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At the June 8 communications meeting, we discussed the MUSC Hospital Authority Bill, which the General Assembly recently passed. To become law, the bill must be approved by the governor. We expect the governor to act on the bill within the next few weeks. The information below highlights key elements of the bill and employment issues of interest.

This newsletter has provided continual updates on the authority bill's status. We will hold various meetings and open forums to communicate authority issues with all employees.

W. Stuart Smith, Vice President for Clinical Operations, Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center

Key Elements of the Medical University Hospital Authority Bill

• The MUSC Hospital Authority Bill provides the MUSC board of trustees with flexibility for management and operation of the hospital(s) and clinic(s).
• This bill is in line with recommendations of the state Performance Audit Steering Committee and KPMG Consulting firm. MUSC estimates cost savings of at least $10 million annually.
• The MUSC academic division is not affected.
• Whenever the MUSC board functions as the governing authority of the hospital, the board is designated as the Medical University Hospital Authority.
• The bill exempts the hospital(s) and clinic(s) from central state regulations of procurement, real property and human resources. MUSC must develop procurement and grievance policies for state Budget and Control Board approval.
• Hospital employees will remain state employees for eligibility purposes to participate in state retirement and insurance plans.
• An annual audit by certified public accountants will be conducted and reported to the governor and General Assembly.
• The authority will prepare and submit an annual budget to the General Assembly, and Budget and Control Board for review.
• The authority will continue to offer and provide services necessary for health care professionals' training and education.

Employment Issues of Interest Related to the Authority Bill

• The Medical Center is committed to ensuring the well-being of employees and equal opportunity employment.
• Under the authority, the Medical Center will be exempt from state procurement, capital improvement and human resources regulations.
• The authority bill enables employees to remain in the state insurance and retirement plans. We may look at an alternative retirement plan in the future to better meet employees' needs. However, no one will be asked or required to discontinue participation in the state retirement plan.
• A Medical Center committee, called the "Me Issues Committee," will solicit ideas and questions from employees. Over the next several months, this committee will formulate recommendations for a new grievance policy and leave program.
• While we plan to develop a new paid-time-off program, no employee will lose any accrued annual or sick leave. The new leave program will stipulate accrual rates based on seniority. We will consider best practices from the University HealthSystem Consortium and other sources as we develop a new leave program.
• The Medical Center will not abandon other human resources policies overnight. We will revise and customize existing policies to meet needs as we move forward.
• We anticipate the conversion will not take place until January 2000 or later.

Announcements

• Christine Lewis, manager of Coding and Record Processing for Health Information Services, distributed copies of the new medical record retention policy.
• Y2K message: Preparing for the year 2000 is everybody's job.