INSIDE THIS ISSUE ISSUE 20 VOLUME 8 MedWestPress an employee & physician centered publication of medical west hospital events Page 2 october calendar Page 6 Halloween safety Page 7 Cheers to charity Page 8 breast cancer t-shirts Page 9 senior care luncheon Page 9 compliance corner Page 10 Meet your coworker Meet Grace Eagleson Page 11 quality & infection Control week Page 12 A LETTER FROM KEITH PENNINGTON Cooler air means we are gearing up for the most festive time of year. Between football games, Thanksgiving meals, and Christmas get-togethers, we tend to spend more time with our family and friends this time of year. While quality time with family and friends is a must, it s also important to spend this time of fellowship and fun with our work family. It s a time to celebrate our accomplishments and the hard work we perform each and every day. Medical West will be kicking off our fall festivities with our annual Ghostly Grillout on Tuesday, October 31st. All employees are invited to join us for a free meal on the front lawn from 11am 1pm. Feel free to wear your Halloween costume (in good taste) that day. Who can guess what Administration will dress up as this year? I would like to encourage each department to participate in the annual pumpkin-carving contest. Thank you to the Nursing Services department and Lab for already signing up I can t wait to see what you come up with and all of the others that will be joining you. Department prizes will be awarded to the top 3 pumpkins! To register, call ext. 8500 or see page 3 for more information. I look forward to seeing you at the Ghostly Grillout, as well as each of the activities that will be taking place over the next couple of months. Thanks for all you do, Keith Pennington CEO & President case management week Page 13 pat on the back Page 13
YOUR NEWS NEWS farmers EVERY MONDAY THROUGH OCTOBER! 11am - 2pm Now located on Level 1 in the Professional Building Near Outpatient Registration & The Gift Shop 2
NEWS YOUR NEWS register your department for the pumpkin carving contest Pumpkin Carving Contest Rules: 1) Your pumpkin must be carved in some form or fashion. 2)All pumpkins must be brought to the front lawn by 10am. Employees will vote from 11am - 1pm. Department prizes will be awarded to the top 3 pumpkins! Call ext. 8500 to register your department! 3
YOUR NEWS NEWS Seasonal Flu Vaccine Reminder Effective October 1, 2017, all Medical West employees are required to get an annual seasonal flu vaccination. For the 2017-2018 flu season, employees must provide proof of compliance by December 1, 2017. Employee Health is offering the influenza vaccine free of charge to all Medical West employees. Employees may also get the flu vaccine at their doctor s office, a retail pharmacy, or another location. However, to ensure we have record of compliance, employees must submit a document to Employee Health from the provider/pharmacy that provided the flu vaccine. For questions regarding this new policy, please review the Medical West Career website at www.medicalwesthospital.org/careers. Benefits Update Open enrollment for 2018 benefits will be from November 5 th through November 18 th. We will have the Benefits Fair on Monday, November 6 th and Tuesday, November 7 th. All benefit changes, including enrollments or cancellations, must be completed in Benetrac by November 18 th. The Benefits Open Enrollment Toolkit, along with several required notices, will be posted on the homepage in Benetrac. Login Instructions: Website: www.benetrac.com or www.medicalwesthospital.org (click on the Career Link and then the Benefits Link) Employer ID: HCAW3133 User ID: First initial of your first name, first initial of your last name and the first five numbers of your social security number First time password: Last four numbers of social security number PTO Repurchase Program We are pleased to announce that we will again offer an opportunity to sell back to the Hospital accrued PTO and accrued Sick Time. This repurchase program is completely voluntary. The PTO repurchase program is another way to use your leave in a way that best fits the your personal, professional, and financial goals. While this program provides the employee with more flexibility to better balance work and personal needs, Medical West does not want employees to minimize the importance of time off. Guidelines: You must be full-time and accruing PTO. The rate of repurchase will be at 75% of your current regular base rate of pay (excluding bonuses, shift differentials and other variable pay) per PTO hour and/or sick hour. You must have a minimum accrued balance of 80.00 hours of PTO (no minimum for accrued Sick Time) after the allotted buy back. Employees will NOT accrue PTO on the PTO and/or sick hours that are paid out. In order to participate in the voluntary repurchase program, you must complete, sign and return an authorization form to Human Resources (available in Human Resources and attached) by Friday, October 28 th. Please refer to your October 21 st paycheck for your available time off balances. 4 Special checks will be issued on Friday, November 10 th program. These checks will not be automatically deposited. If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources. for those that participate in the
