To Medical Center Employees

After 39 years, it may not come as a surprise that I have decided to retire at the end of this calendar year. My employment at MUSC has been a greatly rewarding and gratifying experience.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of witnessing dramatic advancements in patient care and service. Also, I have enjoyed taking part in the incredible expansion of the facilities to enable MUSC to fulfill our mission.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of my tenure has been the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals. After such wonderful experiences, I have mixed emotions about retiring. In the future I will greatly enjoy observing the Medical Center's continued success from a different perspective.

Finally, in the months ahead I will be committed to developing an action plan to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

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

People–Fostering employee pride and loyalty

Employee of the Month-May
Cassandra Whaley, Pharmacy Services; Terri Massey, Volunteer Services-9th floor concierge; Vanessa Stewart, Volunteer & Guest Services; and Kelly Howard, Heart & Vascular-Art Prep Cath Lab were recognized in their respective areas for going above and beyond their call helping patients and fellow employees.

Message from Stuart Smith
Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and MUSC medical center executive director, shared news with the MUHA family announcing his retirement in December.

Smith explained that a search process was initiated by MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., to begin the transition. Greenberg established a formal search committee consisting of MUSC and MUHA leadership and led by Etta D. Pisano, M.D., vice president of medical affairs and College of Medicine dean.

Smith, who has worked at MUSC for 39 years, praised the many accomplishments achieved by hospital employees and clinical faculty throughout the years. He applauded staff and clinical leadership for making improvements to patient care, research support, employee excellence and hospital efficiency as well as elevating MUSC's reputation as an expert medical provider in the Tri-county, statewide, regionally and nationally. Smith is supportive to the medical center's strategic plan, leadership and optimistic to the upcoming transitions.

Within the next six months, he'll focus on current issues, which include hospitalwide preparation for the upcoming Joint Commission visit, finalizing MUSC's budget and other concerns. Smith said he is committed to the outcome of this process and will keep staff informed through meetings and regular communications.

HR update
Helena Bastian, MUHA HR director, presented the following:
--HR reminders: The following documentations must be maintained in the unit/departmental file or electronically — Primary source verification of license (must be completed prior to expiration date); documentation of orientation to unit/department and current position, i.e. CBO (includes charge nurse and clinical unit leader must be completed); positions requiring BLS or ACLS; positions requiring BLS or ACLS (current documentations); documentation of training specific to patient; and PPE (Personnel Protective Equipment) documentation

--CPR requirement – Positions that require current CPR Certification – The card must either be: an American Heart Association Basic Life (BLS) for Healthcare Providers card, or an American Red Cross Professional Rescuer card

--HR policy update – Key modifications
HR Policy 1 Employee Health – All references to "job related" were changed to "work related;" ACORD form to be completed online at http://mcintranet.musc.edu/ehs/work_related.htm. Instead of hard copy sent with employee to Employee Health.

--Procedure – Section B1: Deleted: A copy of the employee's PD is no longer required to be brought to Employee Health; Section B2: "post offer" was added to further clarify pre-employment drug screening; Section C1: Addition of www.muschealth.com for non-work related injuries/illness; Section C2: Insertion: "Employees with non-work related injuries/illnesses are not seen by Employee Health, nor will they issue work excuses

--HR Policy 2 orientation – Section B (Unit/Department Orientation): The unit or department representative will conduct an appropriate evaluation to ensure employees possess required initial job specific competencies as indicated by job specific requirements;

When applicable, unit/department orientation should include verification of competencies of temporary and/or "agency employees" unless documentation is provided through the pre-employment procedure or agency contract; Unit/department orientation for employees should include review of the employee's job description and planning document; Unit/department orientation for volunteers should include a familiarization to the work area and, if applicable, training required for the patient population. The unit/department should maintain a record of the unit/department and job specific orientation process.

Leadership diversity training – two sessions, Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30-5 p.m.; July 30, Gazes auditorium; Aug. 20, Aug. 27, Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, Room 112, Bioengineering Building. Register via CATTS. For information, contact Allen Coulter, coulteal@musc.edu.

PeopleAdmin upgrade
Upgrade of the PeopleAdmin Applicant Tracking System from Version 5.8 to Version 7 has been delayed until September due to the KRONOS upgrade. HR will notify you when training classes are available for registration in September. For information or questions, contact Kim Duncan, 792-1962.

Meet the MUHA HR Team – HR representatives will be in the Children's Hospital lobby to answer employee questions and provide other HR-related needs from 1-2:30 p.m., July 26.

SC retirement system
Mark Stimpson, benefits manager, outlined major changes to the SCRS, PORS ORP systems.

Effective July 1, the employee contribution rate will increase by 1/2 percent for all participants in the PORS/SCRS pension plans and Optional Retirement Program. This will be first reflected in the July 25 paycheck for medical center employees; two more, 1/2 percent employee contribution rate increases are scheduled during the next two years; as of July 1, the total employer contribution rate increases by nearly 1.3 to 15 percent for SCRS (including retiree insurance surcharge) with another 0.3 percent increase scheduled for 2014; pension checks for rehired retirees with a date of retirement later than Dec. 31, 2012 who are under age 62 will be suspended until the end of that fiscal year once they have earned $10,000 – the ability to be rehired after retirement is subject to a manger's approval, hours and pay may change; as of Jan. 1, 2013, retirees will be required to take a break of service of at least 30 days before being rehired; cost of living increases for retirees will be set at 1 percent and not to exceed $500 per year; the TERI program will continue to be available to current participants up through June 30, 2018.

For a summary of changes, visit http://www.retirement.sc.gov/. To arrange for a speaker at meetings, contact stimpso@msuc.edu or call 792-9320.

Kronos upgrade
Patty Burn and Vickie Nash unveiled plans for upgrades to MUHA Payroll's Kronos timekeeping system and time clocks. Effective Friday, Aug. 3, the new version of Kronos will be in effect along with time clock units. The change will utilize the Proximite RFID (instead of the barcode) embedded in employee badges. The RFID is the same technology used with the parking systems and cafeteria payroll deduction. It is mandatory for all hourly employees to pre-register their badges in order to work with the new Kronos system. If not, non-registered employee badges will not be recognized by the Kronos time clocks. The new time clocks offer employees options to review information from view timecard, leave balances, vacation, punch status, etc. Badge registration and other information can be found at http://mcintranet.musc.edu/hr/payroll/index.htm.

Quality – Providing quality patient care in a safe environment
Emergency GreenCard update
Christine Williamson, manager Infrastructure Applications Services team, provided managers with an overview of the campus' GreenCard system, an offsite voice mailbox tool used by managers to communicate with employees during a weather emergency. She advised managers to write a draft of their message. The system uses text-to-speech technology so do not use abbreviations in composing the message.

Access via https://eapps.musc.edu/greencard and scroll to the topic (code) that needs to be updated. Select Edit and enter your message and update. Williamson advised managers to re-check their message (805-5010 or 866-398-1589) and re-enter if necessary. Finally, managers are reminded to tell their employees which department code number to use to access the information.

Announcement
The next meeting is Aug. 7.