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Currents

To Medical Center Employees:
At the Feb. 6 communication meeting Steve Hargett, Medical Center Controller, updated the management team on the financial picture for the first six months of fiscal year 2006-07. As of the end of December net revenue was $19.5 million, amounting to a 5.2 percent total margin at the midpoint of the fiscal year. 
 
We have been very busy with record levels of admissions and outpatient activity, as indicated by our mid-year financial report card. At this point we appear to be well on track to achieve our 5 percent financial margin goal. I want to thank everyone for your hard work.
 
A series of Medical Center town hall meetings was held from Jan. 22 -31. A summary of the presentations was published in last week’s “Currents.” The purpose of the quaterly meetings was to discuss our MUSC Excellence initiatives, including progress on our goals. We were pleased that 1,153 employees attended the town hall sessions and we hope to continue to improve attendance each quarter. In the near future we will disseminate a summary of the town hall meeting evaluations completed by those who attended the meetings.
 
Finally, Laurie Zone-Smith, Ph.D. (c), manager, Center for Professional Development & Clinical Education Resources, updated the management team on the adult hospital staff education roll-out plan for the Getwell Network (GWN). The GWN is an interactive communication system that runs through the hospital’s cable TV network and enables patients to surf the Web, use e-mail, watch videos for fun and education and give feedback to caregivers. The GWN was implemented in the Children’s Hospital last April and is now geared for activation this March in the adult hospital, to include more than 300 beds. The expansion of the GWN will enable us to further enhance our patient satisfaction, service and care. Marketing & Business Development, Facilities Management and Clinical Services leadership and staff and others have done an outstanding job in implementing the GWN. 
 
Thank you very much.
W. Stuart Smith
Vice President for Clinical Operations
and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center

Dress code, GetWell Network discussed

Joan Herbert, Institute of Psychiatry administrator and meeting facilitator, reminded the audience that all presentation requests for the bi-monthly hospital communications meeting are due the Wednesday prior to the scheduled meetings.
 
Each meeting agenda will be finalized in advance by hospital administrators. Presentation requests should be made to Stephanie Davis, hospital administration, at daviss@musc.edu.
 
Finance update
Steve Hargett, Finance and Support Services controller, gave a overview of the Medical Center’s December income statement from 2005 to 2006. Hargett reported that the net patient service revenue increased by $32.5 million. He attributed this to several factors that helped drive gross revenue increases including: patient census (2.5 percent increase), inpatient surgeries (8 percent increase) and outpatient surgeries (5 percent increase). Driving net revenue was length of stay (down  from 5.7 days to 5.4 days); Medicare length of stay (down from six days to 5.5 days), Medicaid/disproportionate share and accounts receivable collections (56 days collection). Operating expenses reported an increase of $28.4 million. On a volume basis versus (per patient day or per discharge basis), the increase expenses year-to-year will be a smaller percentage increase than the net revenue. This equals the improved operating income translating to a margin of 6.1 beyond the MUSC Excellence pillar goal of 5 percent.
 
Looking at MUHA’s unrestricted month-end cash, Hargett described up and down trends throughout the year. The Medical Center reached $66.2 million in December translating to a 35 days-cash-on-hand. In contrast, “A-rated” hospitals or health care systems possess 170 days-cash-on-hand, according to Hargett.

2007 patient safety goals  
Rosemary Ellis, MUHA director of quality, reviewed new goals and requirements associated with the 2007 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG). Prior to her talk, Ellis  reminded managers that the NPSG are developed based on actual events reported to JCAHO and evaluated by the surveyors that may affect an organization’s score. Patient safety teams will begin reviewing each of the eight goals/standards and assigned to manage specific policies to ensure staff compliance. Teams will also be responsible in evaluating the staff’s educational needs in order to meet these standards.
 
The 2007 standards are: Improve the accuracy of patient identification; Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers; Improve the safety of using medications; Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections; Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care; Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls; Encourage patient’s active involvement in their care and identify safety risks for patient population. For information, visit the 2007 NPSG Web site at
http://www.musc.edu/clined/Ed%20Roll-Out/NPSG.011007.pdf.

Dress code roll-out plan
June Darby, Therapeutic Services director, reported on the Medical Center’s new mandatory uniform policy (Policy A-4) will go into effect Sunday, April 1. The policy promotes the wearing of designated color scrubs as distinguished by role. This does not include employees who work in departments that normally provide scrubs for its employees. The areas required to wear street clothes to work and change into scrubs at work to ensure cleanliness and sterility will not be affected: Labor and Delivery, Main OR, Ambulatory Care OR, Heart & Vascular Center and Interventional Radiology. Administrators and directors are asked to verify a list of employees who will receive this uniform allowance.
 
Managers are encouraged to review these employee lists carefully—adding the names of new employees who are scheduled to begin work in February and deleting the names of individuals who have left. Completed lists must be completed and returned to their administrators by March 5. Lists will then be sent to Patty Burn, Medical Center Payroll, by March 9.
 
The $100 allowance will be distributed to current employees as a separate check for $60.35 (net amount after taxes) for direct deposit March 20.
  
Meanwhile, the hospital will sponsor a scrub sale, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Feb. 22 and 23 in the Children’s Hospital lobby. This will be the last on-site scrubs sale for all hospital areas. To assist with the sale, contact Connie Algae, 792-1174.
 
Finally, posters of MUHA staff in designated scrub color by role will be placed in each hospital unit and department along with pictures on the GetWell Network to inform patients. Darby reminded managers that only inpatient unit clerks will be required  to wear the ceil blue scrub jackets. Details about the new clinical dress code can be found at http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/dresscode/colors.htm.

