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Currents, Aug. 7 To Medical Center Employees: One of our medical center goals under the MUSC Excellence “people pillar” is to improve employee satisfaction. The primary measure we are using to gauge employee satisfaction is the Employee Perspectives Survey.   Last October we conducted our first Employee Perspectives Survey. This survey was more comprehensive than other employee surveys conducted in past years. We used Press Ganey, a professional survey firm, to conduct the survey.   The survey results were presented to all departments. Department-based action plans and an organizationwide action plan were developed for improvements. We discussed the organizationwide action plan on various occasions at the quarterly medical center town hall meetings, including the 14 town hall sessions attended by more than 1,000 employees recently.   During Aug. 13-27, we will conduct a follow-up Employee Perspectives Survey.  Every medical center employee will have an opportunity to voice his or her opinion.  Everyone is strongly encouraged to participate. We are striving for 100 percent participation.   Press Ganey Associates will process the data. The results will be aggregated by department and by the total organization. Individual responses will be confidential. We will roll out the results as we did this past year and develop new action plans.   The survey will include approximately 81 questions and two, open-ended questions to solicit comments on “the best thing about working at MUSC” and “how improvements can be made.” It should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete the survey.  All surveys will be completed online.       The computer training room(s) will be open for employees who do not have direct computer access, and assistance will be on hand as needed. Managers have been given a computer training room schedule to share with staff.      All medical center employees will be given a personal identification number or PIN and instructions for survey completion very soon. I want to thank everyone in advance for your cooperation. In the meantime, anyone who has questions can contact Jane Scutt at 792-1839 or scutt@musc.edu. Thank you very much. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center People—Fostering employee pride and loyalty Tom Hubbard, surgical trauma UMA and neuroscience ICU nurse manager, presented the 2007 Life Point Dove Award to Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director of MUSC medical center, for outstanding commitment to the promotion of organ, tissue and eye donation. In the last several years, MUSC has managed to double the number of donors from 14 in 2004 to 30 in 2006. August Standard of Behavior/Benefit of the Month Terry Wilson, Pastoral Care Services, presented August’s standard, sponsored by his department, which focuses on respect.   “Keep all interactions positive by not engaging in negative behaviors such as gossiping, back-stabbing, nonverbal negative insinuations, undermining, withholding, infighting or arrogance.   Focus: Keep all interactions positive and discuss internal issues only with those who need to know. Employee Benefit of the Month—S.C. Retirement System (SCRS or State Pension Program) Mark Stimpson, benefits manager, discussed the SCRS plan. Stimpson also reminded managers that he is available to meet with staff to provide benefits info in detail and answer questions.   The SCRS is a solid, traditional pension plan where employees can contribute 6.5 percent of their income on a pre-tax basis. MUHA contributes 12.63 percent of each participant’s income. With 28 years of participation, employees can retire at any age and receive approximately 50  percent of income, in the form of a monthly check, for life. Minimum requirements to be eligible for pension are five years of participation, age 60. For details, visit http://mcintranet.musc.edu/hr/benefits/retirement/index.htm. Internal Customer Survey Maggie Thompson, MUSC Excellence Measurement Team, addressed details of the survey.      Originally the group was chartered to evaluate patient satisfaction by establishing system processes that measure and report patient satisfaction.   Next, they focused on evaluating internal customers since many department are dependent on services from other internal departments to deliver care and services to MUSC patients.      They developed an Internal Customer Survey, to provide leaders with the opportunity to give feedback to internal support departments on the quality of the service they deliver. There were approximately 70 support departments identified for the first survey. Some examples include: Rutledge Tower registration, pastoral care services, transporters, human resources, security and communications, etc.   Next, the team developed sets of standard questions evaluating: accuracy of service; timeliness of service, staff respect and courtesy, etc. Respondents could rate each using a 1 to 4 scale (1-strongly disagree and 4-strongly agree)   The survey was distributed to approximately 400 leaders who attend quarterly  MUHA LDI sessions. To aid respondents, the department list was broken down into four sub-groups allowing participants more time to complete the remainder of the survey at a later time.    First phase results from the Internal Customer Survey included—Survey participants: 342 responses; Average overall mean score: 3.43 (highest possible score was 4.0 [strongly agree] and lowest possible 1.0 [strongly disagree]).   Overall department mean quartiles reflected the lowest and highest department scores.   Response frequency of all departments to all questions (51.1 percent strongly agree), accuracy of service (47.50 percent strongly agree); timeliness of service (45.20 percent strongly agree); respect and courtesy (62 percent strongly agree ); service recovery (52.60 percent strongly agree); and communication (50.60 percent strongly agree)   Lessons learned from survey: Some respondents commented on the “wrong department.” (The team will include managers/director’s names next to department name for accurate identification) Some departments were not included. (Staff is encouraged to submit specific requests for survey inclusion to your administrator) Next steps: Results have been shared and distributed to administrators. Department-specific results and positive comments will be posted on the Web by Aug. 10. Department leaders are encouraged to download and post information on each department’s MUSC Excellence Communication Boards. If less than seven responses, the department will continue with internal customer rounding. If greater than or equal to seven, departments will establish an LEM goal.   