F A L L 2 0 1 2

Working Togetherf o r UMMC

Dear Colleague:

ospitals traditionally use the word “unit” to mean

one part of many sections that make up the whole. But it also means

the whole, as in “working together as a unit.”

Whenever I learn about the great things unit staff are working

on, it usually involves partners from other departments that interact

with many units. The best patient care happens when a group

of professionals with different roles, all working together, as one

team — make it their mission to give patients the best and safest care

possible.

In this issue, we have more examples of that than I have room to

repeat here. We have many great stories to tell. We hope you take great

pride in how the actions of each of you strengthen the teams on which

you work.

It’s rewarding when we can share our team spirit at work with

our family members. Thanks to the generosity of Edward St. John, a

member of the Shock Trauma Board of Visitors, we recently had such

an opportunity. Our families got to enjoy the Baltimore Grand Prix

from a prime spot on Light Street at the Maryland Science Center on

Saturday of the race weekend. You can see by the photos on page 6 that

it was a huge hit for those who accepted the invitation.

Thank you for all that you do, as individuals and as a team, to fulfill

our important mission to provide the safest and highest quality patient

care, every day.

Sincerely,

JEFFREY A. RIVEST President & Chief Executive Officer

w Safety and Civility on the Orthopaedics Unit

w Staff Get a Leg Up on Tuition Costs

w UMMC’s U.S. News & World Report Rankings

ALSO SEE

Inside:

PUBLISHED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION FORUMS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER

w Grand Pr ix Event Exclus ive ly for Employees

H

Dozens of perioperative staff members rallied together the weekend of June 16–17 to move in equipment and supplies to the new operating rooms in the Shock

Trauma Critical Care Tower. By Sunday night that weekend, they had prepared all 10 rooms to begin operating on patients at 7 a.m. Monday, June 18.

The Shock Trauma Critical Care Tower under construction on the southwest side of the hospital, at Lombard and Penn streets, will be completed by the end of 2013.

In the meantime, the Perioperative Services staff reached an important milestone on the weekend of June 16–17, when dozens of the staff rallied for two days of intense move-in activities for the 10 new operating rooms (ORs) that are part of the first phase of the building project.

“I thought it was going to be chaos, but it went quite smoothly,” says Tonya Miles-Zachary, BSN, RN, CNOR, a senior clinical nurse II in perioperative services. “It was very well organized, and it was exciting.”

“The planning and preparation was good, and that helped a whole lot,” says Rhonda Pulley, CST, certified surgical technologist. “We were able to move everything into place, so that on that first Monday morning of surgery, no one had to go looking for anything. Tables were where they were supposed to be. Cabinets had the right supplies in them.”

The Periop staff, together with partners from other departments, including Materials Management, Facilities and Housekeeping Hospitality Services, spent Saturday and Sunday preparing the new ORs for 7 a.m. Monday morning, June 18, when they opened their doors to patients for the first time.

Nurses, surgical technologists, patient care technicians, anesthesia technicians, unit clerks and other support staff set to work, with the assistance of the perioperative services management team. They moved equipment to the right places, stocked cabinets with supplies, and made sure the rooms were ready for Monday’s cases.

The rooms were new, and much work had gone into their design with many staff involved providing input. Architects and builders set up a model OR and model intensive care room for staff to visit and suggest modifications to better support their work. The model enabled staff to move things around to demonstrate changes they recommended.

Both Miles-Zachary and Pulley said that moving day was satisfying because they saw the features and layout of the new operating rooms reflected the input that they and dozens of their colleagues had provided during the planning process.

Jim McGowan, DHA, vice president for perioperative services and procedural areas says, “This group of people has come together and has been the driving force to keep this process moving until everything comes to fruition next year. On any given day, we may need to revise what we’re doing to accommodate the continuing construction in the building. We have a ways to go until final building completion. But the work going on now ensures that the project will stay on schedule.”

Since the move, hundreds of surgeries have been performed in the new rooms, increasing the Medical Center’s capacity to treat more patients who need the highest level of trauma and surgical care available.

In addition to the 10 new operating rooms, the tower, when complete, will include additional critical care units, expanded adult and pediatric emergency departments and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and a new National Trauma and Emergency Medicine Training Center. A $35 million community campaign is underway to raise part of the $160 million cost of the new tower. The project has garnered investment from the State of Maryland, as well as federal and local support.

