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Currents July 17

To Medical Center Employees:
The Rewards and Recognition (R&R) team is making preparations for selection of the MUSC Medical Center Employee of the Year. Medical center employees are encouraged to submit their “vote” for the Employee of the Year during the period from July 23 to August 3.
 
The R&R team received 54 nominations for Employee of the Year through the open nominations process held July 2-15 on the medical center intranet home page. The team will review all submissions and select finalists that best meet the criteria provided. The top nominations selected by the team will be added to the list of this year’s monthly award winners. 
 
All MUSC employees will be able to vote for one employee from the published list which will be displayed on the intranet Web site (http://www.musc.edu/medcenter).  (Employees who do not have MNA accounts will be provided paper ballots). Names and work locations will not be indicated. Voting will be based upon information provided on the nomination form or the monthly award winners’ Applause cards.
 
The Employee of the Year announcement will be made 2 p.m., Aug. 22 in the Children’s Hospital lobby. The Employee of the Year will receive a variety of prizes including a one-year Wellness Center membership, a free lunch weekly in the cafeteria for one year, a $100 gift certificate and other prizes.
 
I want to thank the R & R team for their work in developing the Employee of the Year Award program. The team plans to enhance the selection process for next year and will be announcing details later. Anyone who would like additional information about the R & R program should contact Katy Kuder (kuderk@musc.edu), team leader, at 792-0858.
 
Medical center town hall meetings are scheduled for July 23 to Aug. 1 and all employees are encouraged to attend. Topics will include a brief update on our goals, a review of the progress with the organizationwide employee perspectives action plan, a discussion of the need to always use the AIDET communication tool (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank You) and an update on Ashley River Tower. The AIDET agenda item involves a powerful message that we all need to understand. The schedule of times and locations is included in this newsletter.

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

Excellence wins
  • The Institute of Psychiatry met its MUSC Excellence patient satisfaction goal for inpatient and outpatient care during fiscal year 2007. IOP achieved an overall 69th percentile of its 62nd percentile.
  • MUSC buzz in The Post and Courier this week (July 16) highlighted a feature about Hollywood film director Michael Moore’s documentary entitled “Sicko,” which featured local response by MUSC’s Pat Cawley, M.D., medical director; MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D.; Keith Borg, M.D., Adult Emergency Department;  Natalie Ankney, R.N., Heart & Vascular Center nurse manager; and Pam Smith, R.N., Pediatric Emergency Department. The July 17 issue featured a front page story about MUSC’s pediatric surgery services (Andrew Tagge, M.D.), a letter to the editor recognizing Doug Norcross, M.D. and the Emergency Department’s trauma team and 7West, editorial piece about the Lowcountry’s uninsured by Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and medical center executive director. See page 4 of The Catalyst.
  • Ambulatory Cares surpassed its MUSC Excellence patient satisfaction goal for fiscal year 2007 in inpatient and outpatient care by achieving the 71st percentile of its 62nd percentile departmental goal.
  • Dave Neff, Ambulatory Care Services, recognized UMA/College of Medicine staff for their MUSC Excellence progress in patient satisfaction at MUSC’s satellite offices.
Stoke certification
On July 20, the Joint Commission will conduct a survey throughout the medical center for primary stroke center certification. This is MUSC’s first disease-specific certification with the Joint Commission and is considered the highest recognition available to identify centers of excellence in stroke care.
 
Areas primarily affected include: Emergency Medicine, Radiology, 7East, 7West, 8East, MICU, NSICU, STICU, CCU and 9PCU. MUSC staff are reminded that the surveyor can go anywhere in the hospital that a patient tracer takes them.
 
The surveyor will be evaluating the following:
--Medical center’s compliance with Joint Commission standards and compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals
--Staff training/competence for care of stroke patients
--Use of clinical practice guidelines
--Patient/family education related to stroke
--Process for acute intervention— Stroke Alert (Call the Brain Attack Team at 792-3333)
--Continuum of care
--Community outreach
 
Managers and staff are encouraged to prepare for this visit by ensuring a clean patient care work area and that hallways are not obstructed.
 
Staff should review the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals and MUHA compliance. The compliance can be found online at http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/JCAHO/source/NPSG.2007MUSCActions.doc.
 
To improve communication among caregivers, staff should verify all critical orders/test results (verbal or telephone) by writing in the medical record and then reading back the information to the physician or provider.
 
Staff are also encouraged to review direct care provider detailed clinical information by visiting http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/JCAHO/source/StrokeTalkingPoints.doc.

Announcements
  • Jo Anne Sandefur is the new Respiratory Therapy manager for Ashley River Tower.
  • Jeralyn Wunderley, R.N., nurse manager 6East, is transferring to the Transplant Center as a liver transplant coordinator effective July 23.
  • Cindy Hough, educator for 6East, will be the interim nurse manager for 6East. Joseph Kessler, R.N., will assume responsibility for coordinating staff education in the unit.
  • Sally Potts, R.N., is the new manager for 7A and 8D in the Children’s Hospital.
  • Paul Bush, PharmD, director of Pharmacy Services, thanked directors, managers and staff for supporting the recent expansion of the medication reconciliation program within Pharmacy Services. This program assures that a thorough history of medications is obtained for every patient and that a reconciling this list with ordered medications enhances patient safety and outcome.
  • Tim Brendle, R.N., Ambulatory Surgery, was named clinical manger for Ambulatory Surgery.  He replaces Angela Czapala in this role.

  • Beginning July 23 to Aug. 3, hospital employees can nominate staff for the Employee of the Year award. The award will be based on behavior-based criteria, over and beyond actions and ability to make a difference. Medical center staff are eligible and may nominate other MUHA, Sodexho or Crothall employees for consideration (only one nomination per employee). Anonymous nominations will not be accepted. Visit http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/eoy.htm.
  • The Night Shift Ice Cream Social will take place from 10 p.m. to midnight, July 25 at the MUSC Cafeteria. Music and prizes will be awarded. Charleston Memorial Hospital and the Institute of Psychiatry staff will be served from 10:30 to 11 p.m. The event is hosted by MUSC Excellence’s Reward and Recognition and Employer of Choice Teams.
  • MUHA’s new hire reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Aug. 8, Storm Eye Institution Atrium. The event is open to employees who have completed the first 90 days of employment and attended the March 3, April 1, April 15 and April 29 new employee orientations.

 
 
   

Friday, July 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.