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MUSC Rumor Mill separates fact from fiction Employee pay Rumor: I have heard that the university is required to post all employees’ salaries online where they are easily accessed by anyone. Is this required even though we are told to not discuss our pay among ourselves? Truth: As employees of a state entity where employees are supported and paid with taxpayers’ monies, all  names, job descriptions and salaries are deemed to be public information by law. That being the case, the Office of Human Resources in Columbia has mandated that MUSC post this public information for inspection by anyone to review. The purpose of this requirement is to demonstrate that state business is conducted in an open fashion. This has not been a pleasing policy to many MUSC employees, but it is the condition or price of working for a public entity. Parking Rumor: Is it true that parking fees will be raised soon? Truth: Yes. Parking rates will need to be adjusted to support the construction and debt service payments for the new parking garage that is being built next to the Central Energy Plant. Construction has started, thus an increase will likely occur by the end of the fiscal year. Pay Rumor: I heard that only HOP (hospital options pool) registered nurses will be getting a pay raise. Are the HOP clinical assistants (CA) getting a raise? Truth: The Human Resources Office will be reviewing the CAs’ compensation this fiscal year. For information, contact either Lynn Campbell, manager of employment and compensation at 792-1684 or campbell@musc.edu; or Rosie Smith, compensation analyst, 792-7516 or vegar@musc.edu. New hourly wage increase Rumor: I heard about the recent federal government minimum wage increase that went into effect July 24, which will increase annually through 2009. Can employees who are paid hourly expect a bump in pay now and again in 2008 and 2009? Truth: The Human Resources Office has reviewed the employees' hourly rates. No employee is making below the new minimum wage effective July 24, therefore, no increases are needed. Call 792-1684 or 792-7516. Shift differential Rumor: I heard a rumor that beginning with the July 8 paycheck, shift differential would be paid to staff who work less than four hours into the shift. I currently work 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but I’m not receiving any shift differential for the night shift portion (5:30 to 7 a.m.) or the evening shift portion (3 to 6 p.m.) of my workday. Truth: Employees must work at least four hours into the shift to receive the shift differential. Exclusions to this apply when an employee is on-call and required to return to work during an off shift. Refer to the Human Resources Compensation Policy 15. Rotating shifts Rumor: I had heard MUSC was going to get rid of rotating shifts. Is this true in regards to nursing? Truth: Some units have a cohort of permanent night shift staff that lessens or eliminates rotation of shifts. However, there will most likely continue to be some rotation of shifts for nurses. Parking tickets Rumor: Is it true that EMS workers are not allowed to park emergency vehicles on Sabin Street by Hollings, even if they need to transport a patient? Truth: Emergency vehicles responding to emergencies are not restricted as to where to park when transporting patients. Starbucks Rumor: I heard that Starbucks is expanding its shop. Truth: There are no plans to expand the scope of the current Starbucks operation. Vending machines Rumor: I have heard that there are no official channels for complaining when campus vending machines are not consistently serviced or refilled. Truth: The Business Service Office administrates a multi-level snack food and drink contract for MUSC sites only. Typically the vendors do a good job of servicing the 47 different locations across the university. By schedule, vending machines are serviced to ensure products are available and equipment is working properly. Some vending machines are visited every day while others are on a two-day rotation. The vendors are obliged to ensure products are available and equipment operating to preserve customer satisfaction. When satisfaction levels are not met, notify Roy Dingle, Support and Contract Service manager, at 792-9787 with the location of the vending machine. Parking Rumor: I heard a rumor that MUSC has a garage for after- hours parking that starts at 4:30 p.m. Truth: It is true that the after-hours parking program for employees begins at 4:30 p.