Medical Center Intranet http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/news/HospitalWeek.htm#NursesWeek and Hospital Week activities are posted at this time under the “News” section. Effie Amerson, Nurse Manager, 7East/Neurology/Neurosurgery and Bonnie Foulois, Nurse Manger, 8East/General Medicine, led the planning efforts for the Nurses Week committee and Lynne Campbell, Human Resources nurse recruiter, spearheaded the work for the Hospital Week committee. I want to thank the committee members and everyone involved in the planning for these important events. In the near future we will announce dates for the next Town Hall meetings to be scheduled on or around the last week of June. We are committed to scheduling these meetings quarterly. In response to the evaluations from the March 14-16 Town Hall meetings, we will have more sessions. Among other things, at our upcoming Town Hall meeting we will provide a progress report on our MUSC Excellence initiatives including service excellence teams and their roles, leadership development and evaluation plan efforts, and measurable Medical Center goals. Thank you very much. Sincerely, W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center JCAHO update, ACC progress discussedChildren’s Hospital (CH) administrator John Sanders presented information on behalf of Laurie Zone-Smith, Clinical Services Administration manager, for the May 4 Education Roll-Out Committee meeting.The agenda featured presentations on new policy featuring oral care and critical values; replacement equipment, SCD machine upgrade and anaphylaxis kits; re-education, Push Button Butterfly and restraints/seclusion policy; information dissemination, safety device instruction cards and new forms; and other announcements featuring faxing of Mayday documentation forms. Phase 1 ACC Progress Heart & Vascular Center administrator Bill Spring gave an update on the Phase 1 Action Coordinating Committee (ACC). The committee, co-chaired by Spring and Marilyn Schaffner, Clinical Services administrator, was created to help establish comprehensive implementation strategies for the new hospital. Spring reported that work continues to progress for the 12 work teams and multiple sub-groups. He credited the hard work provided by many employees involved in this effort. Foremost, he thanked MUHA staff for their time and everyday commitment given to this project. Spring also reminded managers of the May 12 deadline for the Phase 1 ACC budgets. JCAHO Update Accreditation manager Lois Kerr provided a brief JCAHO update. As of May 2, sources confirmed that a JCAHO accreditation team was working upstate in Kershaw. Kerr acknowledged that the JCAHO teams are currently back on their original schedules and reminded managers that dates for accreditation site visits have been predetermined since January. Kerr congratulated staff involved in the Point of Care Testing Lab Survey. Staff received remarkable, complimentary results. The results highlighted the excellence of the nursing staff for their performance of Point-of-Care Testing and ability to articulate the processes both clearly and professionally. The survey reported recommendations for improvement:
The team will submit a improvement action plan for each recommendation to JCAHO electronically by mid-May and will have four months to measure its effectiveness. Kerr also reviewed changes with several JCAHO-sanctioned standards for environment-of-care issues:
Since the aftermath of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, JCAHO is now emphasizing the need for more tertiary care hospitals to establish an emergency response plan. MUSC must now be prepared to conduct an emergency response test twice a year, with one simulation involving the handling of an influx of people to MUSC (community response plan). In light of interest focused on the upcoming survey, Kerr closed her presentation suggesting that the Medical Center consider adopting JCAHO's new philosophy: Hospitals should focus on preparing for its next patient and not the next survey. HR Update on Hospital Week MUHA HR director Helena Bastian reminded managers that the week of May 7-12 is National Hospital Week during which the Medical Center will recognize its most valued assets, the employees. Bastian distributed flyers outlining the activities planned for each day. Tickets for a daily prizes and ice cream/fruit coupons were distributed earlier to directors through HR. Details about the Hospital Week 2006 celebration will be available via broadcast e-mail and posted on the MUHA communication Web site. http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/news/HospitalWeek.htm Bastian recognized the hard work of the Hospital Week planning committee for helping with this effort: Lynn Campbell, Sheila Griner, Kelli Stewart, Cindy Locklair, Leigh Schlechta, Rosie Smith, Janette Brown, Tiffany Heffner, Nicole Mullilnax, Myra Dawkins, Michael Andaya, Theo Fouts and Sheree Waslaske. Bastian also reminded managers that they should have completed their primary source verifications of required credentials. Proper documentation must be maintained in the unit/department file and entered into CATTS. Questions should be directed to Susan Carullo at 792-1684. Letters of Appreciation Oncology and Medical Surgical Services director Colleen Corish praised nurse manager Barbara Burke and the 10W staff for the compassionate care and attention provided recently to a terminally ill woman. The staff was always willing to accommodate her in every need, especially the comfort of a bath. The family was extremely appreciative to the nursing staff for their attentiveness and devotion. Sanders related a recent experience in the Children’s Hospital involving CH interim director Sonja Muckenfuss who provided assistance to a visiting Hollings Cancer Center patient walking through the hospital. Muckenfuss spent extra time assisting the woman, who struggled for breath and was weakened by her latest chemotherapy treatment. Sanders praised Muckenfuss for her patience and care provided. Announcements Critical Care and Emergency Services director Sharon DeGrace introduced Chris Zensen, R.N., as MUHA's new stroke program coordinator. Zensen will be working with NSICU director Julio Chalela, M.D., and other departments to achieve accreditation for the new stroke program. Sanders announced the Children’s Hospital Happy Wheels volunteer program received the 2006 Governor’s Volunteer Award in the volunteer group category. Happy Wheels volunteers and Children’s Hospital Volunteer coordinator Christine Messick received a certificate of appreciation April 28 during an awards ceremony held at the State House. Friday, May 5, 2006 |