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Currents To MUSC Employees: Recently the MUSC Board of Trustees approved the purchase of Charleston Memorial Hospital through an innovative purchase agreement reached with the county. The net result will be a win-win situation for the county, general public, CMH employees and MUSC. The purchase is expected to go into effect on June 30. CMH employees will maintain their employment and will be converted to the Medical University Hospital Authority’s (Medical Center's) payroll. Since July 2000, approximately 100 CMH employees have been reassigned to the Medical Center. These reassignments have been accomplished without difficulty. Plans call for the remaining CMH employees (approximately 135) to convert to the Medical Center's payroll in July with no break in service. It is expected that most CMH employees will maintain their current work locations but, like other Medical Center employees, some individuals could be reassigned to other locations to meet service delivery needs. We are pleased with the successful resolution of the CMH purchase. This purchase will serve the best interests of all concerned parties. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and  Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center   Survey designed to improve campus safety, security The MUSC Office of Risk Management encourages all employees to complete the Campus Safety and Security Survey to help in improving the safety and well-being of employees, patients, students and visitors, said Wayne Brannan, director of MUSC Risk Management, during the Feb. 6 Communications Meeting. The survey, while voluntary, is an important tool in helping pinpoint areas of concern, Brannan said. Surveys can be obtained through the MUSC Web site, Student Life and The Catalyst.  Respondents are asked to indicate how safe they feel on campus, to site specific areas they perceive to be unsafe and areas that would benefit from increased lighting, more emergency call boxes or camera surveillance. The survey asks about a respondent’s familiarity with various safety measures already available, such as the orange call boxes and the Department of Safety's escort service, along with the need for crime prevention seminars. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued an alert about workplace violence, recommending that a survey on workplace safety be done, Brannan said. For more information, contact Brannan at 792-3055. Team MUSC stories needed Lynne Barber, manager of Medical Center Marketing, encouraged administrators and staff to identify patients who might participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run as members of Team MUSC. “We would like to share their stories,” she said, emphasizing that patients unable to run or walk the race themselves could have friends, family and caregivers walk on their behalf. Contact Willette Smith in marketing at 792-1987. Computers to be replaced The two-year leases on many of the ClinLAN PCs will expire during the next several months, according to Dave Northrup, director of CCIT health care computing services. These computers need to be replaced, he said.  ClinLAN PCs will see a prompt that requests information related to the current location and a contact phone number for each PC. This information will assist CCIT and Dell in arranging for the replacement equipment. If you have any questions, please contact the CCIT Help Desk at 792-9700.  Sentinel Event alert response The Medical University Hospital Authority is taking a pro-active stance toward Sentinel Events, according to Interim Risk Manager, Nancy Pope.   Based on Joint Commission programs designed to help organizations create a culture of safety that reduces the risk of sentinel events, the Risk Reduction  Subcommittee is circulating sentinel event alerts that ask respondents to identify:  Which root causes outlined in the Sentinel Event Alert are present in our organization and are opportunities for improvement?  What risk reduction strategies have already been implemented to address identified risks?  Any risk reduction strategies that are planned for implementation.  Any assistance requested from the Quality Council.  The Risk Reduction Subcommittee of the Quality Council sends out the Sentinel Event Alerts in order to have a risk assessment completed by those who have a good base of knowledge of the issue, Pope said. The recommendations then will be reviewed by the subcommittee for necessary action. “Don't be surprised if you get one,” Pope said, adding, “please respond to the coordinator of the alert.” State offers new retention incentive program for retirement  Employees eligible for retirement now have a new option available to them that will allow the accumulation of retirement benefits without terminating employment, according to Janet Browning, manager of benefits, records and training, who spoke at the communications meeting.  The new option comes as a result of state legislation that was put into effect Jan. 1. Any employee eligible to retire may choose to participate in the Teachers and Employees Retention Incentive (TERI) program and defer retirement benefits for up to five years.  Participating employees will not make retirement contributions—a deduction of 6 percent—or receive additional service credit, however, the Medical Center would continue to pay the required employer contribution to the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS). All other deductions would remain the same. An employee participating in the TERI program would not be insured for one year's budgeted salary or disability retirement benefits.  While employees continue to earn leave while working under the TERI program, paid time off (PTO) up to a maximum of 360 hours will be paid out to the employee based on the TERI effective date. These paid hours will be subtracted from the employee's PTO bank. Any PTO hours in excess of 360 will remain in the employee's PTO bank. Extended Sick Leave (ESL) hours of up to 720 will be recorded and added to the employee’s service credit based on the TERI effective date, and will be subtracted from the active ESL bank.  Under the TERI program, the employee is exempt from the earning limitation. Upon termination, an employee can be rehired subject to the earning limitation, which is currently $25,000, according to Browning. The employee's retirement benefits are placed in a special retirement payroll account, and upon termination of employment or at the end of the TERI period, whichever is earlier, will receive the accumulated retirement payments in either a taxable, lump-sum distribution or through a rollover into a qualified, tax-sheltered program.  Upon actual termination of employment, the employee begins to receive a monthly service retirement pension based on the highest 36 months of pay, plus the PTO payout based on the TERI effective date. The monthly benefit from the retirement system includes any applicable cost-of-living raises granted during the TERI period.  For more information, contact Janet Browning at 792-1208 or Katy Kuder at 792-0858. American Red Cross donor center Jan Sullivan, R.N., of the American Red Cross is asking departments to sponsor blood donations. The Donor Center is located in Room 273 of the Main Hospital and is open each Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 792-0219.