Moving into TheirNEW HOME

• Get vaccinated by Dec. 6 at Employee Health Services (EHS), or see the Intranet for when the EHS roving cart will come to your department.

• If declining for medical or religious reasons, or if vaccinated elsewhere, file paperwork to EHS by Nov. 10.

FLU VACCINE DEADLINES APPROACHING

Protect Your Health and Your Patients

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Safety, clinical excellence, teamwork and civility all go hand-in-hand for the staff on the Orthopaedics Unit on Gudelsky 6 West.

When Simone Odwin-Jenkins, MBA, BSN, RN, was hired as the nurse manager for the Orthopaedics Unit in February, she spent the first few weeks meeting one-on-one with the nurses, patient care technicians (PCTs) and secretaries, and observing how the unit staff interacted.

When the time came for her meeting with Tia Generette, PCT, Generette took the opportunity to ask her new manager, “Can you tell me a little about yourself?”

Odwin-Jenkins started to tell Generette how she became an accountant first, and then went to nursing as a second career because she loves it. She told Generette she was dedicated to caring for patients as if it were herself or a loved one in the hospital bed. She talked of compassion and respectful interactions between co-workers.

“And I noticed Tia had tears in her eyes,” Odwin-Jenkins says. “She said, ‘That’s what we need.’ She really took it to heart. She’s a special person and she’s very dedicated. I always want to make sure I don’t fail her. I put the words out there, and now she expects me to live up to it!”

Generette remembers the meeting well. Before, she had wondered whether this soft-spoken new manager would pass muster on a unit with strong personalities.

“I thought she might be a little too soft, but little did I know she was tough,” Generette says. “She is perfect for this unit. We have a lot of different personalities that sometimes clashed. She talked to us about communicating with each other, and talking with each other.”

For example, some of the staff had a tendency to be blunt, Generette says, and it resulted in hurt feelings, even if that wasn’t the blunt person’s intention.

“But if I’m looking at you face to face, I can see that you’re hurt, and I can say it in a nicer way,” Generette says.

Odwin-Jenkins introduced a document she asked all the staff to agree to and sign. The “Commitment to My Co-Workers” lays out eight simple but profound rules for good communication. (See excerpt)

Communication is about more than sparing feelings, Odwin-Jenkins says. If a staff member is alert to a potential safety issue but is afraid to speak up because a nurse or physician might react badly, a patient could be harmed.

“Bottom line is, we’re all here for the patient,” Generette says. “We have a ways to go, but for the most part, I’m very happy to be on this unit.”

The team’s results showed a streak of at least one year with zero hospital-acquired infections in five main categories that are measured:

• central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI)

• catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) • health care-associated Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infections • health care-associated vancomycin-

resistant enterococci (VRE)• health-care associated multidrug-resistant acinetobacter

baumannii (MDR-AB)

“They really should be celebrated, because I cannot find another unit in the organization that has performed as well in all categories combined,” says Michael Anne Preas, BSN, RN, CIC, director of infection prevention and control at UMMC.

Building a Culture of Safety and Civility

ORTHOPAEDICS UNIT

1. I will accept responsibility for establishing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships with you and every member of this staff. I will talk to you promptly if I am having a problem with you. The only time I will discuss it with another is when I need help in deciding how to communicate with you properly.

2. I will establish and maintain a relationship of functional trust with you and every member of this staff. My relationship with each of you will be equally respectful, regardless of job title or educational background.

3. I will not engage in bickering, complaining and talking behind people’s backs and will ask you not to do so as well.

4. I will not complain about another team member, and ask that you not as well. If I hear you doing so, I will ask you to talk to that person.

5. I will accept you as you are today, forgiving past problems, and ask you to do the same with me.

6. I will be committed to finding solutions to problems, rather than complaining about them or blaming someone else for them, and ask you to do the same.

7. I will affirm your contribution to quality customer care.

8. I will remember that neither of us is perfect, and that human errors are opportunities, not for shame or guilt, but for forgiveness and growth.