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m. It is in effect Monday through Friday, and 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The program cannot be extended to serve employees working shifts that begin earlier than 4:30 p.m., because MUSC facilities are at full occupancy until well after mid-afternoon. MUSC realizes that employees working the traditional second shift have difficulty finding parking that works with their schedule. When the MUSC Bee Street garage opens in approximately one year, additional parking capacity will be available. At that time, it is believed the after- hours parking program will be extended to individuals working the 3 to 11 p.m. shift. In the meantime, employees working 3 to 11 p.m. may register for the Hagood commuter parking lot. Parking in Hagood is free to registered MUSC employees, as is the MUSC bus service, which runs from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. As an alternative, there are  a number of guaranteed parking assignments available for employees in the Harborview Tower garage or the Lockwood parking lot. Both are also served by the MUSC bus service. Parking permits for these guaranteed locations currently runs $30 a month. Parking on 5th floor and above Rumor: I heard that there is a new policy about night shift employees only being able to park on the 5th floor or above. Shouldn’t employees who pay for parking be able to park anywhere in the garage? Truth: One of the primary goals at MUSC is to provide the best experience for patients and visitors using the medical facilities. In that regard, Parking Management has received feedback on the difficulty patients and visitors have in finding available parking in the Ashley-Rutledge Garage for early morning appointments in the Rutledge Tower. That difficulty translates to delays in getting to appointments on time, adversely impacting patient satisfaction. A contributing factor to this patient/visitor parking challenge is the overlap in approved parking hours for the after-hours parking program, 4:30 p.m. to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday, with the early arrivals for appointments in Rutledge Tower. That being the case, a recent change in policy was made to direct those using the after hours program to park on level 5 or higher in this garage.  Roper employees Rumor: I heard that Roper employees are allowed to park in the Hagood lot. Truth: Roper employees are not allowed to park in the Hagood lot. Autos parking there without MUSC hang tags will be ticketed. Bus service Rumor: I have heard that the bus service doesn’t stop at the ramp area of Charleston Memorial Hospital. Is this true? Truth: The MUSC shuttle bus stops at the front of the Wellness Center on Courtenay. It does not stop at the ramp to CMH during high traffic periods because there is not enough room for the bus to safely make its way from the right lane to the left turn lane onto Calhoun. The MUSC Shuttle will stop at the CMH ramp on request before 6 a.m. and after 6:30 p.m. Tricare supplement Rumor: Is the Tricare supplement plan going away? What are the alternatives to this supplement plan? Truth: Unfortunately, because of a change in federal law, effective Jan. 1, 2008, group health plan sponsors such as the State of South Carolina’s Employee Insurance Programs (EIP) can no longer offer Tricare-eligible employees the Tricare Supplement as a health plan option. Existing Tricare Supplement coverage offered through EIP will end Dec. 31. During the October Open Enrollment period it will become necessary for those subscribers currently enrolled in the supplement coverage to either change coverage to one of the other approved health plans or to drop the coverage altogether. Information will be available closer to  October open enrollment. Questions about this change can be directed to Human Resources at 792-9679. Rumor Mill confidentiality Rumor: Is it true that the Rumor Mill investigates and passes along the names of those submitting malicious or disrupting rumors to appropriate university officials for followup action? Truth: There have been no such investigations in the past, but due to several recurring incidences of improper use of the Mill, the following ground rule was added: “No attempt will be made to trace any anonymous rumors with the exception of those that clearly misuse or disrupt the Mill.” The Mill was established to facilitate internal communications within these clearly presented ground rules. Any deliberate submissions otherwise not only are contrary to this purpose, but waste valuable time of those involved in responding and detract from the rights of fellow employees seeking facts. In addition, they are contrary to University Computer Use Policy. Examples  include sarcastic and juvenile attempts at humorous content as well as obviously malicious personal attacks. Contact precautions Rumor: I heard that it is OK to enter a Contact Precautions room  with just gloves on if you are not going to handle the patient or bodily fluids. What are the facts? Truth: The environment in the room can be contaminated with viable organisms that can contaminate hands, arms, clothing, equipment coming into the room, etc. These organisms can be carried to the next patient and place them at risk for colonization or infection with these organisms. For this reason, health care workers should wear gowns and gloves to enter Contact Precautions rooms regardless of anticipated contact with the patient or bodily fluids. At the present time, the only exceptions are dietary personnel who deliver trays. They wear gloves to enter the room, place the tray on the overbed table that has been cleared by nursing staff, remove gloves, wash hands and exit room. The Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology departments are addressing the recommendations for visitors. Currently, the policy states that visitors should wash hands before exiting the room, but the policy will be revised and will include recommendations regarding gowns and gloves for visitors as well. ICU visiting hours Rumor: Is it true that ICUs are all going to open visiting hours in the future? Truth: MICU has open visitation. STICU currently has rigid visiting hours. The goal is to open visiting hours in the future. The manager of the STICU hopes to create a family spokesperson agreement that will address open visiting hours, allowing visiting hours except during time of report: 7 to 8 a.