Original crew members reminisce as AirCare celebrates 15 years

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6 CENTERVIEW ON ON the the Move... Move... Improved teamwork drives Information Systems to medical mall by Bruce Coleman A s part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s long-range transition to make more clinical operations available on its main campus, Division of Information Systems staff have relocated to the Jackson Medical Mall That Cochran Center. In fact, the majority of the DIS workforce – close to 200 employees – moved last weekend to what is now a virtual “command center” for information systems in the northern-most section of the medical mall behind the UMMC Cancer Institute. Four large and four medium-sized conference rooms and six small meeting areas surround individual employee cubicles in the mammoth 36,500-square-foot space that was once the Woolco Department Store. The move represents the completion of a career circle for one DIS employee, whose first job in high school was as a sales clerk in the automotive division of Woolco some 35 years ago. “She told me her first job was in that space, and her last job will be in that space,” said Charlie Enicks, UMMC chief information officer, with a laugh. He said the relocation represents an opportunity for the division to CENTERVIEW | February 7, 2011 become more cohesive, allowing for improved internal communication and customer service. “We’re so spread out, we have people in buildings everywhere,” Enicks said before the move. “We wanted to be more together, but there wasn’t that kind of space available on campus. “This provides really great space relatively close to campus.” DIS personnel who have moved to the mall include the applications group, information security, administrative functions, most of the technical staff and all of the consulting staff. Enicks said the LINC team will relocate to the mall from the Alumni House once that project goes live this summer. Otherwise, the only DIS staff remaining on the main campus will be the operators in the computer room, desktop support personnel central to the Service Desk and IT support analysts already embedded in departments. Staff aren’t the only Division of Information Systems resources on the move. This spring, the division’s primary application server will be relocated to the new Data Center in the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning building off Lakeland Drive. Enicks said the move was necessitated to “provide redundancy for missioncontrol systems” and to house the new LINC and Epic technology. Aaron Champion, is on the DIS MAC (Move, Add, Changes) Team. Floor plan of the new DIS offices at the Jackson Medical Mall “There will still be a lot of support on campus,” Enicks said. “Our goal is to not degrade support levels during the move and then continue to improve the way we deliver service. “Our customers should not see a difference.” Logistics represents the only real wrinkle to the move, but Enicks said the Department of Physical Facilities is working with DIS to ensure ways for employees to quickly get to campus when needed. “My expectation is our customer service won’t be hindered,” he said. “Walking from one of the L Buildings on Lakeland to the hospital takes just as long as driving from the mall.” Enicks is no stranger to being housed away from the main cam- Over the last few weeks, the Department of Human Resources at the University of Mississippi Medical Center has come to resemble an old high school buddy: You may not see him as often as you used to, but he’s always available whenever you call. The continued focus on customer service that has become a priority for the department over the past year hasn’t gone away since many of its offices relocated to the old student housing apartments Jan. 10. If anything, the move provides an opportunity for Medical Center employees to become more familiar with the electronic services HR provides, according to Scott Stanford, director of compensation and benefits. “We want to make sure we are providing the top service every employee can receive, whether high-touch or high-tech,” said Stanford. “We’ve made strides toward that and we’re pushing to get better.” The high-tech portion of that equation can be found easily on the UMMC Intranet – where employees can access “My UMMC Employee Self-Service” under “Hot Spots” – or on the Internet, where employees can select the “My UMMC” icon on the top right-hand corner of umc.edu. And as always, HR representatives are available by telephone. pus: he said a similar relocation had taken place at an institution where he had worked previously. “It turned out to be a great thing, because the bulk of our group was together,” he said. “We even had customers come to us, because they liked the change of scenery. “We have an eye towards having the same thing happen here.” Which means upheaval sometimes can be a good thing. “It’s an exciting time for DIS,” he said. “We have been steadily improving our services and applications. We look forward to the improved teamwork our new digs will afford us.” HR departments retain customer service focus throughout relocation “We want to make sure we are providing the top service every employee can receive, whether high-touch or high-tech.” But if an employee really wants to visit with an HR representative one-on-one, the opportunity hasn’t gone away. It’s just been relocated to a different space. HR Benefits, HR Leave Processing, HR Background Verification and HR In-processing all have found new homes in the old apartments. Other HR services, including HR Fingerprinting (R102A) and HR International Services (R105), have relocated to the first floor of the Research Wing. HR Employee Relations and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer remain in their same locations. An HR General Benefits Office is available in R105 for employees who wish to pick up and drop off forms related to various HR processes. Although the bulk of the Benefits Office may be out of sight, Stanford intends to keep it on the forefront of UMMC employees’ minds. “We have a lot of information and services available online, and we’re in the process of upgrading our HR webpages,” he said. “Employee self-service will provide enhanced access to employees online in July. “But just because there’s a lot of high-tech options out there, employees need to know all they have to do is pick up the phone if they have any questions or want to be walked through anything they see online. We’re going to give the best service we can in whatever format people want to use us.” — Scott Stanford February 7, 2011 | CENTERVIEW 7 CENTERVIEW