AS YOUR CO-WORKER WITH A SHARED GOAL OF PROVIDING EXCELLENT CARE TO THE PATIENTS AND FAMILIES OF THE ORTHOPAEDICS UNIT — GUDELSKY 6 WEST, I COMMIT TO THE FOLLOWING:

COMMITMENT TO MY CO-WORKERS

on the

IN PEDIATRICS: TAKING CARE OF THE WHOLE FAMILY

She’s known as a great problem-solver in the Pediatric Hematology

and Oncology Clinic, but Sherri Brice, CNA, ambulatory technician,

also is a bridge to other departments that her young patients need.

In addition to Brice’s patient care duties — from taking vital signs to

placing an IV — she knows whom to call in the Lab or in Housekeeping,

and what their names are. Whatever it is, “She knows how to get it

done,” says her manager,

Monika Bauman, MS,

BSN, RN, CEN.

“I just know a lot of

people in the hospital,”

Brice says. “When you’re

taking care of kids, you’re

taking care of the whole

family. So in our unit,

we come together. I feel

just as respected as the

doctors and nurses.”

SIGNATURE DATE

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UPWARD BOUND: STAFF GET A LEG UP ON TUITION COSTS

It isn’t easy to work while also going to school to pursue a degree or advanced certification. But for those who are up for the challenge, the Medical Center

provides tuition reimbursement for undergraduate and graduate studies that are related to an employee’s current job or another hospital-related job.

The Medical Center reimburses up to $3,000 for undergraduate studies per calendar year and up to $5,000 for graduate studies per calendar year, for courses that UMMC employees take at accredited colleges, universities and vocational schools.

To obtain a tuition reimbursement application form or for more details about this program, go to http://intra.umm.edu/ummc/hr_benefits/tuition.htm.

Currently, more than 1,500 UMMC staff members are using these education benefits, such as for professional continuing education and undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Here are a few people who have used this benefit,

or who are planning to do so in the next year:

Earning a Master’s Degree and a Promotion

Angie Ekwonye, MS, RN, came to work at UMMC from another hospital specifically because of the tuition benefit. She used tuition benefits to earn a master’s degree at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, while continuing to work on the Orthopaedics Unit. For the two years it took her to complete her degree, she offered to work a mostly weekend schedule in order to have Tuesdays and Thursdays off for attending classes. Her master’s degree allowed her to earn a promotion to Senior Clinical Nurse I.

“I could not have gotten my master’s without the 100 percent tuition benefit here. I was able to keep working and keep feeding my family. It makes a big difference,” Ekwonye says. “The other hospital I worked at would only have reimbursed me 60 percent of the tuition.”

Man of Many Talents and Roles

Samuel Gurmu, BA, audio-visual specialist, is a familiar face to many people in the Medical Center — because he’s had many roles. His first job at UMMC was entry level — literally: He began as a valet in 2007.

He was hired by UMMC Guest Services in 2009 to work at the front desk, because of his great customer-service skills and fluency in English, Somali and Amharic and other regional languages in his native country of Ethiopia. While working the desk, he helped create a database that the department now uses to help patients and guests.

This spring, he became the medical center’s AV specialist. He helps staff with presentations that take place in the Medical Center Auditorium, such as Grand Rounds, press conferences, Great Stories celebrations and, of course, C2X Employee Communication Forums.

Next on his agenda is to return to college to earn a degree in electrical engineering from University of Maryland Baltimore County, while continuing to work at UMMC. Before working here, he said, he had started at UMBC but eventually had to stop because he couldn’t afford the tuition.

Juggling Work, School, Parenting and Community

Involvement

“I use this benefit,” says Tanya D. Berry, administrative assistant in the Supplemental Staffing Department. “If it were not for this program, I would not be able to attend the University of Maryland University College to pursue my BS in Human Resource Management. I am so happy that UMMC affords this opportunity to every employee here at the medical center and not just its clinical staff.”

Berry has worked at UMMC for four years, starting as a temporary staff member in Human Resources until she was hired as the learning and organizational training coordinator.

“I transferred to supplemental just recently to learn more about our clinical side of the Medical Center,” she says. “I will ultimately hope to transfer back to HR in a few years.”

Berry juggles work and school with being the mother of four girls and one boy, ranging in age from 4 to 21, along with community and volunteer work, such as leading a Girl Scout troop and organizing food and blanket drives for homeless people.

