R x T ra A publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital January 17, 2011 Vol. 67 No. 1 1 During the blizzard, Jackie Morales (middle) from Hartford made her way to work at Hartford Hospital Women's Ambulatory Health Services with the help of her son Anthony Ward and her co-worker Sylvia Negron, also from WAHS. Wednesday’s Blizzard Proves No Match for Hospital Staff; Patient Care Uninterrupted During Weather Emergency A huge Nor’easter - the fourth biggest storm in this region in 60 years - dumped up to two feet of snow on Connecticut last Wednesday, paralyzing the Northeast and causing most businesses to close. But it did not inter- rupt patient care at Hartford Hospital. “We are committed to providing top-quality patient care 24 hours per day, seven days per week, regardless of the weather,” said Jeff Flaks, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our patients and their families depend on the outstanding and compas- sionate care this institution provides, thanks to the efforts and dedication of our entire Hartford Hospital team.” Hospital leadership declared a Weather Advisory in accordance with institution policy, and established a Command Center to coordinate information on road conditions, staff arrivals, and city services. Departmental management teams worked with their staff to to balance clinical and non-clinical staffing needs relative to the impact of the weather. Essential personnel was prepared to stay longer than their regular shifts in case There was no wait for an outdoor table in the storm! others were not able to get here. Arrangements were made for overnight accommodations in the ERC, and 147 staff members stayed overnight in rooms in the ERD or on cots in Heublin Hall. “We also made sure that we had adequate patient care supplies, and that our internal staff was ready to manage snow removal,” Flaks said. “Everything possible was done to enable us to con- tinue to deliver the excellent patient care for which we are known.” Aetna Ambulance Service was called upon to transport patients who were being discharged to their homes to make room for incoming patients; to bring dialysis patients to the hospital for treatment because their dial-a-ride transportation wasn’t running; and in at least one case, to bring a stranded physician to the hospital. The ambulance service made a total of 45 extra storm-related trips, said Dave Skoczulek, director of business development and community relations for the ambulance company, which is a joint venture with Hartford Healthcare. “We’d like to thank the staff members who stayed overnight and who braved very difficult conditions to come to work. Our entire Hartford Hospital family responded with your usual dedication, which is one of our hospital’s greatest assets, especially in challenging circumstances,” Flaks said.
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RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital January 17, 2011 Vol. 67 No. 1
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During the blizzard, Jackie Morales (middle) from Hartford made her way to workat Hartford Hospital Women's Ambulatory Health Services with the help of her sonAnthony Ward and her co-worker Sylvia Negron, also from WAHS.
Wednesday’s Blizzard Proves No Match for Hospital Staff;Patient Care Uninterrupted During Weather Emergency
A huge Nor’easter - the fourth biggeststorm in this region in 60 years -dumped up to two feet of snow onConnecticut last Wednesday, paralyzingthe Northeast and causing mostbusinesses to close. But it did not inter-rupt patient care at Hartford Hospital.
“We are committed to providingtop-quality patient care 24 hours perday, seven days per week, regardless ofthe weather,” said Jeff Flaks, executivevice president and chief operatingofficer. “Our patients and their familiesdepend on the outstanding and compas-sionate care this institution provides,thanks to the efforts and dedication ofour entire Hartford Hospital team.”
Hospital leadership declared aWeather Advisory in accordance withinstitution policy, and established aCommand Center to coordinateinformation on road conditions, staffarrivals, and city services.
Departmental management teamsworked with their staff to to balanceclinical and non-clinical staffing needsrelative to the impact of the weather.Essential personnel was prepared to staylonger than their regular shifts in case
There was no wait for an outdoor tablein the storm!
others were not able to get here.Arrangements were made for overnightaccommodations in the ERC, and 147staff members stayed overnight inrooms in the ERD or on cots inHeublin Hall.
“We also made sure that we hadadequate patient care supplies, and thatour internal staff was ready to managesnow removal,” Flaks said. “Everythingpossible was done to enable us to con-tinue to deliver the excellent patientcare for which we are known.”
Aetna Ambulance Service wascalled upon to transport patients whowere being discharged to their homesto make room for incoming patients; tobring dialysis patients to the hospital
for treatment because their dial-a-ridetransportation wasn’t running; and in atleast one case, to bring a strandedphysician to the hospital. Theambulance service made a total of 45extra storm-related trips, said DaveSkoczulek, director of businessdevelopment and community relationsfor the ambulance company, which is ajoint venture with Hartford Healthcare.