YOUR NEWS NEWS UNIFORM SALE Thursday, November 9th - 7am - 4pm Friday, November 10th - 7am - 2pm Civic Room - Level C Pants, Tops, Jackets, Lab Coats & Shoes (Alegria, Dansko, Merrell, & Asics) *Payroll Deduction* *Major Credit or Debit Cards* *Cash* Sponsored by: VOLUNTEERS 5
EVENTS YOUR EVENTS 20 17 C A LE Farmers' market Every Monday through October (Level 1 in the POB) A Farmers Market will be held every Monday through October outside the Gift Shop on level 1 in the POB from 11am - 2pm. Stop by and purchase local produce and more! OCTOBER celebrating respiratory care week Monday, October 23rd - Friday, October 27th october birthday breakfast Thursday, October 26th @ 8:00am (Civic Room) N D AR celebrating quality & infection control week Monday, October 16th - Friday, October 20th celebrating Pastoral care week Monday, October 23rd - Friday, October 27th All employees with an October birthday are invited to join us as we celebrate your special day! Join us for breakfast and enter for a chance to win some great door prizes! Call ext. 8500 to RSVP. ghostly grill out Tuesday, October 31st from 11am - 1pm (Front Lawn) All employees are invited to join us for a Ghostly Grillout on Monday, October 31st on the front lawn! If you would like to participate in the pumpkin carving contest, please call marketing at ext. 8500. Halloween costumes (in good taste) are welcome! 6
HEALTH YOUR HEALTH Halloween Health and Safety Tips Fall celebrations like Halloween and Harvest Day are fun times for children, who can dress up in costumes, enjoy parties, and eat yummy treats. These celebrations also provide a chance to give out healthy snacks, get physical activity, and focus on safety. Check out these tips to help make the festivities fun and safe for trick-or-treaters and party guests. S A Swords, knives, and other costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible. Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult. F Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you. E Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat. H Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you. WALK, don t run from house to house. A Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent possible skin and eye irritation. L Look both ways before crossing the street. Use crosswalks wherever possible. L Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses. O Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe. W E Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls. Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers. E Enter homes only if you re with a trusted adult. Only visit well-lit houses. Never accept rides from strangers. N Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes. source: http://cdc.gov 7
HOSPITAL YOUR HOSPITAL Cheers to Charity! Medical West hosted our annual Cheers to Charity Gala & Auction on Thursday, October 5th at The Club. Guests enjoyed dinner, Kendra Scott mystery boxes, a silent auction and a live auction. With the help of our sponsors and bidders, Medical West was able to raise over $40,000 for the Western Health Services Foundation! A huge thank you to our volunteers for making this night such a success! For more pictures from the 2017 Cheers to Charity Gala, check out our Facebook page. 8
HOSPITAL YOUR Breast Cancer Awareness T-Shirts The Medical West Volunteers held a Breast Cancer T-Shirt sale where they sold over 350 shirts and were able to donate over $3,200 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Thank you to everyone who participated in this fundraiser! Dr. Rasa Miller Speaks at Senior Care Luncheon Medical West hosted a Senior Care Luncheon on Friday, October 13th at the Bessemer Civic Center. A special thanks to Dr. Rasa Miller for being our guest speaker! Dr. Miller spoke to over 150 senior citizens about the signs, risk factors and treatment options for breast cancer. Thank you to Dr. Miller, our Food Services staff and the Medical West Volunteers for all of your help! 9
HOSPITAL YOUR MEDICAL WEST compliance corner E-mail and Protected Health Information (PHI) Q: Can I e-mail protected health information (PHI)? A: Yes, PHI may be e-mailed, but Limit the PHI contained in the communication to the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose of the e-mail. Do not use a patient s full name or other unique identifiers in the subject heading of the e-mail. Double-check the to and cc lines before sending e-mail messages. If you must send an e-mail with PHI outside the Medical West e-mail system, then you must encrypt the e-mail by typing mwsecure anywhere in the subject line of the e-mail. 10 report it! If you have questions or concerns related to compliance, please contact Eugena White, Medical West Compliance Officer, at 481-8735. You may also ask questions or report concerns anonymously by calling the Compliance Hotline at 1-800-340-5877.