Expanding Skills in Ever-Changing Modalities

Kevin White, RT(R),(CT) (not pictured), a computerized tomography (CT) technologist by night and student by day, is studying to achieve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) certification in an effort to expand his knowledge in the ever-changing world of diagnostic imaging. Upon successful certification, White will join a small number of technologists in Radiology who are certified in both CT and MRI.

Debra Tobin, RT(R),(M), manager of Radiology’s Breast Center and single mom to three

boys, is enrolled in the Health Systems Management program at the University of Baltimore. Tobin’s departmentally sponsored membership in her professional association allowed her to apply for and win a scholarship from the Association of Medical Imaging Management, in addition to her tuition benefit.

Respiratory Care Services Grows Its Own

To address a nationwide shortage in respiratory therapists in 2005, UMMC created a program to help staff who wanted to pursue this profession to go to school. For example, John Rouse, RRT, worked in the Trauma Resuscitation Unit as a patient care technician (PCT) and used UMMC education benefits to become a respiratory care therapist two years ago.

Suzette Champ, RRT, was a PCT in the Cardiac Surgery ICU/Telemetry Unit before becoming a respiratory care therapist here in 2006. She has worked at UMMC since 1996.

Some respiratory therapists, such as Greg Ludvik, MS, RRT, (not pictured) earned advanced degrees with the help of UMMC tuition reimbursement and mentors from among their fellow UMMC staff. Elshadie Birratu, MAHCA, RRT, (not pictured) earned her master’s degree and, in addition to her job as a respiratory therapist, did an internship in another department, Organizational Development (part of Human Resources).

From Unit Secretary to Nurse

In the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), Jessica Grandier (not pictured), a unit secretary, is a nursing student using her tuition benefits from UMMC.

That formula worked for Nicole Hodski, BS, RN, CCRN, now a nurse in the MICU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Towson University and her nursing degree from Baltimore City Community College, all the while working at UMMC as a unit secretary on the MICU.

Angie Ekwonye, MS, RN

Samuel Gurmu, BA

Tanya D. Berry

Debra Tobin, RT(R),(M)

Suzette Champ, RRT and John Rouse, RRT

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NEUROLOGY & NEUROSURGERY The physicians from the Department of Neurology and the Department

of Neurosurgery and UMMC staff from neurocare units helped UMMC rank

No. 48 in this combination category.

DIABETES & ENDOCRINOLOGY The University of Maryland Center for Diabetes and

Endocrinology rose to No. 11 in 2012-13, up from

No. 29 last year.

EAR, NOSE & THROAT UMMC’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology/

Head and Neck Surgery moved up to

No. 24 from No. 38

the year before.

CANCER #11

CARDIOLOGY & HEART SURGERY #27

DIABETES & ENDOCRINOLOGY #11

EAR, NOSE & THROAT #24

GYNECOLOGY #49

NEPHROLOGY #9

NEUROLOGY & NEUROSURGERY #48

PULMONOLOGY #26

UROLOGY #15TOP

50

KIMROS BUCHANAN-LEGGETT, MA, medical assistant; KRISTI SILVER, MD; SUSAN HUNTER-SCHULZE, MS, RD, CDE, LDN, education coordinator

ROXANE McAFEE, PCT, patient care technician; LYNDSI HILER, MS, RN, nurse; LaMONDE BROWN, MED, RN, nurse manager

SCOTT STROME, MD

YEMI OLALEKAN, MS, CRNP, nurse practitioner

TIMIKA JONES, PCT, patient care technician; MICHELLE LEAMAN, BSN, RN, nurse

TOPS IN NINE SPECIALTIES NATIONWIDEU.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGS FURTHER RAISE UMMC’S NATIONAL PROFILE

WorkingTogether_Fall12.indd 4 10/17/12 3:39 PM

NEPHROLOGY

(INCLUDING KIDNEY TRANSPLANT AND OTHER KIDNEY SURGERY)

UMMC rose to No. 9 in 2012–13 from No. 27 last year. This category,

which the magazine rankings had called “Kidney Disorders” in

the past, spans two of UMMC’s departments, the Division of

Nephrology, part of the Department of Medicine and focused

on the non-surgical diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease;

and the Division of Transplantation in the Department of

Surgery, home to UMMC’s well-known kidney transplant center.

UROLOGYThe Urology Department jumped to No. 15 in 2012– 13 from No. 44 last year.

