Currents
The Medical Center town hall meetings held on Jan. 26 appear to have been well received. Three sessions were held and more than 300 individuals attended. Topics presented included an overview of the Get Well Network and implementation plans, a progress report on the Medical Center’s tactical plan and an update on the Phase I hospital facility construction. Questions were also addressed. Town hall evaluation forms were returned by 138 attendees. The evaluation tool served to rate the usefulness of the meeting and whether the times were convenient. Also narrative comments were solicited through the evaluation form. The evaluation forms indicated 95 percent of attendees agreed to strongly agree the information shared was valuable and 92 percent agreed to strongly agree the meeting times were suitable. The narrative comments including suggestions and concerns were helpful. The comments will soon be posted on the Medical Center’s Intranet site. A number of comments suggested that we make future town hall meeting information more accessible through web casts or video and this will be done. Several suggestions were made to devote more time for questions and answers and we’ll be sure to do this in the future. Also, among other things, I will use future releases of this newsletter as a vehicle to address the suggestions and concerns as best possible. Thank you very much. Sincerely,
Nursing committee to raffle pampering itemsYvonne Martin, chair of the 2005 Nurses Week Committee, displayed a basket full of “Pamper Yourself” items to be raffled during the month of February to raise money for the Nurses Week fund. Originally set for Valentine’s Day, the committee decided to extend and promote it through the month with a raffle drawing date set for Feb. 28.“Pamper Yourself—A Mid-Winter Treat” will charge $1 per ticket for a chance to win the basket full of items valued at a total of $350. The basket contains: gift certificate to Magnolias, Blossoms or Cypress; gift certificate to Carrabbas Lire: Outback, Flemings, Roys, Bonefish Grill, Cheeseburger in Paradise, or Lee Roy Selmons; gift certificate to The Spa at Charleston: one hour massage; two bottles of wine; wine glasses and chocolates; Hickory Farms gift set; scented candles: two sets; CD: Johnny Mathis love songs; Jubilees Teas in Canisters: two tins; cheese tray and napkins; and two tickets to the S.C. Aquarium. Martin encouraged those present to pick up packets of 20 tickets each to sell in their work areas. She said that during the month the basket would be floating from location to location around the Medical Center for general ticket sales. A second fundraiser, Martin said, would be repeat of last year’s chili sale. She said that selling hot chili on a cold day proved to be an excellent way to raise money, and the committee had decided to do it again. Magnet Hospital
Following a video of testimonials by CEOs, physicians and registered nurses at Magnet hospitals around the country, Zone-Smith displayed a Magnet Bound! banner to be posted in areas around the hospital to “get the word out that we are excited about going for this award. And if anybody asks, this is the Web site you can go to find out more about it.” The Catalyst has also started a Magnet Bound! corner to provide regular updates on the progress and events to celebrate milestones toward the magnet designation. The banner Web site is: http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/nursing/magnet/index.htm. Zone-Smith explained that recognition as a Magnet hospital means the hospital has achieved the “gold standard” for excellence in nursing services, demonstrating high performance in the attraction and retention of high quality registered nurses. Magnet hospitals create a working environment that supports the staff nurse and superior nursing practice to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Magnet also creates a positive “halo” effect beyond nursing services that is transferred to all health care team members reinforcing collaborative working relationships with one goal—optimal patient care. Of the more than 5,000 health care facilities in the United States and internationally, only 102 have been awarded Magnet status as of Feb. 2. She said there are four groups that compose MUSC's Magnet Plan. A Magnet steering committee, made up of many individuals across the organi-zation has been in the process for about two years in getting the word out, communicating what magnet is all about at staff, physician, and leadership meetings, and at workshops and conference presentations. The Magnet Data Quality Committee collects all the data for the National Database for Nursing Quality (NDNQI) Indicators, “the nursing sensitive indicators that make a real difference in patient care. This group is working hard at getting together the nursing dashboards, which will have 10 to 12 indicators.” The Magnet Forces Committee has seven separate groups looking at the 14 forces of magnetism, forces that identify a Magnet hospital. Examples of the forces include quality of care and quality improvement, professional models of care, quality of nursing leadership, interdisciplinary relationships, community and the health care organ-izations and how autonomy is built-in to nursing practice in the organization. “These groups are now meeting and you may have heard about the brainstorming sessions that are going on at lunchtime in the first couple weeks of February. We invite everybody to participate. We’re trying to identify our examples from the hospital that meet those forces of excellence.” For the complete listing of luncheon forces of magnetism meeting visit http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/nursing/magnet/forces_brainstorming.htm. Zone-Smith said that the story of how this hospital is unique in regards to how it exemplify excellence in patient care through examples of interdisciplinary relationships will be told. “And then we’re going to write our story all together. “We encourage you to participate and to think of outstanding projects that you have accomplished through collaborative and integrated efforts with nurses and interdisciplinary health care team members. You all have achieved great outcomes and we want to hear about it.” In the words of Dennis Frazier, MUSC administrator of facilities and capital improvements: “We are Magnivated (excited about the Magnet Program).” Tactical Plan Update
As seen on the tactical plan Web site, the financial margins so far this year is 3.5 percent, which is in line with the annual target. In updating the specific work groups, the CRVC has established a list of items that they will be reviewing during the coming year. In addition to a periodic review of the Cap Gemini initiatives, they will be working on the following projects:
The Utilization Review Work Group is reviewing the report that was presented by the consultant group, and further information will be presented next quarter. The Managerial Control Work Group has targeted three areas of focus.
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