Courtenay Drive hospital   
As part of the operational planning review, Chris Malanuk, director of strategic planning and project director for the hospital replacement project, gave a brief overview of the hospital construction activities.
 
Malanuk reported on the progress of the new hospital’s exterior including the bridge area that connects the bed tower to the diagnostic treatment building. At this time, crews are beginning final punch lists on the diagnostic and treatment building while others continue working on the architectural elements of the glass curtain wall on the patient tower. During the past month, the west wall of the conservatory was also successfully installed, which completed the exterior enclosure of the building. The Central Energy Plant is now in full operation.
 
Malanuk also reviewed a series of photographs of the building’s interior to illustrate the various stages of construction. While areas in the bed tower continue to progress with framing, rough-in and sheetrock, it was noted that in some areas construction has progressed with finished sheetrock, painting, ceiling grids and tile work. It was also noted that similar conditions exist with the diagnostic and treatment building, though some areas in the lower floors have progressed well into final finishes. He reminded managers of the planned 1,480 space parking garage which will be adjacent to the Central Energy Plant. Garage construction will begin in March.
 
Malanuk concluded with a brief update with the traffic plan and related improvements planned for Courtenay Drive and Bee Street. While the original Phase 1 improvements requirement funding of approximately $16.5 million, only about $4 million was secured ($3.2 million from a federal transportation bill, plus some matching support from the city and Charleston County Council via the half-cent sales tax). Traffic engineers have provided a revised scope of work that can be accomplished with the available funding that may provide improvements on Courtenay and Bee at the most congested intersection with Spring, Cannon and Bee streets. Malanuk reported that the next steps include the development of a formal affiliation agreement with S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and the establishment of a final design process with SCDOT and the city to get the work coordinated.

APOC update 
Mark Daniels, APOC program manager, reviewed progress with the Advanced Point of Care (APOC) Clinical Systems program. Daniels reviewed the latest efforts of several clinical projects featured on the APOC program blueprint. The clinical documentation project is about 90 percent complete. The APOC team utilized numerous clinical experts in the design and work flow of the system. Testing and training with nurse managers in  9 PCU, 2 CCV, 10 East and 10 West will begin March 19 in preparation for an anticipated go-live of April 10.
 
The computerized physician order entry (CPOE) project continues to progress and is about 60 percent complete with building of non-med orderable items. The team is currently collaborating with physicians to review the design of order sets. Michael Irving, Clinical Services Administration, is helping to determine the types, numbers and placement of devices for the rollout group in the adult hospital. They are evaluating medicine carts, computers on wheels (COWS), stationary devices on arms, hand-held portables, scanners, etc.
 
The backload project has commenced. This effort will transfer clinical data captured in Oacis since June 1993 to the McKesson system. Daniels hopes to provide more details and updates on completion time-frames in future reports. As for the clinical portal project, the initial module has been installed. The team is refining the configuration working with physicians and clinicians to determine how this operates. Staff is working with McKesson to create the linkages using the portal to connect to LanVision, etc. Work is also beginning on the bed-side medication administration project.

Education roll-out update
Laurie Zone-Smith, Ph.D. (c), Center for Professional Development & Clinical Education Resources, presented information from the Feb. 1 meeting. The group reviewed information on the A-88 Policy on False Claim Act relating to accuracy with patient billing. Education on this policy will be introduced through CATTS. Much of the group’s focus is on the roll-out of the GetWell Network (GWN). The GWN is currently live in 76 beds of the Children’s Hospital (7A, 7B, 7C, 8D). The adult hospital unit implementation will involve 223 beds (10 East, 8 West, 8 East, 7 West, 6 East, 5 East, 5 L&D, 5 West, PICU and JRU).
 
An hour-long super user training is scheduled from 9 to 10:30 a.m., 2West Amphitheater following the Feb. 15 Education Roll-out meeting. Additional training (with lunch) will occur the week of March 4 to 10 at 11:30 a.m., 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. Other details about the GWN activities and Education Roll-out committee business can be found at http://www.musc.edu/clined/Ed%20Roll-Out/minutes.htm.

Announcements
  • Hope Colyer, Business Development and Marketing Services and manager of the Call Referral Center, introduced members of the physician liaison program, Lindsey Kornahrens, Carrie Gula, Julie Bush and Nancy Springs, to managers. The team regularly meets with physician liaisons, referring physicians, faculty and other health care providers throughout the state to connect resources and coordinate information relating to MUSC activities.
  • Ginny Gambell, communications coordinator, joined the hospital replacement project staff. Gambell will assist in coordinating the new hospital’s communications effort and serves as a resource for coordinating scheduled tours of the facility.
  • Israel Rivers has joined the Oncology Medical/Surgical Division as program coordinator of the Tumor Registry. She joins Karen Austin, Business Manager, Oncology Medical/Surgical Division and manager, Tumor Registry. As of Jan.1, the Oncology Medical/Surgical Division assumed responsibility of the Tumor Registry.
  • Gayle Grieger, has assumed the responsibility of maintaining the changemaster program in Revenue Systems. Grieger, who started with MUSC last May, comes with a wealth of knowledge in billing coding and changemaster maintenance from a multi-hospital setting.
  • Gina Sciarro is the newest member of the Medical Center Volunteer and Information Services staff. Sciarro joins co-worker Elaine Rudd as a volunteer recruiter.
  • Katy Kuder, Medical Center Volunteer and Information Services manager, announced details of the hospital’s new MUSC Candy striper program. The program, created in partnership with Ashley Hall School and teens, 14 and older, will begin Feb. 19. For information, contact the Hospital Volunteer Office, 792-3580 or kuderk@musc.edu.


   

Friday, Feb. 9, 2007
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 catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.