Currents
April 17
To Medical Center Employees:A series of Medical Center Town Hall meetings will be held from April 23 to May 2. The schedule of times and locations is included in this newsletter. The agenda will include a progress report on our goals, improvements made since the initial July 2005 employee satisfaction survey, general discussion of the new employee perspectives action plan(s); an update on the “naming structure” for the Medical Center and clinical enterprise; and other topics of interest. All employees are encouraged to attend.
The Town Hall meeting scheduled for 6:45 a.m. on April 24 will be attended primarily by staff from the main and ambulatory operating rooms and Anesthesia but is open for all employees. The town hall meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. on April 25 has been designed specifically for Environmental Services employees.
A key purpose of the Town Hall meetings is to communicate progress on our pillar-based goals including service, people, quality, finance and growth and to discuss other topics of interest. We ask that questions be related to the topics being presented. Some attendees have expressed a desire to devote more time for questions and answers. Members of the administrative team will remain on hand following the Town Hall meetings to answer any questions. The administrative team members, including myself, are always available to attend departmental or individual meetings to discuss any concerns in greater detail.
On another matter, at the April 17 management communications meeting Hope Colyer, manager of Referral Services and Communications Team leader, discussed the communication boards. The Communications Team has done an exceptional job in selecting, purchasing, distributing and developing the standards for the communication boards.
The purpose of communication boards is to share timely and consistent information on our pillar-based goals (such as patient satisfaction scores), to spotlight departmental wins, and to post other information of interest. Approximately 220 communication boards were issued during February and March and 50 boards previously existed. Updates on goals are posted monthly on the MUSC Excellence Web site for placement on the boards. Communication board liaisons are designated for all areas to keep the boards up-to-date and auditors have been asked to periodically review the boards and assist any areas as needed.
One of the nine Principles of Excellence which serve as the underpinnings of our MUSC Excellence initiative is Communicate at All Levels. The Town Hall meetings and communication boards are two examples of our efforts to communicate at all levels.
Thanks to all for a job well done.
Sincerely,
W. Stuart Smith
Vice President for Clinical Operations
and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center
Upcoming Town Hall Meetings
April 23: 3:30 p.m., IOP; April 24: 6:45 a.m., Room 100, BSB; April 25: 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. (Environmental Services staff), 2 West Amphitheater; April 25: 6 p.m., 2 West Amphitheater; April 26: 3 p.m., SEI Auditorium; April 27: 7:30 and 11:30 a.m., 2 West Amphitheater; April 30: 11 a.m., SEI Auditorium; May 1: 10 a.m., SEI Auditorium, and 1 p.m., 2 West Amphitheater; and May 2: 7:30 a.m., IOP, and 2 p.m., 2 West Amphitheater
Service—Serving the public with compassion, respect and excellence
Sustainability program
Christine VonKolnitz Cooley, Sustainability Manager with MUSC Engineering and Facilities, reviewed details about the campus’ plans for energy and resource conservation, support for green buildings, waste reduction and reuse, recycling efforts and employee education.
Cooley unveiled how much energy is expended on campus. Each year, MUSC spends almost $15 million ($4 million on natural gas and $10 million on electricity). A primary reason for this is campus growth and the equipment to support it.
MUSC Engineering and Facilities created a sustainability program to explore ways for the campus to reduce costs by saving energy, conserving water and recycling.
Starting in May, Engineering & Facilities will begin shredding office paper in compliance to HIPPA regulations for the entire campus. Cooley reminded managers and staff to keep recycling bins free of plastics, needles, gloves, metal, glass and other trash. Look for additional details about this project in the near future.
For information, call 792-4119 or visit http://www.musc.edu/recycle/.
ecare update
- Allergy Integration Project: As of the evening of April 17, this project will be activated. Allowing all allergies to be entered into the pharmacy system and core clinical system (CPOE).
- Clinical Documentation Project: The May 8 roll out is on schedule at 9 PCU. Final details are being completed. DAZ and other testing continue.
- Admin-RX Project: Bedside med administration staff looking at devices, workflow, packaging, training, etc. This project will roll out at 2CCV in June.
- Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) Project: With medication orderable items now complete, the project is to currently building on other orderables (individual orders) for nursing/labs/radiology procedures, tests, etc. About 85 percent of non-medication orderable items are completed. Next, the team will build admission order sets, which allow users the ability to click to an order set and generate multiple orders simultaneously. The Cardiology-focused pilot is scheduled for July. Organizers are finalizing a training plan and reviewing workflow issues related to implementing this project with patients.
Communication board update
Hope Colyer, Communications Team leader, presented an update about the MUSC Excellence Communication Boards, which were distributed to 220 areas within the Medical Center in March. The team is preparing to conduct board audits the week of April 23. The boards are used as a tool for communicating MUSC Excellence key information to staff.
