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Rumor Mill separates fact from fiction Flu Shots Rumor: I heard that the Department of Pharmacy, when asked to designate which employees would be entitled to one of the very limited allotted of flu shots, signed up pharmacists, but not technicians.  Truth: The Department of Pharmacy Services utilizes the criteria developed by the Influenza Vaccine Task Force to determine employee eligibility for the vaccine. Staff  were notified on Nov.  7, 2004 via electronic mail of the process to follow to request the vaccine. The criteria at that time specified that the vaccine will be made available to direct care givers. There are pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and support staff in the Department of Pharmacy Services that meet the criteria,   such as  pharmacy staff that routinely evaluate or meet with patients. Given the varied roles and assignments of staff, an employee should discuss their situation with their coordinator and/or manager to determine eligibility for the vaccine. Erhardt Street Rumor: We hear the university plans to close Erhardt street. It is about only one lane of traffic now because of dirt and stones left from contractors and many potholes. It will be very inconvenient to close this street. Truth: There are no immediate plans to close Erhardt Street. It is a city owned and maintained street, although MUSC recently improved half of the street as a part of our electrical distribution replacement project. The 1998 Vision 2020 Facilities Master Plan does suggest closing the street and replacing it with landscaping and pedestrian walks  in an effort to beautify the campus and make it more pedestrian friendly.  UMS, GEAC and Poor CCIT Performance Rumor: Rumor is that the university is moving to replacing GEAC-Smartstream with UMS beginning with the Human Resources systems, due to poor support and performance by CCIT—ie., outsourcing to a different contractor and scaling back the contract with the CCIT contractor. Is this the current plan by the IT command structure? Truth: GEAC-Smartstream is the MUSC system of record for HR. Payroll, etc.; UMS is only being used as a front end to the GEAC system. There are no plans at this time to replace GEAC. There are no immediate plans to outsource IT staff to another vendor. After the clinical RFP have been resolved, we will look at the business case for continuing to outsource IT FTE's. Holiday Pay Differential Rumor: I hear that a nurse's family is more important than a clinical associate's family during the holidays (source of rumor: The holiday pay differential). Truth: The Medical Center periodically conducts market surveys and establishes  holiday differentials based on data received for various job categories. These rates may vary by job category.  ESL/PTO/Parent Friendly Rumor: I have heard many times that human resources, as well as other higher ranking people at MUSC, are currently reviewing the policy about using paid time off (PTO) when clinics are closed for holidays. As well as the reviewing the extended sick leave (ESL) policy concerning using three days of PTO before you can tap into your ESL. I really hope this is a true rumor and the changes are on the way. Many feel that the current practices are not friendly to parents of sick and/or special needs children. Truth: There have been several inquiries received about this general subject and this response should cover all of them. The paid time off policy was developed in 1999 and 2000 following a review of industry practices. When the PTO accrual rate was initially approved, it was understood that a certain number of days would be needed for incidental sick leave and these hours were factored in for determining the accrual rates. That is, a certain number of hours (PTO use) was anticipated for incidental sick  leave such as routine doctor visits, care of sick children and so forth. Prior to implementation of the PTO plan, some employees expressed concern about an uneven playing field. For example, employees who used little leave for personal or sick-related purposes, compared to others who used more leave felt they were not recognized for their exceptional leave records. The new PTO plan, in part, was intended to also treat this population of employees fairly. While a complete change to the PTO policy is not planned, based on recommendations from the recruitment and retention committee, certain changes to enable more flexibility are planned.  Coffee Cart Rumor: I heard today that the Gourmet Coffee cart is being replaced by a Starbucks. MUSC is always promoting use of the small business man, but we are replacing one with another franchise. Why would we want to do that? Truth: During the last several years the management of Sodexho Dietetic Services received numerous requests from staff, students, and visitors for a Starbucks franchise within the medical center. This, coupled with the uncertainty of the present coffee cart vendor's plans for continuous operation led this department to institute planning and implementation activities that would serve to ensure that our employees, students, and visitors receive a new fresh concept that was continuously asked for. It has never been the intention of this department to deny business opportunity to any small business. In fact, discussions are on-going with the present vendor to upgrade her existing offering to a product line comparable with what is offered by Starbucks. Additionally, as an option, as a result of her years of being allowed to operate a retail activity in the medical center, the present vendor has been asked to consider managing any future operations. As always, our primary goal is to provide the best possible choices to all our staff, visitor, and students. Reproduced from http://www.musc.edu/rumor/.    Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 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 petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.