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Currents July 10 To Medical Center Employees: At the July 9 communications meeting Rob Fowler, chief meteorologist for Channel 2, updated the management team on the outlook for the hurricane season. Mr. Fowler reported the forecast is for an active hurricane season. He explained that new models enable better forecasting of the intensity and movement of storms.   Mr. Fowler emphasized that we must all be personally prepared. Many of us are expected to be on the job during a hurricane and this underscores the need to make plans for our families now.   Over the years Mr. Fowler and his Channel 2 associates have provided our Incident Command Team with the most up-to-date weather details as storms have developed. We are most appreciative for this valuable service that he and others at Channel 2 have provided.   Everyone needs to be familiar with the Medical Center and departmental policies on weather emergencies and staffing. Additional details are included in this newsletter.   On another matter, a series of Medical Center town hall meetings will be held from July 23 to Aug. 1. The times and locations are included in this newsletter.   The town hall meeting agenda will include a brief update on our goals, a review of progress with the organization-wide employee perspectives survey action plan, a discussion of the need to always use the AIDET communication tool and an update on Ashley River Tower. Information will be available including this year’s compensation plan, a summary of narrative comments included in the April 2007 town hall evaluations and other hand outs. All employees are encouraged to attend. Thank you very much. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center July town hall meetings Monday, July 23, 3:30 p.m., IOP Auditorium; Tuesday, July 24, 6:45 a.m., Room 100 Basic Science Building; Wednesday, July 25, 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m. (Environmental Services staff), and 6 p.m., SEI Auditorium; Thursday, July 26, 2:30 p.m., SEI Auditorium; Friday, July 27, 7:30 and 11 a.m., 2West Amphitheater; Monday, July 30, 3 p.m., 2West Amphitheater; Tuesday, July 31, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., 2 West Amphitheater; Wednesday, Aug. 1, 7:30 a.m., IOP Auditorium and 2 p.m., 2West Amphitheater People—Fostering employee pride and loyalty Al Nesmith, Safety, Security and Volunteer director, introduced guest Rob Fowler, chief meteorologist for WCBD-TV Channel 2, who reviewed the latest predictions and preparation plans for the 2007 hurricane season and the Eastern U.S. region, which includes South Carolina.   Fowler distributed copies of the 2007 Storm Team 2 Hurricane Ready Guide. This year’s hurricane season is expected to bring 15 named storms. Of that number, nine will develop into hurricanes with five likely to become hurricanes of category 3 to category 5 magnitude.   New technology like the WARF radar, used by the National Weather Service, will measure wind direction and speeds to improve forecasting and storm accuracy days in advance of a storm’s projected path.   Also at the meeting, Nesmith distributed emergency worker access hangtags and revised general/employee emergency information (green) cards for distribution to key personnel. To request additional tags and cards, contact Angela Ladson, 792-6902. Standard of Behavior for July Dave Rivito, Environmental Services director, announced July’s standard, sponsored by his department, which focuses on maintaining a clean workplace.      July Standard of Behavior: I will take pride in the workplace and keep my work area clean by cleaning up litter, debris and spills promptly.    Rivito also introduced Rebecca Smith, former patient ambassador and now customer relations manager within the department. Smith’s new role improves consistency and quality of service for patients and employees. Within the next months, Smith hopes to meet with unit managers and nursing staff to communicate needs and discuss ideas and solutions to meet goals. Questions can be sent to Smith at smithrea@musc.edu. Employee Benefit of July—Health 1st Annie Lovering, R.N., MUSC wellness coordinator for Health 1st, shared details about the program as the July Benefit of the Month and ideas emphasizing MUSC as a facility promoting wellness. Information can be found at http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/health1st. Color-coded food labels—Health 1st has initiated a campaign working with dietetic services to label food choices and entrees in the hospital cafeteria. Labels featuring color-coded green, yellow and red stop signs encourage healthy food choices. The project will extend to vending machine items as well. Wellness on Wheels—Project offers a series of 10-to-30-minute classes during staff meetings. Author Steven Aldana’s book, “The Culprit and the Cure,” will be the text and copies will be distributed to all class participants.   Employees may register at health1st@musc.edu. Wellness Wednesdays—Held Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Children’s Hospital Lobby. Speakers from the Digestive Disease Center will speak about various topics on July 11. Worksite Screening Program—Employees can now participate in preventive health screenings at MUSC. Co-payment is $15 for subscribers to employee health plans. A screening will take place from 7-11 a.m., July 19, Room 102, Education Center/Library Building. Participants must pre-register and pay by July 18. Call 792-9959 for information and appointments. HCC Mobile Van Visit—On July 18, the van will be parked at the MUSC Horseshoe from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 792-0878 to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome with a doctor’s order. Stress Management Workshop— This event will take place between noon and 1 p.m., July 27, Room 102, Education Center/Library Building. Register via e-mail at health1st@musc.edu. Back Injury Prevention—This event will take place from noon to 1 p.m., Aug. 2, 2West Amphitheater. Register via e-mail at health1st@musc.edu. Colon Cancer Awareness Free Lunch-and-Learn—Open to the first 50 people, the event will occur between noon and 1 p.m., Aug. 27, 2 West Amphitheater. Register via e-mail at health1st@musc.edu. MUSC Wellness Team Competition —Competition is already under way. May’s winning team was the Green Team, led by coach Ashley Leinback from IOP. Chiaki Kight, coach for the Comptroller Office’s team, the Financial Fury, accepted an award recognizing the group’s win in June’s competition. Departments may still form teams (up to 10 members).   