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MUSC Rumor Mill separates fact from fiction
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House cleaning
Does house cleaning personnel get two meal breaks every day?
Answer: Each
employee has a 30 minute break in the morning and a 30 minute lunch
break. They were originally receiving a morning break and an afternoon
break of 15 minutes, which was consolidated into one break of 30
minutes in the morning to assist with discharge cleaning in the
afternoons. The span of the break time is from 9 to 10:30 a.m.,
depending on the employee’s schedule for that day. Each employee is
required to sign in/out for breaks and lunch.
Pay adjustments for registered nurses
I have been employed as a registered nurse at MUSC for 12 years. With
the recent market adjustment, my increase was 6 cents. Other employees
who have been here for a lot less time received significant increases.
What is MUSC doing to retain its experienced registered nurse
population?
Answer: Recent
adjustments were based on market data. In addition to the market
increase, other benefits offered to registered nurses include, but are
not limited to, tuition assistance, charge nurse differential, and
certification bonus. Questions should be directed to a manager or
Lynn Campbell, Human Resources employment and compensation manager, at
792-1684.
HIPAA compliance
If a doctor or nurse talks to a family in a waiting area about the
patient, is that breaking HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act) rules?
Answer: HIPAA
regulations do not forbid discussions of a patient’s condition in a
waiting room. In these circumstances reasonable precautions should be
taken and could include using lowered voices or talking apart from
others when sharing protected health information. Anyone who is aware
of a legitimate breach of a patient’s information should call 792-4037.
Travel nurses
I worked to get a 6 percent merit raise only to have it taken
away two weeks later, and the rumor is that there is a hospital
service coordinator that’s a travel nurse. What’s up with that?
Answer: The
entire organization has been focused on cost-cutting measures due to
economic times. One focus has been to eliminate travelers. Since 2008,
traveler staff has decreased from 234 to less than 20 individuals. MUSC
has also converted more than 45 of these 234 travelers to permanent
staff positions throughout MUSC. All managers and directors must have
administrative approval for the extenuating circumstances that
necessitate the short-term use of a traveler. The supervisor that is a
traveler came to fill a need related to two supervisors having extended
military leave and another supervisor on extended medical leave due to
an automobile accident. This traveler will be leaving when her contract
is completed.
Cafeteria request
Could the cafeteria start providing light mayonnaise?
Answer: The
Dietary Department will look into the possibility of providing light
mayonnaise. As soon as they have worked out the details with a vendor,
it will be placed with the other condiments.
Parking garage elevator
I have been stuck in elevator #56 in the President Street garage three
times in the last two weeks. While stuck on the elevator with seven
others, I met people who have been stuck four times. Is there a reason
for not placing an “out of order” sign on this elevator?
Answer: When
maintenance becomes aware of an elevator-stuck incident, the elevator
is placed out of service, and an out-of-order sign is placed on the
elevator door on each floor until the elevator can be repaired. Once
the elevator is operating correctly, it is placed back in service.
Elevator #56 is presenting an increasing number of elevator-stuck
problems. Maintenance is investigating, with the assistance of the
certified elevator maintenance contractor, the need to upgrade elevator
components to reliability.
College of Medicine tuition increase
I heard that the passage of the federal stimulus bill means that
tuition increases for the College of Medicine are no longer required.
Is this true?
Answer: Details
of how the education funds will be distributed between K-12 and higher
education are not available. In any case, it is highly unlikely that
the stimulus package will come close to offsetting MUSC’s drastic
decline in state appropriations. Thus, tuition increases in all of
MUSC’s colleges will need to be implemented.
Parking garage holiday schedule
Where can you find out which holidays the Ashley Avenue garage is opened to employees?
Answer: Campus parking locations are generally open for employee parking on major holidays. Holiday parking locations are posted at http://www.musc.edu/vpfa/operations/Parking.
Bee Street parking garage
Why are the gates at the Bee Street garage routinely open?
Answer: The
gates controlling the entrance and exit lanes of the Bee Street garage
are usually in the closed and operating mode. However, an entrance and
exit lane are open in the evening to assist card holders who might have
forgotten their access cards.
Parking Management
Is the standard procedure for the Office of Parking Management (OPM) to
issue a ticket to everyone who has a parking lot sticker when parking
in the garage?
Answer:
Generally, when a parking enforcement officer sees a car with an
employee decal parked in a visitor lot, unless it is an obvious repeat
offender, warnings are issued prior to any ticket being written asking
that the individual contact OPM. For information, call 792-3665.
Bee Street Garage
Is there any plan to fix all of the pot holes when exiting Bee Street garage?
Answer: Yes,
there is a plan for improving Bee Street near the new Bee Street
Garage. In fact, the road project will raze and rebuild Bee Street from
Courtenay to Lockwood Drive. Visit http://www.ccroadwise.org/musc.html.
Third shift cafeteria selections
There is not much of a food selection for third shift employees. Are there any plans to expand the menu?
Answer: The
sandwich and salad menu in A la Carte has been expanded to include more
healthy options. Due to space and equipment restrictions, the staff is
limited as to what can be prepared. All products are made fresh daily
and rotated appropriately.
Reproduced from http://www.carc.musc.edu/rumormill
Friday, March 13, 2009
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