Return to Main Menu

Currents Dec. 4 To Medical Center Employees: We are committed to good communication and one of the tools that we use to share information is our department-based communication board. The medical center currently has more than 225 department-based communication boards and a recent audit indicates most areas are doing a very good job of keeping boards up-to-date.   I want to thank Hope Colyer, marketing manager and communications team leader, and Mary Stoll, environment of care coordinator and lead auditor of the communications boards, and all the board coordinators for their work in ensuring our boards are well maintained.   The communication boards include our pillar definitions, a monthly organizational report card, fiscal year goals and progress-to-date, the standard of the month, benefit of the month, employee perspectives survey results, department-based news, employee recognition and other helpful information. Everyone should review the important information found on these boards and look for enhancements in the new year.    On another matter, I want to commend the Ambulatory Care Services management team for the exceptional job they have done in continuing to improve our outpatient satisfaction scores. Currently the quarter-to-date (October – December) overall percentile rank for outpatient clinics is the 81st percentile. In addition the current rank of ‘courtesy of person scheduling appointments’ is the 78th percentile; ‘courtesy of registration staff’ is the 84th percentile; ‘friendliness/courtesy of nurse or nursing assistant’ is the 83rd percentile; ‘friendliness of clinical provider’(physician) is the 73rd percentile; and ‘cleanliness of practice’ is the 72nd percentile. We will routinely highlight other high performing areas of the Medical Center in this newsletter.   The medical center’s and College of Medicine/UMA joint standard of the month is AIDET Always. Our impressive patient satisfaction scores noted above prove that AIDET works.   Our benefit of the month is the Double Referral Bonus ($2,000) recruitment campaign.  Medical center employees who successfully refer (i.e. the referral is hired)  a “permanent” full time registered nurse with one year of experience for positions in the main OR, 7East (Neurology/Neurosurgery), Digestive Disease ICU, or Digestive Disease Acute Care Med/Surg are eligible for the bonus through Jan. 7. (Employees in management positions are not eligible).  Additional information about the referral bonus can be found at http://mcintranet.musc.edu/muscexcellence/progress.htm.   Thanks to everyone for your dedication and hard work. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center People—Fostering employee pride and loyalty Lisa Montgomery, vice president for Finance & Administration, shared comments from a Columbia patient and family relating to their recent visit to MUSC. The letter was forwarded by the Physician Liaisons Services group with Business Development & Marketing Services. The parent remarked on their exceptional, first-time visit of her daughter with MUSC pulmonologist Charlie Strange, M.D., and staff. She remarked that their visit to MUSC was the most positive experience with a medical facility that they encountered. “We came away feeling that MUSC is a perfect example of what a hospital should be,” wrote the mother. “We firmly believe that all of our future visits will be just as positive.” Dave Neff, Ambulatory Cares administrator, reported that Ambulatory Care achieved the 80th percentile in their patient satisfaction scores during the week of Nov. 26-30. The group emphasizes courtesy scores, which is a barometer for staff using AIDET and other communications techniques. Neff shared courtesy score achievements from the survey: scheduling (78th percentile); registration (84th); nursing (83rd); physicians (70th) and kindness of practice (72nd). Facilities update Kathleen White, R.N., Construction and Design, MUHA Facilities & Capital Improvements, gave an overview of the interiors group staff and their mission. The purpose of the department is to establish guidelines for aesthetically appropriate facilities, which are conducive to providing quality patient care (Policy A-86). Throughout the past year, the group worked closely with a design firm, who recently made design recommendations to the medical center in order to determine what products are current and appropriate for use in hospitals.   The recommendations were assessed and approved by Facilities’ aesthetics committee which consists of Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director of the medical center, hospital administrators and partici-pants representing Infection Control, Facilities, IOP, Rutledge Tower, Environmental Services, Business Development and Marketing Services. The committee’s findings and recommendations are being imple-mented into construction projects/models at labor and delivery, seventh floor North Tower waiting room, elevator mock-ups, etc. The full-size models give employees a chance to see, touch and provide feedback on projects to the aesthetics group. As patients are moved into Ashley River Tower (ART), the modifications will begin in the main hospital in January. Standards include flooring products, walls (paint selection, wall covers, handrails and bumpers), furnishings, storage areas, solid surfaces (sinks, etc.), and public spaces (waiting rooms, meeting areas, etc.).   