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Currents To MUSC Employees: Recently the institution-wide hiring freeze to include the university, Medical Center (Hospital Authority), UMA and Foundation for Research Development was announced. This freeze entails a more stringent and centralized process for reviewing requests for exceptions to fill critical positions than previously in place with the hiring moratorium. To ensure essential staffing needs for patient care services are not compromised, certain positions such as nurses, pharmacists and X-ray technicians are not affected by the freeze. We have been careful to communicate both internally and externally our commitment to ensure continued high quality care and our intent to continue intense recruitment efforts within the competitive labor market for nurses and other essential positions. During this past year, the Medical Center has been successful in reducing staff. At the same time, we have maintained an overall direct care nursing staff ratio that is higher than other acute care hospitals in our state.  Certainly, there are some areas within the Medical Center that have posed more difficult staffing problems than others and we have called upon travel nurses as needed. Our hope is to minimize use of travel nurses when possible by employment of “permanent” nurses. We are committed to high quality care and we are convinced that the RN staffing ratio is directly related to the quality of care and patient satisfaction. Everyone's continued cooperation is needed as we move forward during this challenging time.  Thanks for a job well done. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center   UHC presents comparative data to help in cost savings Representatives from University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) presented their strategic initiatives for 2001 during a daylong visit to MUSC, offering an overview of how comparative operational and performance data can be used as guideposts for cost containment. UHC's database provides comparative information on 100 peer academic medical centers, according to Richard Bankowitz, UHC senior director, who spoke to administrators and managers at the Jan. 23 communications meeting. “UHC has several service designs to assist you in clinical process improvement.” The key is “turning data into knowledge,” he said. Jeff Lerman, UHC coordinator for the operational database program, presented specific examples on how to use the comparative data on items such as labor costs and supply costs.  “This database allows you to customize a plan by following up with better performers,” he said. It gives MUSC a comparative index to evaluate improvements in clinical and operational areas, such as unit cost management, elimination of process defects and efficiency optimization. Standard elements reported at the department level, for example, include answers to questions such as do you send staff home when the census is low? What is your level of product standardization for select cases? Do you utilize protocols? Lerman provided data specific to MUSC, showing how product lines can help to determine when cost savings opportunities exist. He gave illustrations of substantial supply cost savings that could be achieved in product lines such as general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and orthopaedics. Lynne Nemeth, MUSC director of outcomes management, research and development, said MUSC would make use of the data in its benchmarking and process improvement projects.   For more information about the UHC report, contact Nemeth at 792- 9535. Children's Hospital applauded MUSC Children's Hospital, recently named one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in America by Child magazine, was recognized at the Communications Meeting. Carol Dobos, director of Children's Services, invited members of the children's staff to stand amid applause from the nearly 100 managers and administrators present. The magazine conducted an extensive survey of the nation's 178 children’s hospitals, narrowing the list to 50 based on their evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The selection was made based on performance, research capabilities, community outreach and the number of staff board certified in pediatrics. The award recognizes MUSC as offering exceptional medical care in a sensitive child- and family-friendly environment. Medical Center reissuing badges All Medical Center employees will receive new identification badges beginning Jan. 29, according to Dean Braddy, Medical Center Security, who is coordinating the process for the Medical Center. The ID will be a multipurpose badge replacing the STAR card and KANTECH access card and will include the library access code and Scrubs bar code. Braddy said it will take approximately five minutes per person to get a new ID badge. The reissue is expected to take four months to complete. Badges will be reissued in room 260A 2nd Floor Main Hospital (next to Paul Moss) and will be scheduled: Mondays and Wednesdays, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m. Fridays, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. And one Saturday out of each month. Contact Susan Carullo at 792-1684 for more information. W-2 Wage and Tax Statements The 2000 W-2 Wage and Tax Statements are being issued at this time. Employees who converted to the Medical University Hospital Authority payroll will receive two tax statements. Medical Center employees who have questions regarding their W-2 statements should contact Patty Burn, payroll coordinator, at 792-7544.