To Medical Center Employees:
In September 2010 the medical center (MUHA) adopted an Influenza Vaccination policy (see medical center intranet: https://www.musc.edu/medcenter/news/influenza_vaccine.htm) with the goal of protecting patients, employees and others. An influenza vaccination policy is recommended by the Joint Commission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, South Carolina Hospital Association, Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America and other organizations. This policy is similar to other employment-related requirements that protect everyone, such as pre-employment vaccinations and annual TB testing.

This year’s vaccine, offered free to all employees, is a single injection or nasal spray that protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during flu season, including H1N1, H3N2 and seasonal influenza. The vaccine may be declined for religious beliefs, medical reasons or other personal matters. Our policy calls for employees who do not receive the influenza vaccination by a designated date (January 1 this year) to wear a mask during the flu season, which is expected to last from Jan. 1 to March 31.

I want to thank MUHA employees for your overwhelming support of this policy by taking the vaccine in the timely fashion. In previous years our vaccination rate has been around 55 percent. This year, approximately 98.7 percent of MUHA employees have been immunized and this number will likely improve once all reporting is final.

The medical center is committed to improving patient safety, quality of care and employees’ well being. Thanks again to everyone for your support of this goal.

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

Wins

Sally Potts, R.N., director of Therapeutic Services, announced that the sleep lab earned its accreditation.

Kim Phillips, R.N., Transplant Services administrator, stated that the liver transplant program was given an award by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Employee of the Month
Yan Gros, Family Medicine clinical manager, recognized Karen Moskos, R.N., Family Medicine, as employee of the month for demonstrating the highest level of compassion. On Nov. 19, 2010, Moskos assisted a family of five, who were displaced by a house fire by raising more than $300.

Human Resources update
Helena Bastian, Human Resources director, shared her department’s Orientation WINS. Here’s some recent feedback from new employees:

"I thought the interview team provided candid answers to me as a potential applicant/employee.”

"Day One felt very welcoming. The campus maps and parking pamphlet made arrival very easy! At end of day felt very welcome at MUSC.”

"It was very informative about standards specific to MUSC.”

"Having been through orientation several times, I felt this version was the best. Information was presented accurately and succinctly.”

"A member of MUSC called the night before orientation to make sure I knew where to park and how to get to orientation site as well as review schedule for the week.”

"Very simple and well organized. I am a returning employee and this orientation was better than my first orientation. Good job.”

In addition, Bastian stated badges of new employees will be scanned and attendance documented in CATTS. A copy of the Organizational Orientation Competency Test will be maintained only in the HR file, and the yellow copy will no longer be given to employees; nor is it required to be in the unit or department file.

A “New Employee” link has been created on the HR website. New hires starting on or after Feb. 1 will be emailed a link to the site for new hire information. New hires who do not have e-mail or Internet access will be instructed to pick up a packet from HR prior to reporting to orientation.

Bastian also reminded meeting attendees that only MUHA Human Resources can conduct all outside reference checks. All reference inquiries are to be directed to Human Resources. The only exception would be for internal candidates. In this case, the hiring manager is expected to contact the current manager or HR for an internal reference.

Kim Duncan, HRIS manager, provided steps for managers wanting to get a jump start on employee evaluations and complete a mid-year 360 Staff Peer Review:

• Create a form for an employee in SuccessFactors

• Click Performance > Create New Form > 360:  Staff Peer Review. 

• Use the Modify Raters button to add or delete names from the default list of raters. (You can now delete the employee’s name and the supervisor’s name from the default list of raters if needed.)

Duncan also revealed a HML process pilot in SuccessFactors that is coming soon. Managers will be able to see their employees side-by-side and rate them simultaneously.

Bastian also announced that congress extended the provision of The Education Assistance Program which provides a tax exclusion (for qualified tuition expenses) of up to $5,250 for educational assistance from an employer. It was scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, but now has been extended until the end of 2012.  Please refer to the Human Resources Policy #17, Tuition Assistance Program for information regarding MUHA’s program.

Ansos eShift update
Carol Brown, Decision Support Services program coordinator, stated 45 units (nursing and mental health facilities) are now utilizing the project. Approximately 2,000 employees have access to eShift, which has been live since October 2010. Brown thanked project sponsor Sally Potts for her support. Some issues that have arisen include the staffing information report (currently lists all employees instead of those available to work); the manual export function; the Swap function (must print the Swap form prior to manager approval); and timely approval (pending shifts should be approved within a week).

Managers should ask their employees to provide their email addresses and phone numbers for change notification in the program. For employees to receive overtime (OT) pay, they must check the OT box in eShift.

There are several reports available to managers in eShift:

• Assigned Openings allows managers to know who will be working on a particular date.

• The Staffing Information Report is accessible to all employees, who have access to Ansos.

• The Ansos report enables manager to include their current schedule.

Ambulatory, Respiratory Therapy and Radiology are the next units scheduled for program inclusion. There also is an eShift workgroup scheduled for Jan. 25 in Room 220 Clinical Sciences Building at 11a.m.

Service—Serving the public with compassion, respect and excellence 

Patient Survey Process Update       
Maggie Thompson, Patient and Family Care Center manager, presented preliminary results from patient surveys. Torri Jacobsen, Patient and Family Care Center coordinator, is publishing frequent scorecard updates as survey returns continue to increase. There is a link to survey updates on the medical center intranet homepage. So far, “n” size is still low in many areas.

The Expectations score is a new concept. It is not part of the overall score, and the E-gap equals the difference between the expectation and overall score. Patients establish the expectation score by answering questions on the survey. For example:

• Before I came to MUSC, I expected the hospital to meet my personal needs extremely well.

• Before I came to MUSC, I expected things not to go wrong at the hospital.

• Before I came to MUSC, my expectations of the overall quality of the hospital were extremely high.    

Avatar training starts this month, and the primary super user and general user list are being updated for all areas. The Primary Super User Webinar is set for January 26 and participants will receive Avatar login upon completion. The Webinar for general users is slated for Feb. 2, and users will receive Avatar login during training. Webinar sessions will be recorded so they may be viewed anytime.

There also will be onsite training Wednesday, Feb. 23 and Thursday, Feb. 24. An overview session open to all is scheduled for Feb 23. After the initial rollout, monthly Avatar training sessions will be offered to employees.

Service Pillar goals for areas using Avatar must be updated. The Leadership Evaluation Team and Administrators Group will develop new goals for areas that are using Avatar. Areas using Avatar do not need to enter data in their monthly LEM scorecard until new goal metrics are communicated (last data point should be Oct or Nov for most). Final 2010-2011 goal ratings will be based on data from the last two quarters of the year for areas using Avatar. As soon as goal recommendations are finalized, managers will receive guidance on data to enter in monthly LEM, as well as information to share with front-line staff. 

Below are highlights from patient surveys:

• Overall score of 92.7 (out of 100)

• Adult inpatient score of 91.76

           Expectation score is 93.41

• Physician Office score of 93.21

Announcements

• Karen Weaver, R.N., clinical director of Surgical Services announced that Nancy Knapp, who is a consultant from ISH, is serving as the interim manager of the main operating room (OR). She has more than 20 years of OR experience in major trauma centers throughout the country.

• The next Communications meeting will be held Jan. 18 in the Storm Eye Institute auditorium.
  

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011