MUSC Medical Links Charleston Links Archives Medical Educator Speakers Bureau Seminars and Events Research Studies Research Grants Catalyst PDF File Community Happenings Campus News

Return to Main Menu

Currents

To Medical Center Employees:
At the Sept. 27 communications meeting Melinda Anderson, MUSC director of Parking Management, and John Runyon, director of MUSC Business Services, updated the management team on progress being made with parking arrangements and bus services. Their comments were greeted with applause by the management team and are highlighted below.
 
The partnership with CARTA, as described by Mr. Runyon, should improve campus bus services beginning Oct. 10 during peak morning and evening hours. Additionally, the arrangement MUSC has made to enable free bus transportation within the basic CARTA system for all MUSC employees will be a good added benefit. Also, it is anticipated that in the future CARTA will establish express route services which will be available to employees at a special rate. 
 
On another matter, the management team will be given in-depth briefings on Oct. 13 and 25, covering the results of the recent Employee Satisfaction Survey.  Managers will also receive instructions on how to conduct roll-out meetings to inform all employees in their respective areas. The goal will be to focus on our strengths and examine areas of concern. We will use the results of the survey to improve our work environment, enhance communication and as a reference point as we embark upon “hardwiring excellence” in the months ahead. 
 
Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

W. Stuart Smith
Vice President for Clinical Operations
and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center

Open enrollment time to make changes

Janet Browning of Human Resources announced that the month of October is the opportunity for Medical Center and university employees to enroll and make changes in their employee benefits
 
Here’s what you need to know for open enrollment, Oct. 1 through 31:
In general: The Benefits Office will be open from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees who want to make a change must complete an NOE (notice of enrollment). No changes will be made on the telephone. No alterations of mistakes can be made on the form or it will be rejected by the state. In special circumstances, a form will be mailed to an employee or spouse. By example, Browning said, a form will be mailed if a spouse is deployed to Iraq or in the case of a woman who is pregnant and may be confined to bed rest.
 
All NOEs must be in Human Resources by Oct. 31 and completed in black ink. The effective date for open enrollment changes will be Jan. 1.
 
What you can do:
  • Change health plans,
  • Add or delete dental and/or DentalPlus,
  • Add or delete dependents to health, dental, and life insurances,
  • Increase/add Optional Term Life (OTL) insurance by $30,000.(without medical evidence)—employee only,
  • Delete Optional Term Life (OTL) insurance, add/change/delete spouse life insurance (without medical evidence up to $20,000).
  • Add/delete dependent life insurance.
  • Enroll or re-enroll in the MoneyPlus Daycare Account.
  • Enroll or re-enroll in the MoneyPlus Medical Spending Account (must be in a benefits position for at least one year prior to Jan. 1, 2006 in order to participate).
  • Add a Health Savings Account— Enrollees of State Saving Health Plan only.
  • Enroll in Supplemental Long Term Disability (SLTD).
Changes that can be made year-round:
  • LTC enrollment with medical evidence applications
  • Drop LTC
  • Name, address, beneficiary changes may be made anytime.
  • W4 changes
  • Add or Drop Dependent Spouse Life (Medical evidence application required to add)
  • Add or Drop Dependent Child Life (Medical evidence not required for kids to be added)

Strategic integration of information systems
Radiology’s Jay Crawford gave a tactical plan presentation on information management as it applies to the Department of Radiology with its huge digital demand of  approximately 180,000 studies per year. Crawford said that amounted to 12.3 terabytes of data per year, which translates to 12,300 gigabytes per year. He said that all modalities are read and archived on PACS (picture archiving and information system).
 
Components of a digital radiology department include modalities, network gateways/workflow managers, broker (RIS/PACS interface), archive system, database server, review stations, network components, film digitizers, hardcopy devices such as printers and CD/DVD burners, and post-processing 3-D workstations.
 
Crawford that the information systems design goal include: “Get the right information to the right place at the right time, better serve the patient, enter the data one time and access all the data from one computer. Through strategic clinician workflow enhancement, the department has been able to achieve accurate relevant information, faster turnaround time and report and include available associated images concurrently through result repository.
 
In conclusion, Crawford said that the department has increased sharing of data, improved workflow, decreased costs and ultimately achieved better patient care.

Announcements
Amanda Budak has been appointed Bariatric program manager and Sylvia Pratt, manager, Radiation Oncology. Thank you Loretta Lighthart who served as the interim manager of Radiation Oncology.

Parking update
Parking Management director Melinda Anderson presented a parking update, beginning with the Ashley-Rutledge Parking Garage. Ashley-Rutledge opened June 20 and has seen its utilization grow steadily, now recording 1,300 to 1,600 transactions per day. Parking Management estimates its customer base to be from 60 to 70 percent Rutledge Tower and from 30 to 40 percent Medical Center.
 
Anderson conceded that problems exist related to the elderly and mobility impaired going from the garage to Rutledge Tower. She said the problem should be greatly ameliorated when the newly-renovated surface parking lot to Rutledge Tower is re-opened on Monday, Oct. 3. That lot, she said, is dedicated to handicapped parking. Other measures are being implemented in response to requests and comments from customers.
 
Anderson added that since the Ashley-Rutledge Parking Garage opening, access for traffic entering G-Lot has improved. She said to expect G-Lot to become smaller as it accommodates future construction as indicated in the MUSC master plan.
 
Annual re-registration for after hours parking, ungated lots with annually expiring decals and the Hagood Park and Ride continues through Sept. 30.
 
Employees participating in teh after-hours parking program may begin parking in the Ashley-Rutledge parking garage on Oct. 1. To keep the lower garage floors from becoming congested in the early morning as patients arrive and employees leave, employees parking after hours may not park below the third floor.

Bus services
Business Services director John Runyon announced that effective Effective Oct. 10, CARTA, the city’s bus service, will establish a route serving the Hagood Parking System with the university at the Jonathan Lucas Street bus stop. All MUSC students, faculty, and staff with valid university identification card, will be allowed to ride all buses in the basic CARTA system including current and future routes, without further charge.
 
The Medical Shuttle route will operate at a minimum on Monday through Friday from 6:36 a.m. to 8:54 a.m., and then resume at 2:30 p.m., continuing until 8 p.m.
 
The following holidays* will be observed by the Medical Shuttle Route:
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24; Day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25; Christmas Day, Dec. 26; New Years Day, Jan. 1, 2006; Memorial Day, May 29, 2006; Independence Day, July 4, 2006; and Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2006.
*Schedules for additional holidays declared by the governor or emergency closures will be negotiated as they occur.

   

Friday, Sept. 30, 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.