“We’d like to thank the staffmembers who stayed overnight andwho braved very difficult conditions tocome to work. Our entire HartfordHospital family responded with yourusual dedication, which is one of ourhospital’s greatest assets, especially inchallenging circumstances,” Flaks said.
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If you have any business ethics or compliance concerns, please contact your supervisoror call the Compliance Helpline, a confidential service, at 1-800-431-5572.
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New Standardized Uniforms for Patient Access Team MakesGreat First Impression on Patients and Visitors
We all know you only get one chanceto make a good first impression. Andsince members of the Patient Accessand Patient Relations Teams are usu-ally the first Hartford Hospital staffmembers to greet patients when theyenter the facility, it is often up tothem to make sure that firstimpression is a good one.
For that reason, team membersdecided to take steps to make surethe first impression they made onpatients was a good one. As part oftheir work on an H3W team, theyformed a professional image commit-tee, and have created a new “dresscode” for themselves. They haveselected standard “uniforms” that allof them - approximately 100 people -will wear beginning Feb. 1.
“We really wanted that ‘wowfactor’ when we first met thepatients,” said Barbara Norman-Riddle, representing the professionalimage committee. “The new lobbyhas that ‘wow factor,’ and now wewill too.”
The patient access team, whichdoes all registration, scheduling andinformation gathering for incomingpatients, selected outfits made up ofblack jackets and slacks for men, andblack jackets or cardigans and slacksor skirts for women, to be worn withwhite or blue oxford shirts.
Members of the patient access team’s professional image committee show off thenew uniforms. Left to right: Maribel Almonte, Donna Bobb, Vantas Cummings,Barbara Norman-Riddle, Jessica Colon and Felicita Arroyo.
Each member of the team was givena budget allowing them to purchase thepieces they wanted from the uniformvendor, making up three full uniforms foreach person.
“The new uniforms enhance theimage of the patient access teammembers, and the entire hospital,” saidBecky Peters, patient access servicesdirector. “They will make a consistentvisual impression, and we think it willenhance the overall patient experience.”
Peters said members of thecommittee chose the suit-like uniformsthemselves from catalogs.
“We thought perhaps they wouldchoose something a little more casual,but they wanted to make the mostpositive and professional impressionpossible,” Peters said.
Members of the professional imagecommittee are Maribel Almonte,Felicita Arroyo, Donna Bobb, JessicaColon, Vantas Cummings, JeanneElaugh, Barbara Norman-Riddle,Brendy Riera, and Phil Tal.
“We had a voice in choosing theuniforms, and we are proud of them,”Norman-Riddle said.
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Two key courses are being offered initially: Introduction toHHC Leadership, which will explain the new competencymodel and what is expected of leaders; and LeadershipDevelopment Plans That Work, to help leaders develop theirmanagers. New courses will be added every quarter.
Assisting Haytaian in developing the LDI and delivering thecourses are two learning and organization consultants, AlisonRapose, who is the lead for Hartford Hospital, and Clara Riley,who is the lead for the other partner organizations.
“We are currently in the process of determining how best tocommunicate and enroll leaders across the system,” Haytaiansaid.
Schedule of LDI ClassesThe schedule for Leadership Development Institute courses
for the next quarter follows.
• Introduction to HHC Leadership (leadership expectationsand competencies):
Hartford Hospital - Feb. 3 and March 1MidState Medical Center - Jan. 26, Feb. 23 and March 8Natchaug Hospital - Feb. 1 and March 2
• Encouraging the Heart (how to reward and recognize staff):Hartford Hospital - Jan. 18, Feb. 24 and March 15MidState Medical Center - March 23Natchaug Hospital - Feb. 21 and March 30
• Leader Development Plans That Work will be offered atHartford Hospital on Jan. 25, Feb. 1, 14, 21 and 28, andMarch 21, 24 and 29
• Sexual Harassment Prevention will be offered at HartfordHospital on Jan. 25
• We Have to Stop Meeting Like This (effective meetingmanagement):
Hartford Hospital - March 14MidState Medical Center - Jan. 20
Learning and Organizational Development:
Creating a System-wide Culture of Learning to SupportPositive Cultural Change and Personal GrowthMany large institutions struggle with issues created whenthe technical experts within the organization are promotedto management positions, but are not necessarily trainedto be leaders.
“We know that an organizations’ people determinethe organization’s success,” said Elliot Joseph, presidentand CEO of Hartford Healthcare Corporation. “We wantto ensure that HHC leaders and staff members have theopportunity to obtain the skills they need to elevate ourorganization to top-decile performance, achievingexcellence in patient care, quality, and everything we do.This requires commitment on the organization’s part, andon the part of each individual.”
