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Currents To Medical Center Employees: A goal of our customer service (“first impressions”) and management  training program is to enhance patient satisfaction and employee retention. We have sought to provide the management team with meaningful data to monitor our progress. The intent is for managers and administrative staff to examine the data, raise questions as needed to understand or clarify the data and to share this information with staff. Recently the Quality Management Department began issuing electronically a “Patient Satisfaction Report Card” that summarizes satisfaction scores for inpatient units and emergency services. The goals are taken from the National Research Corporation’s benchmark of the top 10 percent for the various domains (i.e. recommend to others, helpfulness, dignity and respect, etc.).  Also, the management team has now begun receiving Intranet-based reports on employee turnover. The intent is to use turnover as a general indicator of employee satisfaction. Certainly a reasonable amount of turnover is going to occur, but managers are being asked to address any evidence of excessive turnover and determine any solutions needed to correct problems.  Anyone who would like additional information regarding these tools can contact their manager, Rosemary Ellis, director of quality (Ellisro@musc.edu) or Jane Smith, H R information systems coordinator (Smithjan@musc.edu). Thank you very much. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center STAR Productions presents ‘Twister,’ MUSC disaster preparedness Al Nesmith, Safety, Security, and Volunteer Services director, opened his presentation on disaster preparedness with a scene from the movie “Twister,” depicting a family seeking shelter from an oncoming tornado.  Nesmith reminded managers that while MUSC must be prepared for any type of disaster, hurricanes are the main concern right now, as the season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. The emergency notification steps for MUHA’s hurricane preparedness are: Weather Watch—An announcement that weather conditions may worsen or become threatening/dangerous within 36 hours. Staff should begin preparedness steps like reviewing staffing levels, stocking supplies and stocking supplies. Weather/Hurricane Warning—An announcement that weather conditions may worsen or become threatening/dangerous within the next 24 hours. Department heads should begin finalizing plans and notify staff of eminent weather. Weather Emergency—An announce-ment that weather conditions have advanced to the threatening/dangerous stage. The suspected weather conditions are expected within 12 hours. Nesmith told managers that designated employees are responsible for staffing the medical center during disasters. Individuals should expect to stay up to three days, be prepared to perform regular duties and additional duties, as well as work flexible schedules. Designated employees are responsible for bringing supplies including money, personal medications, water, food (i.e. canned food, bread, crackers, peanut butter etc.), comfortable work clothing and shoes, personal hygiene items and toiletries, flashlight, sleeping materials, battery operated radios, and employee identification (all supplies should last three to four days).  The Medical Center also arranges group pick-ups in the event of a hurricane. Current pick-up points are the Regal Cinema in Charlestown Square, the Big Lots entrance at Ashley Plaza Mall, Cross Creek Shopping Center behind the McDonalds on Folly Road, Earthfare at South Windemere Shopping Center, and Staples at Houston Northcutt Plaza in Mount Pleasant. In the event an individual employee decides to drive into Charleston, he or she must display an “emergency worker” placard on the rearview mirror. Managers needing more placards for new employees can call Tracy Washington at 792-6902. In the event of a disaster, employees are encouraged to seek child, elder, and pet care outside of the medical center. However, other options on campus are currently being discussed. Managers should review and update, as needed, their listings of “designated employees” whose presence is essential for patient care and support. As needed for staffing, designated employees may include a “primary response team” (Team A) and a “relief team” (Team B). Refer to the MUSC Medical Center Policy Manual (Staffing During Emergencies and Disasters Policy A-42 and Weather Emergency Plan Policy A-64) and Medical Center HR Hazardous Weather and Emergencies Policy 13 for additional details. Implementation plan for PeopleAdmin system Susan Carullo, Employment and Compensation manager, described the process for implementation of the new human resources online application system, PeopleAdmin. The proposed “go live” date is July 9 and will include new and quarterly postings.  Carullo said one goal of human resources with this rollout is to help eliminate some of the clutter in the current system. Managers were encouraged to group posted positions into three categories: Positions more than six months old should be voided. If the position is still a valid vacancy, then the process will start over with a new PEAR form from the department and entry in the new system. Positions less than six months old and have a sufficient applicant pool will not be transferred to the new system until the manager acts on all current applicants and determines a suitable candidate does not exist in the current pool. Positions less than six months old and lacking a sufficient applicant pool will be transferred to the new system using the current PEAR. Each recruiter will work with their assigned departments to determine which current vacancies should be voided, or taken off the posting until the current application pool has been evaluated. PeopleAdmin training is scheduled for the June 24 communications meeting with training for business managers and additional department users following that meeting. For more information, call Carullo at 792-1684. Policy updates Rosemary Elllis, Quality director, reported several policy updates, including: C-07 Abuse Identification: Policy was updated to reflect the current practice of obtaining written authorization for any necessary referrals. C-15 Guidelines for Determination of Brain Death: Policy revised to reflect current criteria and practice, delineating level of house staff involvement. C-51 Access to Protective Services: Policy revisited to reflect current practice of information resources. C-68 Standing Orders: Policy revised to reflect current criteria for standing orders. Standing Orders must be on pre-printed order sheets, reviewed by MEC and appropriately documented. Standing Orders must be reviewed annually. For information contact Ellis at 792-0855.