To Medical Center Employees:
We will kick off a series of 45 minute town hall meetings beginning Feb. 18 at the times and locations indicated below. There will also be several town hall meetings conducted for large departments in place of their regularly scheduled departmental meetings.
 
The town hall agenda will include a quick update on the good progress being made toward achieving our pillar-based Fiscal Year 2009-2010 organizational goals; recognition of outstanding employees; an update on our Culture of Safety initiatives; a review of our Joint Commission Survey action plan; an update on our Employee Partnership plan; and a reminder of the new annual performance evaluation process and goals. We intend to reserve some time at the end of the town hall sessions for questions and answers. Attendance is encouraged.
 
On another matter, recently it was announced that medical center employees may transfer PTO (Paid Time Off) to support humanitarian operations in Haiti. Employees may transfer from one to 40 hours. The deadline for the PTO transfer is Feb. 27. Instructions have previously been issued and the PTO transfer form for the Haiti Relief Fund may be found on the MUHA intranet at https://www.musc.edu/medcenter/news/PTOTransferRequest.pdf.  A check will be written to the MUSC Haiti Relief Fund at the Coastal Community Foundation for the cash value of the total PTO transferred. We will publish the names of those who transfer PTO and the total value.
 
Thank you very much,


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

Town hall meetings
Feb. 19: 2 p.m., Room 120, Hollings Cancer Center; Feb. 22: 7:30 a.m., SEI Auditorium, and 3 p.m., 2W Amphitheater; Feb. 23: 11 a.m., 2W Amphitheater, and 3 p.m., ART Auditorium; Feb. 24:11 a.m., IOP Auditorium, and 2 p.m., SEI Auditorium; Feb. 25: 11 a.m., ART Auditorium; Feb. 26: 7:30 a.m., 2W Amphitheater, and 11 a.m., SEI Auditorium

Maggie Bobo, director of quality improvement for the American Heart Association (AHA), and Perette Sabatino, R.N., interim stroke manager, shared findings from the AHA’s Get with the Guidelines (GWTG) Program’s 2010 Performance Achievement Awards. The program defines specific guidelines in the quality care of patients. The GWTG program tracks evidence-based medical data in the areas of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, etc.
 
As of November, 1,604 national hospitals, including MUSC, were designated as GWTG hospitals, representing more than 2 million patients receiving quality medical care. About 625 hospitals were recognized for achieving and maintaining at least 85 percent or greater in compliance with their GWTG performance. In 2009, MUSC also was one of 27 hospitals for achieving a silver performance in all three GWTG modules in 2009.

Also last July, MUSC’s performance and best practices were recognized nationally in the annual best hospitals edition of U.S. News and World Report magazine.
 
For 2010, MUSC received the AHA’s Gold Performance Achievement Award for care in coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure patients. Additionally, MUSC achieved a higher level for evidence-based medicine for quality measures.
 
AHA’s GWTG award criteria for achieving the bronze, silver and gold award levels:

• Bronze  – A program must achieve 90 consecutive days at or greater than 85 percent compliance on each measure.

• Silver – A program must achieve one year at or greater than 85 percent compliance on each measure.

• Gold – A program must achieve two or more years at or greater than 85 percent compliance on each measure.
  

Bobo recognized MUSC for achieving 95 percent compliance in measures within some areas, and 99 to 100 percent compliance in other areas.
 
She praised MUSC’s teamwork with MUSC’s Stroke Program and Heart & Vascular teams for meeting the multiple measures and adhering to processes and protocols required for achieving the gold award (coronary artery disease) as well as the gold plus award status (heart failure and stroke).
 
Bobo especially recognized individuals and teams who helped lead in these results: Stroke Program – Sabatino, Robert Adams, M.D., Edward Jauch, M.D., June Darby, R.N., Beth Grannell, R.N., Jessica Shenkman, R.N.,  Kitt Starckey, Kristy Conley, MUSC Stroke Steering Committee, Neuroscience Service Line, Emergency Department, Medical ICU and Digestive Disease ICU and Heart & Vascular – Darcy Kalles, Linda Easler, R.N., Sandie Coons, R.N., Eric Powers, M.D., Peter Zwerner, M.D., and the Heart & Vascular Service Line.

Quality — Providing quality patient care in a safe environment
Carl Kennedy, Outcomes & Quality Management/Patient Safety and Linda Formby, R.N., manager for Infection Prevention and Control, both unveiled the hospital’s plans to recognize National Patient Safety Week, March 8-15.
 
The week will kick-off with a hand hygiene poster competition throughout the medical center. The winning unit will have their poster professionally printed to support the hospital’s ongoing hand hygiene campaign.  Winners also will receive a pizza party for their unit or department. Kennedy displayed a sample poster and distributed blank posters to interested parties. Posters may be obtained by contacting Kennedy, 792-2719.
 
Deadline for entries is March 5. Judging will occur during Patient Safety Week.
 
Additionally, Formby reminded managers that Infection Control and Prevention will provide certificates of recognition to hospital departments, units and areas that have reduced their infection rates in 2009.
  
For example, MUSC achieved a 51 percent decrease in bloodstream infection rates throughout the hospital.

Announcements

• Nina Epps, manager of point-of-care testing in Laboratory Services, reminded managers of the upcoming Point-of-Care Testing Survey.The test, sanctioned by the College of American Pathologists, will be conducted from Feb. 23-25 to certify best practices. Epps reminded managers and employees to focus on the basics – staff should wear proper protective equipment, label tubes, identify patients, look for expired reagents, etc.
• Kelly Crowley, PharmD, is the new pharmacy manager in Ambulatory Pharmacy Services. Crowley, who has 12 years of pharmacy experience, previously served in an interim role since March 2009 and was coordinator of Ashley River Tower Outpatient Pharmacy since 2007. 
• The next meeting is March 16.
  

Friday, Feb. 19, 2010