New Human Resources Team Ready to Roll - Catholic Health System

October 2008Volume 1, Issue 8New Human Resources Team Ready to RollReady to greet associates and customers in their newly-remodeled HR reception area are: (seated, l.-r.) Anna West, Lisa Medina, Katie Sacca. (middlerow, l.-r.) Robin Messenger, JoAnn D’Angelo, Kathy Koscelniak, Patti Nettina, Joseph Scrivo. (back row, l.-r.) Patti Carroll, Kate Militello, KarenKalisz, and Pat Kauffman.In This Issue2 • Associates Recognized• Surgical Robot on Display3 • ER Construction Begins• Mercy’s Podcast Forum• Electronic Charting Nears4 • People in the News• Southtowns UPDATESubmit news items to:Melanie GriffisPublic Relations Managermgriffis@chsbuffalo.orgWith a new director, fournew associates and newlyrenovated offices, MercyHospital’s Human Resources (HR)team is setting a fast pace on theJourney to Greatness to help Mercybecome the healthcare employer ofchoice in Western New York.New faces on the HR team over recentmonths are Kate Militello, NurseRecruiter; Robin Messenger, RecruitmentAssistant; Lisa Medina, HRGeneralist I; and Karen Kalisz, HRGeneralist II.“With a new, energized team inplace, we have the traction to moveforward quickly to serve our associateswhile listening and respondingto their needs and ideas,” said Scrivo.“Recognizing that our efforts significantlyaffect how our associates feelabout their job and surroundings,we have begun a number of newinitiatives to constantly improve the First, the HR Department was recentlyremodeled to create a more wel-workplace,” said Joseph Scrivo, whowas named Director of Mercy Hospital’sHR Department in April 2008. area for associates and customers, ascoming and user-friendly receptionPrior to this appointment, he served well as to provide additional officeas Mercy’s Director of Labor Relationssince March 2007. Continued on pagespace for HR team members.2Page 1

“Most Improved”AwardsAnnouncedAn important partof improving patientsatisfaction at MercyHospital is recognizingthe associates whomake this happen on adaily basis. In fact, all of our patientcare associates play a critical role inensuring we provide high qualitypatient-centered care.One of the best ways to measurehow we are doing is through ourongoing patient satisfaction survey.When our patients and families areasked to give our hospital an OverallRating, our goal is that they circle thesurvey’s highest rating of “10”.Our patients have told us that the twomost important factors contributingto their satisfaction rating are havingtheir caregivers listen to themcarefully and treat them with respectand courtesy.To recognize those patient care unitsthat have improved their OverallRating from the previous month, theMost Improved Award was created.Since January of 2008, the followingPatient Care Units have received theMost Improved Award:January Maternal Child CareFebruary 6 McAuley EastMarch 6 McAuley WestApril 7 McAuly EastMay6 McAuley EastJune5 McAuley EastCongratulations go out to all of theassociates on these units for a jobwell done. We also extend sincerethanks to all of our associates whofocus on patient-centered care andservice every day. We are makinggreat strides in improving patientsatisfaction throughout Mercy, andour patients will reward us withexceptional Overall Ratings! vAssociates Honored for Years of ServiceHR Ready to RollContinued from page 1Next, recognizing that improvedstaffing drives both patient andassociate satisfaction, recruitmentwas made a top priority. Among thechanges made was moving the MercyEmployment Center kiosk to a moreconvenient location outside the cafeteriato make it easier for associatesand visitors to apply for jobs.Scrivo noted that the biggest opportunity,which was clearly identified inthe Voice of the Associate Survey, isworking towards improving two-waycommunication between associatesand management.“HR must be actively engaged in forumsthat allow our associates’ voicesto be heard such as the AssociateCouncil, Unit Practice Councils, Callto Care Committee, and Workload &Staffing Committee,” Scrivo stated.