Debbie Smith, furnishings coordinator, reviewed with manager’s details for accessing and submitting an online facilities request form for work orders, space requests, and construction and design forms submittals. Finally, Smith reminded staff to review the final request prior to submitting it and using the Web site to track the work request. Healthy Charleston Challenge Annie Lovering, Health 1st program coordinator, reminded managers and employees about the upcoming scheduled visit of the Hollings Cancer Center mobile health van to MUSC’s campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dec. 19. The van will be located by the Basic Science Building loading dock, College of Dental Medicine/Ashley Avenue entrance. Employees are reminded that the van is a convenient way for employees to schedule their mammograms. To schedule an appointment, call 792-0878. Lovering announced October’s Health 1st winning team, the Barking Dogs, led by Jim Sciarro in Biomedical Engineering. Visit http://mcintranet.musc.edu/health1st. Janis Newton, Harper Wellness Center program coordinator, invited managers and staff to join in January’s Healthy Charleston Challenge, a 12-week weight loss and activity competition. The program, which is composed of six-member teams, will help participants achieve their weight loss and healthy lifestyle goals by teaching them how to increase their physical activity, learn good nutrition and develop other permanent, healthy habits through a fun, accountable program. Participants needing to lose 20 pounds or more and who are approved for this program will have access to the Wellness Center facilities and use of experienced personal trainers, registered dietitian, exercise physiologists and other specialists throughout the program scheduled from Jan. 14 to March 27. Cost to enroll is $125 for Wellness Center members and $200 for non-members. A Wellness Center membership is also included. The winning team will be determined based on the percentage of body weight lost by the entire team throughout the competition. Members of the winning team will receive a prize package that includes $100 cash, gift certificates and other incentives from area businesses. Any challenge participants who are also on Health 1st Wellness teams will also receive 50,000 bonus points. For details, visit http://www.musc.edu/hsc/students/weightloss.html or call 792-4141. HR update Management orientation training is scheduled Dec. 14 and Dec. 17. Register via CATTS. CATTS Administrative Access Training will take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Dec. 18. Register via CATTS. ART Central Orientation for staff is scheduled for January. The schedule has been e-mailed to managers who are affected. No registration is required. Managers and employees are invited to attend the MUHA Human Resources (HR) Holiday Open House at their new address, 163 Rutledge Avenue. The event will occur from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Dec. 19. December Benefit of the Month— Employee Referral Program Helena Bastian, HR director, reminded managers and employees of HR’s special double bonus three-month nurse recruitment campaign. Any employee who recruits a permanent, full-time nurse (a registered nurse with at least one year’s experience), hired to any of the following medical center’s areas—main OR, IOP, 7E, Digestive Disease, Intensive Care Unit, Digestive Disease-acute care medical/surgical unit—will receive a cash award. The special program runs through Jan. 7 only, and offers employees a double-bonus of $2,000 for their successful nurse recruitment. Current employee referral program rules, regulations, and pay-out terms apply.   See your manager for details or call HR, 792-0819. Standard of Behavior for December AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation and Thank You) continues as December’s standard of behavior. The consistent use of AIDET has consistently proven to improve overall communications with both patients and staff. AIDET is: Acknowledge the patient; Introduce yourself, your skill set, your professional credentials and your training; Duration with an explanation of the test and how long it will be to complete; Explanation of the test and what to expect; and saying thank you for choosing MUSC. Education roll-out update Laurie Zone-Smith, Ph.D., R.N. praised the efforts of MUHA HR’s Latonia Allen for her coordination in the CATTS  Administrative Access Training classes to help educators manage training activities.   Education orientation projects for ART continues. Building orientation for managers is Dec. 17. Central orientation will occur from Jan. 8 to Feb. 1. Super User Training for Stryker Beds and Phillips Monitors was completed by Nov. 1. Unit specific orientation for mock codes and defibrillator training continues. Clinical units in ART will have Lifepak 20/Lifepak12 defibrillators. Other training planned includes the Alaris Infusion Device Project schedule for early February. Service—Serving the public with compassion, respect and excellence Jason Roberson, coordinator for MUHA Interpreter Services, unveiled new changes for telephone interpreting within the medical center. The changes will affect phone interpreting for all languages, except Spanish. The dispatch pager for in-house Spanish interpreting (pager ID #17080) will not change.   Pacific Interpreters, a company that employs professional, medically-qualified interpreters, will replace Language Line. They service more than 180 languages and dialects and are available 24/7 and 365 days per year and have a connect-time for interpreter on the phone of 25 seconds or less.   About 90 percent of Pacific Interpreter’s customers are involved in health care within 42 states around the country and Canada. Pacific Interpreters also offers new, dual-handset phones (one for the provider; the other for the patient). The phones will be available in high volume patient care areas including labor and delivery, emergency department, some clinics.   Roll-out schedule for this program will begin with a drop-in orientation with Pacific Interpreter representatives from 10 a.m. to noon, Dec. 18, Storm Eye Institute auditorium. Additional department/unit training also will available from Dec. 19-20. Language Line will temporarily continue as a back up for the new interpreting system. For questions call 792-5078. Announcements MUHA Volunteer Information and Guest Services has invited  employees to attend a meet-and-greet drop-in with new house concierges and information services staff who will be assigned to ART. The event will be from 1 to 3 p.m., Dec. 20 at the 10th floor game room, Palmetto Pavilion, main hospital. The next hospital communications meeting is Dec. 18.     Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 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 catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.