Thompson emphasized that survey results are intended to provide departments with data that can lead to opportunities for improvement. Staff should look beyond the rankings and focus on comments/feedback.   The schedule for upcoming surveys are: Oct. 1, Jan. 7, April 1 and June 23. Surveys will remain open for one week. HR update Karen Rankine, Organization Education and Development manager, reminded everyone that the 2007 Employee Perspective Survey will be conducted Aug. 13-27. All directors are asked to pick up  survey packets at MUHA HR Office at the Rutledge Tower Annex, Room 101. Packets include pin numbers, manager information sheet and a flyer to post for staff. The manager sheets as well as the computer lab schedule for employees to complete the survey will also be available on the LDI Web site under Resources. Proctors from HR will be in the computer lab to assist staff as needed. For questions, call Jane Scutt, 792-1839.      Since May, MUSC Excellence Training for New Hires has been provided by David McNair. This schedule and registration is available through CATTS. Additional MUSC Excellence Training sessions for new hires and employees will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., every other Monday starting Aug. 27. The Aug. 27 session will be in the SEI auditorium and the sessions after that will be in 2W amphitheater.   Education Roll-out Committee update Laurie Zone-Smith, Ph.D., R.N., clinical services administration, reviewed details from the group’s July 19 meeting.   The committee reviewed Revised Palliative Care Orders and New EOL Analgesia Orders to streamlining the system for all services can use them. Changes included a new Children’s Hospital consult service to support adult patients who have children with them.      Details of a new Pulse Oximeter Alarm System and its compliance with National Patient Safety Goals was reviewed. The project evaluates if alarms are set at the appropriate settings and sufficiently audible especially with competing noise within units. BioMed has outfitted the oximeters with a cable connecting each unit to the nurse call system.      A new C-80 Critical Values Receiving and Reporting policy details affecting for laboratory and radiology results beyond established parameters, was discussed. Critical values may be received by licensed clinical staff within the unit (nurse, physician or physician assistant). Service—Serving the public with compassion, respect and excellence GetWell Network Shannon O’Neil updated managers on  progress with the program. The system is completely installed within the main hospital aside from seven rooms (10E and 6W) due to cabling issues. Plans are moving forward with incorporating the system within in Ashley River Tower (ART).   Beginning in September, pillow speakers and nurse call systems will be connected to the network and installed within units and replacing standard remotes.   Quarterly staff training will resume soon. O’Neil is awaiting staff feedback from weekend and night shift staff. Training is emphasized since recent upgrades are aligned with the overall network. To accommodate growing needs, the program will include additional staff to provide customer support. Planned projects include programs on  communicating hand hygiene, patient safety surveys and dietary needs information. O’Neil will be making improvements to the Web site to communicate changes and related information. Form Fast Project June Stoval, Regina Dell and Cindi Fuda, coordinators of the Form Fast Project (wristbands and labels project), gave a progress report. Implemented by Hospital Information Services, the project replaces the credit card-sized blue plates with computer-generated and bar-coded labels that scan patient information for identification.      The effort was initiated in April as a pilot project staring in the Surgical Trauma ICU and expanding throughout the hospital this summer allowing all clinical units to reprint and use labels. Plans involving removing the blue plate/addressograph machines around the medical center by Aug. 20. Currently, the team is finalizing downtime procedure with the Education Roll-Out committee’s Aug. 16 meeting.   Stoval encourages all managers to review their area’s processes and alert the project team by calling 792-0581 or 792-8796, regarding addressographs removal issues. eCareNet update Clinical documentation is online at 2CCV, 9PCU, 4CTI and 10E and 10W. During mid-September, the remaining Adult Med-Surgical areas, excluding the ICUs, are scheduled to go live. Plans are to restructure OASIS to display assessment information prior to use in the ICU areas. Bedside Med Administration Project (Admin RX project): Plans are to incorporate the Admin RX project in the Cardiovascular and GI units prior to the ART opening. Computerized Physician Order Entry: Plans are to re-evaluate the program at this time. Aside from plans to go live for cardiology, plans are to add vascular and GI and will go live after the ART opening. Perioperative and Anesthesia Project: The ambulatory side of the OR and PICIS system will also be planned around the ART opening. NetID conversion In order for medical center employees to access MUSC work systems and software applications, they should convert their MNA account to NetID.   For information, visit http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/news/NetID.htm. Announcements Joel  Melroy is the new manager for ART inpatient pharmacy operations. Melroy will be the liaison for pharmacy and Heart & Vascular Center and DDC service lines. A University of Georgia graduate, Melroy has a master’s degree in pharmaceutical administration, and recently completed a two-year residency training at the University of Wisconsin. Cindy Teeter is the new HIPAA compliance manager. Teeter, who is certified in health care compliance, replaces Sharon Knowles The next LDI for the medical center will take place Sept. 11-12. Friday, Aug. 10, 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.