“It’s a simple, but often overlookedstep in process improvement...askthe people who actually do the workwhat needs to be done to improvehospital operations. It not only improvesmorale, but you also get somevery good ideas!” he added.Over 90 Mercy associates were honored for 25to 45 years of service during Catholic Health’sAssociate Recognition Dinner held on September16 th at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. At left in photo,Elizabeth Gorman of Mercy’s Imaging Servicesis congratulated for 45 years of service by SisterMargaret Tuley, DC, a Corporate Member ofCatholic Health’s Board of Directors with CHSPresident and CEO Joseph McDonald presiding.Marking 40 years of service were: Emilia Heckler,Barry Bardo, Janet Potts, Linda Jung,Patricia Pasquarella, and Nancy Orlando.Associates marking 35 years of service were:Ann Busshart, Kathleen Szczitka, Sharon Brennan, Carol Gurbacki, Marilyn Griffin,Colleen Rathke, Ellen Sibenik, JoAnn Giermek, Maureen Liebler, Janet Kranso,Patricia Wozniak, Maureen Canonico, Dallas Riggins, Kathleen Rowell, MichaelOlek, Marie Pfister, Florence Reed, Barbara DiOrio, Marie Grgas, Shiela Bowers,and Marcia Krolczyk.Congratulations go out to all of these dedicated associates, including the 25-year and 30-yearhonorees whom we will list in our next issue of Mercy Connection!Robot Visits MallThe daVinci robot used in minimallyinvasive surgery was on display at WaldenGalleria Mall on September 19 th to providefree hands-on demonstrations for the generalpublic. Mercy Hospital is the first and onlyhospital in the region using robotic-assistedsurgery for cardiac procedures. In abovephoto, Dr. John Bell-Thomson, Chair ofMercy’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Department,assists Natalie Tulowitzki, R.N. of Mercy’sOpen Heart Unit, seated, and Judy Keicher,O.R.T., of Mercy’s Cardiac Surgery Unit.Page 2

Construction Begins on New ERCommunicating ViaMercy PodcastsIt’s been a long time coming, butyou will soon hear the sounds ofconstruction on Mercy Hospital’snew state-of-the-art emergencydepartment. The project passed thecity’s Planning Board on October 7 thand a Building Permit applicationhas been submitted. A GroundbreakingCeremony is scheduled forThursday, October 30 th at 11 am infront of the hospital.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...• McAuley Circle will soon bemodified to prepare for the construction.The grassy section of the circlewhere benches are currently locatedwill be eliminated and paved to createa new temporary loop. The frontmain entrances will not change.• A new vendor entrance is beingcreated behind the hospital offMercy Street. Expected to be readyby November 1 st , all vendors willneed to use the new entrance duringweekdays if they will be at frontentrance more than 20 minutes.• Concrete barriers and a constructionfence will soon be erectedto define the construction area. Afield office for Pike ConstructionManagement Company will soonbe placed near the corner of ChoateAvenue and Abbott Road.• Ambulances will soon be reroutedto the Choate entrance, andthe entrance will no longer be accessibleto the public.It’s Countdown to SoarianNursing Documentation Go-Live!Mercy President and CEO C.J. Urlaubrecords a recent audio podcast to update staffon the hospital’s Journey to Greatness.Would you like to hear the latest andmost important news happeningaround Mercy Hospital without evergoing to a meeting? No problem. Youcan visit Mercy Hospital’s PodcastForum 24 hours a day on the CatholicHealth website, www.chsbuffalo.orgunder the Associates tab.Mercy produces audio podcasts asanother means of communicatingwith our associates. At yourconvenience, you can listen to MercyPresident and CEO C.J. Urlaubexplain our Journey to Greatness orcheck out the brief Around Mercynews podcasts.vNovember 9, 2008 marks the dawn of a new era at Catholic Health asMercy Hospital of Buffalo becomes the fourth hospital to implementelectronic nurse documentation through Soarian Clinical Team (SCT).SCT