The team identified leadership facilitators within the different administrative areas to help oversee the audit process. They are Linda Randazzo, Ambulatory Care; Steven Godbolt, Children’s Hospital; Dianne Gay and Kim Harris-Eaton, Clinical Services; Janice Pappas, Finance; Alexis Grant, Heart & Vascular; and Harriet Cooney, IOP.
The facilitators will develop their own audit process using the necessary tools provided by the Communications Team.
Facilitators will evaluate boards using pass/revisit criteria and provide feedback for improvements. Additionally, facilitators will interview staff for their input and suggestions. Completed forms will be sent to MUSC Excellence leadership to review each area’s progress with Excellence initiatives.
Board coordinators are responsible for updating the boards each month. Organizational information can be found at http://mcintranet.musc.edu/muscexcellence/boards.htm. Auditors will work closely with board coordinators to regularly review the boards and discuss specific issues to help track MUSC Excellence progress. Audits will be conducted at 60 days (June 25 week) and 90 days (Sept. 24 week) and continue on a 90-day quarterly schedule.
2007 Nurses Week
Pam Smith, chair of the Nurse Alliance and co-chair of 2007 Nurses Week Committee, unveiled plans for Nurses Week, May 6-12. The committee embraced this year’s theme “Nursing: a profession and a passion.”
The schedule includes: May 7— Nurse of the Year celebration, 9:30 a.m., Room 100 BSB, and at noon, SEI Auditorium, Nurses Week keynote speaker Barbara McLean; May 8—Educational and Organizational Fair, Children’s Hospital Lobby; May 9—Nurses Art Show/Fair, HCC Lobby; May 10—Nurses Build Day: Habitat for Humanity (organizers are looking for 30 nurse volunteers to help build a house on King Street); May 11—Nursing Excellence Day, SEI auditorium; and May 12— Florence Nightingale’s Traveling Birthday Party (all inpatient units).
The committee will also be selling flowers, May 7 and 8, to help employees recognize their favorite nurse. Also during Nurses Week, MUSC nurses can exercise for free (by showing their employee ID) at the MUSC Wellness Center and Pivotal Fitness in Summerville.
Education roll-out update
Results from the committee’s April 5 meeting include:
- Admin-RX Project: The group responded to a request to distribute workflow and planning changes to nursing staff prior to the planned summer roll-out of the project, the new bar coding, point-of-care system within Horizon Clinicals that features new barcode scanning system and electronic medication administration to manage all patient medications. The information, which was distributed to nurse educators within hospital units, reminds nursing staff of the Admin-RX project and what changes that will take place early on in the planning and implementation process. Pharmacy Services would like to receive feedback and recommendations from nursing to offset any project workflow issues.
- New Online Facilities Management Forms: Forms for basic, non-critical work orders were discussed. The forms will replace the admin approval form and furniture request.
HR update
- The Medical Center will be celebrating National Hospital Week, May 6-12. Further details will be e-mailed and available for managers on the MUHA intranet Web site.
- A new anti-harassment lesson has been assigned in CATTS to all Medical Center employees. Staff must complete this training by Dec. 1.
- Mark Stimpson, Benefits and Records Manager, announced results from a committee charged with limiting the use of employee social security numbers to a minimum. Next month, Medical Center employees will be assigned new identification numbers to safeguard staff against identity theft. Information will be available via My Records or other secure server site.
Stroke certification progress
Sharon DeGrace, director of Critical Care Services and Emergency Services and a member of the hospital’s Stroke Certification Steering Committee, reported that part 1 of MUSC’s application for stroke certification was recently accepted by the Joint Commission and that part 2 will be submitted by April 20.
As part
of MUSC’s effort to earn
certification as a Primary Stroke Center, the Joint Commission will be
visiting the Medical Center prior to July 1 to evaluate stroke care at
MUSC. DeGrace reminded managers that the Joint Commission’s visit will
imply tracer methodology. The surveyor may need to visit multiple areas
of the hospital beyond the ED and primary and secondary in-patient
stroke units. Department managers, especially in Radiology, are urged to take time to review departmental records for staff competencies, environment of care, etc. A broadcast message regarding the Joint Commission’s visit will be distributed once the survey date has been confirmed.
Announcements
- The next Medical Center LDI #6 is scheduled for June 6 and 7 at the North Charleston Convention Center. Watch for information on a visit by Quint Studer.
- In light of the April 16 Virginia Tech campus tragedy, University Risk Management, Safety, Security and Volunteer Services and Hospital Communications leaders are collaborating to evaluate the Medical Center’s communications system with the rest of campus. Look for follow-up information.
- Pamela Marek reminded managers to submit their Action O-I data for the third quarter of fiscal year 2007 (January to March). The data is due into the system by May 16. Action O-I training classes will be scheduled on the hour and half hour from 8 until 11 a.m., April 27 and from 2 to 4:30 p.m., May 1. Training will occur in the small training area, Room 271, main hospital. For information, call 792-8793.
Friday, April 20, 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.