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. Visitation would be restricted to two family members at a time. NSICU allows visiting hours for two hours four times a day. With recruitment and hiring of a permanent nurse manager, visiting hours may be reassessed. CTICU and CCU essentially have open visiting hours. Visitors are only excluded during the change of shift (bedside report). PICU, NICU and PCICU are open visitation with the exception of shift change. Pay increase Rumor: I heard that the new pay increase has already taken effect. Truth: What you heard is correct. The fiscal year 2007-08 General Appropriation Bill authorized funds for base pay increases for classified employees and unclassified employees. Compensation for research grant, resident, student, temporary and post doctoral scholar employees were not affected by this increase. Eligible classified (FTE) employees were approved for a 3.0 percent base pay increase. That increase was applied effective June 10 for non-exempt, hourly-paid employees and appeared in their first pay check issued after July 1. Exempt monthly-paid, classified employees received their increases effective July 1 with the increases appearing in the paychecks these employees received at the end of July. Eligible faculty (FTE) and unclassified administrative employees were approved for a general base pay increase ranging from 0.0 percent to 6.0 percent, based on the employing department’s discretion. These discretionary increases were effective July 1 and were included in the monthly paychecks these employees received at the end of July. If you are in an eligible position and did not receive an increase, contact your department business manager or 792-2685. Travelers Rumor: I heard a rumor that MUSC is trying to phase out travel nurses in the facility. Any truth to this? And as a traveler, will your pay reach comparable figures to other facilities in the future? This is a wonderful hospital, but the pay is much less than other facilities of similar status. Truth: MUSC is always looking at ways to decrease reliance on travelers as travelers are costly. The pay rates for registered nurses are competitive and any travel nurse with questions about the pay rates should  call 792-1684 or 792-7516. Pay dates Rumor: I heard that since all payroll is electronic, employees will get paid earlier than 10 days from the last day worked. Truth: There are no plans to change the pay date. While employees may view their pay stubs at least two days prior to the actual pay date, current processes with the bank still require the 10-day time frame. Parking during next several weeks Rumor: The Office of Parking Management requested the Rumor Mill pass along the following information to help ensure its communication to all faulty, staff, and students. Truth: During the first two to four weeks of the  academic year, the MUSC parking system experiences a period of peak parking demand. All monthly-contract locations are at capacity as all faculty, staff and students return full time and new faculty and staff arrive. The Hagood commuter park-and-ride system is at capacity, and many people arrive between 8 and 8:15 a.m. to find the Hagood locations full. After the first few weeks, as schedules are worked out and other adjustments take place, demand subsides to a more normal level. A major step to meet demand will be taken when MUSC’s new 1,500-space Bee Street garage opens in fall 2008. In the mean time the Office of Parking Management is doing all that it can to speedily move employees from the waiting lists into vacancies as they occur and to assist employees and students in finding workable parking and transportation solutions. Your understanding and support is greatly appreciated. A notice regarding annual renewal of department parking passes will be sent to you shortly. For information, call 792-3665. Insurance Rumor: I heard that at the end of this year MUSC Options will no longer be available. Is this true? Truth: The validity of the rumor  can not be determined. The S.C. Office of Employee Insurance Programs (EIP) is responsible for health benefit plan changes. EIP will be providing information regarding plan changes for calendar year 2008 in early September. When known, The Department of Human Resources will communicate these changes to the university community through the HRM Web site and through Open Enrollment briefings. Employees will also receive a benefits summary prior to the October Open Enrollment period that will include plan change information. Open Enrollment Briefings are scheduled for: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 19, Room 322, College of Nursing; and 1 to 4 p.m., Oct. 3, Room 125 Strom Thurmond Building. Additional sessions may be added. For information, contact the Human Resources Benefits Section. Reproduced from http://www.musc.edu/rumor/.     Friday, Sept. 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.