Participants receive a logbook, T-shirts and pedometers to mark their progress. Contact Lovering at Health1st@musc.edu. HR update Primary source verification for positions requiring certification, licensure and registration should be conducted at the time of renewal. This applies to MUHA, UMA, university employees, students and contract staff working at the medical center. Departments are reminded to enter the renewal information via CATTS. Position/Employee Action Request (PEAR) forms for new hires should be completed and submitted to HR as soon as a position is filled, but no later than the Wednesday prior to orientation. HR is now using the new employee ID numbers. As a reminder, new hires will not be assigned an ID number until PEAR forms are submitted. Managers interviewing MUHA employees for internal job positions are asked to contact HR or their current manager regarding internal references. References must be factual. The quarterly management orientation has been changed to Aug. 1 and Aug 3. Employees may register via CATTS. HR will contact those individuals who have pre-registered. The medical center’s 2007 Employee Perspective Survey will be available online from Aug. 13-27. Everyone is encouraged to help meet the hospital’s 100 percent participation goal. Finance—Providing the highest value to patients while ensuring financial stability Finance update Steve Hargett, MUSC Medical Center controller, provided the medical center’s financial statement ending in May.   Hospital auditors, KPMG, began their second term of a five-year contract with MUHA and conducted an interim audit work visit in June to review the hospital’s financial position for previous nine months ending in March. KPMG will return in August to focus on data from the last three months.     Hargett also reported an increase in total operating revenue of  more than $61 million from 2006. Factors driving up the gross and net revenues include: patient census (3.8 percent increase); inpatient surgeries (6 percent increase); outpatient (3 percent increase); transplants (36 percent increase) and increases in deliveries and emergency room visits.      Medicare length of stay decreased slightly from 5.4 to 5.6 days since last year. Also, overall length of stay decreased from 5.6 to 5.42.   Operating expenses increased to $57 million (volume-driven). Supply costs also increased, due to inflation, by 4.7 percent compared to 2006.   Current productivity remains average, except for May, when the hospital increased by 3 percent. Operating income is $38 million and net income is $30 million. Operating margin is 5.4 percent, which is ahead of the pillar goal of 5 percent.   As of May, the hospital continues to sit in a strong cash position of $68.7 million or 35.2 days. Quality—Providing quality patient care in a safe environment Organizational report card To help promote MUSC Excellence progress and organizational goals, plus communicate the monthly standard/benefit themes, Hope Colyer, communications team leader, has committed to provide this information regularly at the end of each month via the medical center intranet and at the hospital communications meeting. Color copies of each month’s organizational goal chart can be available by request.   Contact Jane Scutt, institutional relations, at scuttj@musc.edu. Growth—Growing to meet the needs of those we serve ACC update Marilyn Schaffner, Ph.D., R.N., gave a report responding to the most common questions relating to the opening of Ashley River Tower (ART): Beds for ART: Hospital selected Stryker Bed frames for the facility; Bed surfaces for critical care—AtmosAir by KCI; Med/Surg—AccuMax by Encompass/BG North America; and Bariatric—KCI. Research and results were provided by Pam Srinivas, Therapeutic Services, and her team of hospital employees. Parking: It’s been confirmed that Roper Hospital staff will not be parking at the Hagood lot. Roper has secured parking by The Citadel with additional surface space parking nearby. They also will be contracting a separate bus service for transportation. Smart Track Boards at ART: Organizers have planned for these items in the IT budget. Transportation of patients after ART opening: A proposal waspresented that evaluated resources needed to transporting patients via Meducare vehicles when the new facility opens. Three scenarios were reviewed based on 25 percent, 50 percent,or 100 percent occupancy of units that will be moving to ART. A formula /template was developed to provide exact numbers of vehicles needed to transport patients to ART on the day of opening.  Announcements Helena Walo, R.N., is the new interim manager on 8East. She was previously a staff nurse and former nurse educator on the unit and will continue in the educator role at this time. Laurie Zone-Smith, R.N., Ph.D., was named interim manager on 8West replacing Yvonne Martin, R.N., who assumed a new role July 8 as MUHA Nursing Outreach and Retention coordinator. Denise Wiese is the new volunteer manager at Hollings Cancer Center. She comes to MUSC with previous experience working with organizations such as Families of Fallen Policemen, Americorps and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. Katy Kuder, Hospital Volunteer Services manager, reminded hospital staff that they can nominate individuals for the Employee of the Year award. Nominations may be submitted online from July 2 through 15. Medical center staff is eligible and may nominate another MUHA, Sodexho or Crothall employee for consideration (only one nomination per employee). Anonymous nominations will not be accepted.   MUHA staff will then be able to vote for Employee of the Year, July 23 through Aug. 3, via the medical center intranet. Visit http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/eoy.htm. Alan Edwards is the administrative resident for hospital administration. A graduate of MUSC’s masters in health administration program, Edwards will be working in various capacities throughout the medical center. The July 17 Hospital Communications Meeting will take place in Room 100, Basic Science Building.     Friday, July 13, 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.