To Medical Center Employees

We have sought to increase attendance at the medical center town hall meetings and I am pleased we are on track to exceed 1,500 participants when the town hall sessions wrap up this week. A Tegrity recording of the town hall presentation will be posted on the intranet the week of Feb. 13.

Among other topics, we discussed plans for implementation of a tobacco-free campus policy throughout MUSC effective March 1. The tobacco-free campus implementation plan has been met with enthusiastic support, for the most part, but questions were raised during town hall meetings concerning enforcement. The monitoring and enforcement of this policy is the responsibility of all employees, students and volunteers. Each individual should consistently and politely bring any infraction of this policy to the attention of the person or persons observed violating the policy. MUSC Department of Public Safety and medical center Safety & Security will assist in the enforcement of this policy by reporting violations to the appropriate manager or supervisor. Tobacco-Free Campus Policy information cards will be available to facilitate the education and enforcement of the policy. Education concerning the implementation, including support for smoking cessation, will continue in the months ahead. Visit http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/tobaccofree/.

During our sessions we have recognized a outstanding accomplishments by individuals and groups, including recognition of PICU by the S.C. Hospital association for a track record of two years with no central line-associated blood stream infections. At the Feb. 7 management communication meeting, Bill Spring, Heart & Vascular Administrator, congratulated Dawn Taylor, interim operations coordinator, CTICU, and her team for being in their 21st month without a central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI). There are other demonstrations of quality excellence such as the team on 9West, under the direction of Ramona Smith, which has been 24 months CLABSI free.

Finally, I want to congratulate College of Nursing faculty members and medical center nursing leaders for being selected for the distinguished Palmetto Gold award. Each year 100 nurse professionals throughout the state are selected as Palmetto Gold recipients for their excellence in nursing practice and commitment to the profession.
CON winners: Berry Anderson, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor; Ruth Conner, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor; Brian Conner, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor; Sally Kennedy, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-C, CNE, assistant professor; and Ida Spruill, Ph.D., R.N., LISW, FAAN, assistant professor. Medical center winners: Perette Sabatino, R.N., BSN, Stroke Program manager; Linda Formby, BSN, CIC, manager, Infection Prevention & Control; Leianne Jinkins, R.N., BSN, CPUI, VABC, VAIN Team; and Deb Cassidy, R.N., BSC, assistant nurse manager and Unit Educator, 6 East.

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

People–Fostering employee pride and loyalty

Employee of the Month – December
Lori Stivers, Ambulatory Care administrative assistant, was praised for her efforts in helping a Hollings Cancer Center patient and her daughter realize a special Christmas gift and participation in the 2011 MUSC Holiday Parade. Stivers, who is a member of the MUSC Angel Tree board, responded by acquiring a Disney Cinderella costume and other items to share with the patient's daughter. Stivers' commitment inspired all types of support in time for the Dec. 9 event. (Nominated by Carmen Rice).

Service – Serving the public with compassion, respect and excellence

Maggie Thompson, Patient and Family Centered Care Group manager provided an overview about her group. The group has three key areas of responsibility: serve as patient family liaisons, work to support the adoption of patient and family centered philosophy and practices, and oversee the patient survey process. She introduced her team including Lisa M. Montgomery, Torri Jacobsen and Trenace Washington.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires hospitals to have a formal process to receive and respond to patient complaints. The patient family liaison process was established to centrally manage the medical center's response to patient and family concerns or complaints.

Patients and families can express concerns via a phone line, 792-5555, letters, an intranet form, in-person meetings, as well as requests through staff or physicians. Complaints are tracked in a secure database to ensure that all are resolved appropriately. The team also collaborates with Risk Management to manage clinical issues.

The medical center's current complaint volume averages between 80 to 100 new complaints per month. Their goal is to resolve 75 percent or more within seven days. In the last quarter, the group resolved 90 percent within seven days. However, reports indicate that staff are receiving multiple call backs from patients asking for additional help, to disagree with an outcome from a complaint or share new concerns. Thompson shared some complaint stories with managers using alias names for patient confidentiality. These stories illustrate how her group responds compassionately to patient complaints and how they use some to launch process improvement projects, which will result in overall improved care of patients. For information, contact Thompson at thompsof@musc.edu.

Wellness update
Susan Johnson, Ph.D., Employee Wellness Program coordinator, reviewed the campus' plans for smoking cessation support aligning with the campus' March 1 tobacco-free campus policy. Johnson discussed the Lunch and Learn events including a holistic approach to smoking cessation on Feb. 15 and successful quitting strategies on Feb. 29. Also scheduled are tobacco-free Tuesdays sessions on Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 (Pitch the Pack) and Feb. 21 (Quit for Life).

Other programs being explored are health care worker fatigue, which is a Joint Commission sentinel event alert. Surveys will be administered to shift workers in the coming weeks. A Lunch and Learn event on sleep strategies for shift workers will be held at 12:15 p.m., Feb. 13 in Room 118, Colbert Education Center & Library building.
Other February wellness events mobile mammograms — Harborview Office Tower, Feb. 15; Pilates and yoga, Feb. 15; Tuberculosis Skin Test Satellite Clinic, Feb. 2l; and a worksite screening, Feb. 22 (Wellness Center auditorium).

MUSC Excellence website
Joan Herbert, organizational performance director, spoke about changes to the medical center's MUSC Excellence information accessible via the MUHA intranet.

All Leadership Development Institute information will be merged to one MUSC Excellence link. This will include communications meeting reports, presentation materials, service teams and other resources.

Announcements

• Dan O'Donnell was named the new director of Organizational Access, Revenue Cycles Administration. O'Donnell previously worked at the Cleveland Clinic and Akron (Ohio) Medical Center.
• Dawn Taylor, CTICU interim operations coordinator, and her cardiothoracic team at Ashley River Tower were praised for reaching the 21st consecutive month without a central line-associated bloodstream infection
• Leandra McHellon is the new office manager in Women's Services. McHellon worked previously as a grants administrator for the Digestive Disease Center.
• The next meeting is Feb. 21.