ConTInUED FroM FronT PagE Ò After 1.7 million miles, 13,000 patients, AirCare logs perfect safety record “It’s a brother-sister thing,” says Bo Sullivan, flight nurse. “Or a mama-son thing,” replies Jamie Miller, newborn transport nurse. They’ve been together on so many flights, they’ve lost count. “We were young when we all started,” says Cathy Delaney, newborn transport nurse. “Now all of us have to have reading glasses.” “I used to jump off the helicopter. Now I sit on the edge and climb down,” says Miller. “Reading glasses have become part of your essential gear,” says flight nurse and paramedic Todd Perry. This foursome is part of a crew that includes 11 RNs, 12 paramedics, eight pilots and four mechanics. One helicopter (the newest) is based here; a second, based in Meridian, was added in 2009. IN 15 years, the AirCare crew has flown more than 1.7 million miles and transported more than 13,000 patients with a perfect safety record. The two choppers are the only emergency helicopters in the state that are instrument rated, meaning they can fly in almost any weather except dense fog, tornadic winds and ice. That can make flying interesting. The crew agrees you don’t have to love to fly to do the job. You just have to do it. Perry is an aviation enthusiast and has a fixed- wing license. The Medical Center’s original helicopter, LifeStar, (in service from 1983 through 1990) picked up his father when he sustained a head injury. “I was a child, but I remember asking someone what you would have to do to get a job on a helicopter,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to fly.” Delaney, on the other hand, almost quit her job in newborn transport when she got her orders to be part of the helicopter service. “I was terrified. I was hyperventilating during the first trip to pick up a patient.” She had been a nurse in the newborn intensive care unit and joined the ground ambulance newborn transport team in 1993. Three years later, she was a reluctant member of the AirCare crew. She got over her fear. Now she says she loves every minute of it. Wouldn’t do anything else. “I just developed a lot of camaraderie with my fellow crew members . . . and the pilots. My life is in their hands, and I trust them.” The nurses and paramedics may be the people the patients remember most vividly, but after all, air transport would not exist without specially trained helicopter pilots. And they do more than just fly. “The pilots will get dirty with you,” says Perry. “After they land the copter at a hospital, they’re right there with us with the patient, holding bags, handing us gear, holding lights. They’re a wealth of help.” sullIvaN, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, describes his colleagues and himself as “type A” personality types – focused, driven and having the ability to “adapt, adjust and improvise.” “You never know what you’ll find at the destination,” he said. “Often it’s not what you expected at all—like going after a baby and having to resuscitate an adult as well.” “We all have a little McGyver in us,” said Perry, referring to the popular television character who evades death and catastrophe with a Swiss army knife and duct tape. Miller is especially adept at repairing malfunctioning machines in the air. “We don’t fly with a mechanic, and I’m pretty good with tools.” This high-intensity, adrenaline-pumping job isn’t for everyone, but it’s not without its rewards. “There’s just nothing like knowing you had something to do with saving a person’s life,” Delaney said. aNd the blue juMp suIts, regulation attire for the crew, are becoming very well recognized around the state. The excitement generated by an AirCare landing in a rural community makes the crew minor celebrities. “I think we’ve become pretty good ambassadors for the University,” said Perry. The crew gets a lot of positive reinforcement from the reactions of the hospital staff and ground crews when they arrive. “It’s usually, ‘Thank God you’re here,’ ” Perry said. Miller said one nurse in a rural hospital, relieved that her patient was leaving in the hands of newborn specialists, told her, “I like your front, but I like your behind a lot better.” Donna Norris, chief flight nurse and director of AirCare, expects and gets the best from her crew. She’s been with AirCare since 1997, and now she’s the department head, rarely getting the opportunity to go up now. “I do miss that,” she said. Being a comfort and help to people in dire need is what drives most emergency responders, including flight crews. “I held a man’s hand and talked with him all the way back from south Mississippi on one flight,” Norris said. “He had a horrific facial injury and was terrified. When you get to help people in situations like that, there’s no higher job satisfaction.” The Flying Trauma Center The new AirCare helicopter is 43 feet long, shorter than the previous one at 52 feet, but with a much roomier interior. It easily holds one pilot, three medical personnel and two patients at one time (The normal configuration is one pilot, two medical personnel and one patient). “This means we can take a physician with us if necessary,” said Donna Norris, AirCare director. “There are some things nurses and paramedics cannot do, such as insert chest tubes, so if we know we’re going to have that to do, we can take an ER doc with us.” The new copter travels at 125 miles per hour and holds about 230 gallons of fuel. It has a carrying range of three hours, or 450 miles. It can go from Jackson to the Gulf Coast in 55 minutes. According to Capt. Paul Reihle, Aircare pilot, it has the most advanced aviation technology available, including full instrumentation for flying in most visibility-reducing conditions. “It practically flies itself,” he said. It’s not just a fast helicopter, said flight nurse Paul Boackle. “We bring a level of care to other parts of Mississippi that may not be available there,” he said. “We take them the University’s ICU, the trauma center and the neonatal intensive care unit.” Norris says part of the flying trauma center is the ability to take blood with them for transports. “You can’t deplete a rural hospital’s supply,” she said. “In that sense, we’re taking the blood bank to the patient. Few air emergency services can do that.” Anniversary reception AirCare will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a reception on the flight deck from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Attendees can enter their names for a chance to fly with the crew around the campus and downtown Jackson. February 7, 2011 | CEnTErVIEW 3 CEnTErVIEW
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Page 3: 4 CENTERPIECE FACE The Taste of the

Original crew members reminisce as AirCare celebrates 15 years

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