To help ensure that all leaders in the organization hadthe skills and training they needed to be most effective,Hartford Healthcare is developing a new LeadershipDevelopment Institute, run by the Learning and Organiza-tional Development department.
The LDI will begin this month offering classes to allmanagers in the system, based on competencies that havebeen identified as important system-wide.
Competencies identified as important include thingssuch as self awareness, integrity, ethics, communicationand interpersonal skills, results orientation, customer/patient focus, and managerial courage. (For moreinformation, see the LOC page on the intranet athttp://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/dept/96?route=2.)
“The ongoing development of our leaders and staff iscore to Hartford Healthcare’s achieving our vision to benationally respected for excellence in patient care,” saidJoseph.
Leadership Development Institute“The Leadership Development Institute was designed
to ensure that leaders throughout the Hartford Healthcareorganization understand the expectations and accountabil-ities of those that manage and lead others, based on theorganization’s leadership competency model,” saidMarcia Haytaian, director of leadership and organization-al development.
“Our goal is to develop all individuals that managepeople so they have the knowledge and skills to create apositive work environment and engage their staff to bestserve our patients,” she said.
Schedule of 2011 HolidaysHartford Hospital will observe these holidays in 2011:
• President’s Day-Monday, Feb. 21• Memorial Day-Monday, May 30• Independence Day-Monday, July 4• Labor Day-Monday, Sept. 5• Thanksgiving-Thursday, Nov. 24• Christmas-observed Monday, Dec. 26.
Employee Council Meeting Jan. 19The next Employee Council meeting will be Wednesday,Jan. 19 from 1-2 p.m. in the Conklin Building, GilmanAuditorium. The Hispanic Health Council will make apresentation on diversity and how it impacts the healthcareservices we offer to our multicultural community.
Get Your Flu Shot NowAn increasing number of influenza cases have beendocumented in the region and peak flu activity is predictedwithin the next few weeks. The best way to protect yourself,your patients and family is to get the flu vaccine. Staff canget flu shots in Occupational Health Services Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m., and no appointment is necessary.Off-shift satellite vaccination locations are listed athttp://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/docs/5628?route=41.
Federal Loan Forgiveness for NursesApplication Deadline is February 8Eligible registered nurses may apply for the 2011 NursingEducation Loan Repayment Program, a federally fundedprogram that offers RNs substantial assistance to repayeducational loans in exchange for service in critical shortagefacilities like Hartford Hospital. Last year, four HH nursesqualified to have 60 percent of their nursing loans forgiventhrough this program. Deadline for applications is Feb. 8.Contact Nancy Bafundo, 860-545-2558, for information.
Hartford Hospital School of NursingAlumnae Offering ScholarshipsThe Alumnae Association of the Hartford Hospital School ofNursing is offering nursing scholarships to HHSN graduatesand their immediate families, or nurses who have worked atHH, IOL or Jefferson House for at least six months.Applicants must be matriculated in an accredited nursingprogram for fall semester 2011. Further information may beobtained online at www.hhsnalumnae.org/scholarship.htm.
Do You Want to Quit Smoking?If you are 30 to 50 years old and have smoked at least onepack of cigarettes a day for more than 10 years, a studybeing conducted at the Cardiology Research Departmentmay be able to help. (A small number of non-smokers arealso needed.) Financial compensation is available toparticipants. Call Amanda Augeri, 860-545-3454.
Pre-admission Testing Center MovedThe Pre-Admission Testing Center has moved from thePatient Registration area to Center 8. All PATC contactinformation remains the same.
Info Session Jan. 27 for Master’s inExperiential Health and Healing Learn about an innovative master’s degree in integrativemedicine offered under the direction of Drs. Bernie Siegeland Steven Horowitz. Class cohorts are available in locationsincluding Hartford Hospital in collaboration with IntegrativeMedicine. Information sessions will be held in Dining RoomA, Main Cafeteria on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. andTuesday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. For more information call203-874-4252 or visit www.learn.edu.
Psych Rehab Newsletter AvailableThe January edition of Rehabilitation Station (the newsletterfor the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation) is availableon the intranet at http://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/dept/947.
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RxTra is published by the Planning and Marketing Department each week of the year, with a special monthly issue on thelast week of the month. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] at least two weeks before the publicationdate using the submission form found on the hospital Intranet under the Planning and Marketing Department. (The web link forthe form is http://intranet.harthosp.org/hh/docs/2484). For questions or comments, please contact Garret Condon at [email protected] or 860-545-4180. This publication is printed by Hartford Hospital’s Digital Print Center (DPC).