brings forth not only new technology, but an entirely newprocess, as nurses begin to do their charting at the patient’s bedside.There are many advantages to electronic charting - while it make takea little more time initially, once everyone has mastered the system, itwill allow nurses to spend more time at the bedside. It also creates amore complete electronic patient record. When clinical informationis no longer confined to a paper chart, multiple clinicians have accessContinued on page 4Mary Bauer, RN, standing, of the Soarian Clinical Teamassists Barbara Calorico, RN, in a “Train the Trainers”session held recently at Mercy Hospital.Page 3

Sweet Mercy!People In The NewsTina Davern,R.N., B.S.N.,was recentlyappointed Managerof InvasiveCardiology andElectrophysiology.She previouslyworked as Nurse Manager of theCardiac Care Unit. Tina holds abachelor’s degree in Nursing fromNiagara University. vHand Hygiene isFocus of InfectionPrevention WeekDuring Infection PreventionWeek, October 19-25, visitthe Hand Hygiene table,sponsored by the Mercy HospitalFoundation, located outside thecafeteria for free raffles, contests,give-aways, and information.Soarian Nursing,Continued from page 3to patient data at the same time -increasing safety and quality of care.It is important to note that all nursedocumentation for patients on med/surg units will be done electronically- therefore any clinician/physicianwho needs to review patientinformation such as vital signs, nurseassessments, I/Os, etc. will needto access that data via Soarian. Thepaper chart WILL NOT CONTAINNURSE DOCUMENTATION FORTHESE PATIENTS. Nurses in ICU,CCU, OHU, Labor and Delivery,and Pediatrics will continue paperdocumentation for the time being.Dr. Francis K.Augustine, M.D.,F.C.C.P., attendingphysician inMercy’s Departmentof InternalMedicine,Division of Pulmonaryand Critical Care Medicine,recently became Board Certified inthe specialty of Sleep Medicine. Itwas the first time the Sleep MedicineBoard Examination was offered bythe American Board of Medical Specialties,administered by the AmericanBoard of Internal Medicine. vAssociateCouncilUpdateDuring September’s AssociateCouncil meeting, members agreedto move forward with planning anAssociate Christmas party. Membersalso discussed smoking cessationprograms and other tools to helpassociates while Mercy graduallymoves to a smoke-free campus.Communications Committeemembers received valuablefeedback regarding content forthe new communications kioskin the cafeteria. The EnvironmentImprovement Committee announcedthat $600,000 has been earmarked inthe 2009 capital budget to upgradethree service elevators.vNursing Preceptors RecognizedfromSouthtownsManagementIn an effort to keep communicationflowing throughout MercyHospital, we have establisheda monthly UPDATE column toreport timely news and outcomesfrom the monthly SouthtownsManagement meetings. Highlightsfrom September’s meeting include:• Mercy Hospital’s ER constructionproject received Early Startapproval from New York State.The new ER addition is expected toopen in December 2009.• The 5McAuley East Unit willundergo renovation beginningin October. The unit will betemporarily moved to 5 Main whilethe nursing station and rooms aremodernized and refurbished. Inaddition, two rooms will be addedto the Hospice Unit. It is expectedto take 6 -8 weeks to complete.• We are close to reaching anagreement with Tim Horton’s toestablish a coffee shop in the lobby.• The Go Green Committee will beestablishing a Carpool Club.• The Associate Appeal for TheCampaign for Mercy Hospital’sNew ER has begun with a goal toraise $250,000.vThe implementation begins on Sun.,November 9 at 7 a.m. A full supportteam will be on-site 24/7 throughoutthe first two weeks to help ourclinical staff. vThe Nursing Preceptors Recognition Dinner was recently held at Ilio Di Paolo’s Restaurant tothank the preceptors for their vital role in training new nurses. Enjoying the evening were, fromleft: Brenda Robinson, Rose Williams, Deana Lambert, Donna Stetler, and Madonna Shriver. vPage 4