FAMILY YOUR FAMILY Meet Your Co-Worker GRACE EAGLESON Social Worker Grace Eagleson works in Case Mangagement as a Social Worker and has worked for Medical West for ten months. Grace is from Spanish Fort, Alabama and in December of 2016 she graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she double majored in social work and sociology. She is currently going to school full time at the University of Alabama for her master s degree in social work with a concentration in adults and families. Prior to working at Medical West, Grace interned here during her last semester of undergraduate school. Fun Facts About Grace Eagleson: 1. I spent two weeks in Italy and learned how to speak Italian. 2. I have a dog named Marlie and she is a German shepherd/golden retriever mix. 3. I am originally from Indiana, so I am a Yankee. 4. I don t root for Alabama or Auburn football. I live for basketball and March Madness. 5. I was president of Delta Gamma sorority while in college. 6. You can find me at Pepper Place Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. 7. I collect lipstick and have over 100 different colors. 8. Broadway plays are my favorite and my Mom and I see at least one a year. 9. I plan to get my doctorate in social work and become a LCSW, licensed clinical social worker. 10. I live in downtown Birmingham and enjoy the restaurants, live music, and local events with friends. 11
FAMILY YOUR FAMILY Meet A Department Celebrating Quality & Infection Control Week Healthcare Quality and Infection Prevention cannot be accomplished by one department. Each staff member, partner, provider, patient, and family member must participate for Medical West to provide high quality care and prevent infections. The Quality Improvement, Infection Prevention, and Medical Staff Offices provide support for these organizational activities. The Quality Coordinators support improvement activities by collecting and analyzing data, facilitating improvement teams, performing research, and developing education about healthcare quality and patient safety processes and topics. Infection preventionists are quality professionals who focus specifically on preventing infections. The Medical Staff Office supports the organized Medical Staff and ensures that medical staff members and affiliates who request privileges are properly credentialed and competent to provide care. In addition, the Medical Staff Quality Coordinator is responsible for ongoing and focused professional practice reviews for medical staff members and affiliates. In addition, the department analyses data and develops improvement plans related to survey readiness, culture of safety, risk management, ethics, and patient experience. For 2018, the Quality Aim for Medical West is To Build Confidence that Medical West Provides High Quality Care and Service. The goals are to achieve a Leapfrog Safety Grade of B and to achieve a 4-star rating on the CMS Hospital Compare website. The priority focus areas are: 1) Exceptional communication with patients 2) Clinical Excellence in Disease Management 3) Preventing Hospital Associated Infections The Quality Team looks forward to working with others to improve Medical West. Please allow us to serve as a resource when you need assistance or support with change management. 12 - Meredith Lutz, Chief Quality Officer
FAMILY YOUR FAMILY Meet A Department Celebrating Case Management Week Case Management in Hospital/Health Care Systems is a collaborative practice model including patients, nurses, social workers, physicians, other practitioners, caregivers and the community. The Case Management process encompasses communication and facilitates care along a continuum through effective resource coordination. The goals of Case Management include the achievement of optimal health, access to care and appropriate utilization of resources, balanced with the patient s right to self determination. Discharge planning begins at the time of admission. Case Management serves as an advocate to both the patient and hospital to ensure a smooth transition of care. Be sure to thank a case manager and social worker for all their hard work and dedication! - Toni Thrasher, Case Management Director Pat on the Back Brent Beard, CT/MRI Technologist, recently received a positive comment from a patient s family. My mom had a MRI several weeks ago at Medical West. Brent Beard was so nice to me and my 85 year old mom! It was nice to visit your place. Everyone spoke as you walked down the hall, seemed friendly and like they enjoyed working there. Thank you Brent for making a difference. We appreciate you! Thanks for reading this issue of Med West Press! If you have a Pat on the Back or a special feature you would like to see in our next issue, please email it to caroline.dahlen@uabmw.org. 13