The scorecard noted highest rankings in patient survival, nurse staffing,

advanced technologies and the number of important services available to

patients in this specialty.

PULMONOLOGY UMMC ranked No. 26 in the Pulmonology category, thanks to the physicians

and staff in Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, including nurses, nurse

practitioners, respiratory therapists and others.

CARDIOLOGY & HEART SURGERYThe University of Maryland Heart Center moved up to No. 27

in 2012–13, up from No. 31.

GYNECOLOGY The Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive

Sciences physicians and staff from the UMMC

units who serve these

patients raised

UMMC’s ranking

to No. 49

nationwide.

MATTHEW WEIR, MD

JONATHAN BROMBERG, MD

MICHAEL NASLUND, MD; SHANA PRICE, MA, medical assistant; MICHELLE BLAKE, RN

JEFFREY HASDAY, MD; TRACEY WILSON, CRNP, acute care nurse practitioner; JEFFREY GONZALES, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM, clinical pharmacist

MAY BLANCHARD, MD

GAUTAM RAO, MD

SHARRON BETTER, PCT, patient care technician; CRYSTAL JEFFERSON, BSN, RN, nurse

PATTY UBER, PharmD; LUZ COBARRUBIAS, BSN, RN, cardiac nurse; KESHAVA RAJAGOPAL, MD, PHD

BRIAN McVEY, RN, nurse; JENNY FORRESTER, DPT, physical therapist

TOPS IN NINE SPECIALTIES NATIONWIDEU.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGS FURTHER RAISE UMMC’S NATIONAL PROFILE

EMMA WILLIAMS, PCT, patient care technician

MARIA BAER, MD; VEITA ODOM, NCMA, medical assistant; MICHAEL L. TIDWELL, CRNP, nurse practitioner; LAURA WHITE, RN, OCN, oncology nurse

CANCERIn the Cancer category, the University of

Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum

Cancer Center shot up to No. 11 in 2012–13,

up from No. 22 last year.

WorkingTogether_Fall12.indd 5 10/17/12 3:39 PM

The University of Maryland Medical Center is an equal opportunity employer and proud supporter of an environment of diversity.

This publication is printed on recycled paper.

][ W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R , W E H A V E A C H I E V E D G R E A T T H I N G S .

6

Hundreds of UMMC staff and their families were able to attend a free party exclusively

for them, with a great view of the hairpin turn in the Baltimore Grand Prix races, as well

as the run of the Maryland Science Center for the day.

Edward St. John, a businessman and member of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma

Center Board of Visitors, donated the private use of the Science Center for the party,

held on the Saturday of Grand Prix weekend.

A GRAND PRIX EVENT JUST FOR UMMC FAMILIES

UMMC UNITS HONORED FOR BEING ON THE CUSP OF BANISHING A PAINFUL COMPLICATION FOR PATIENTS

The battle against health care-associated infections is being

won at the ground level — by the unit staff — as state and

national organizations recognize specific hospital units that

show results.

Four patient-care units at the Medical Center were

honored by the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) for

significantly reducing a painful complication that some

patients develop — catheter-associated urinary tract

infections (CAUTIs).

The four units are:

• Neurocare Intensive Care Unit

• Medical Intermediate Care Unit

• Cardiac Care Unit

• Orthopaedics Unit

The initiatives to reduce health care-associated infections are part of a nationwide effort led by the Association

for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In Maryland, a statewide effort is also underway to address both

bloodstream infections and CAUTI with the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP), a customizable

approach that hospital units can use to combine clinical best practices with an understanding of the science of

safety. The “On the CUSP: Stop CAUTI” approach focuses on teamwork and an improved safety culture.

“Congratulations to these four units,” says Michael Anne Preas, RN, BSN, CIC, director of infection prevention

and control at UMMC. “This is great work by these teams.”

YOUR GREAT IDEAS AT WORK

UMMC STAFF ASKED FOR MORE OPTIONS FOR SHUTTLE TRANSPORTATION.In response, UMMC joined with the University of

Maryland, Baltimore, to expand shuttle services, such

as a route to Mount Vernon and another to Federal

Hill. Schedules and routes are available in the UMMC

Parking office and online through the UMB website.

EMPLOYEES ASKED FOR PARKING SUBSIDIES TO BE REVIEWED.In response, UMMC equalized subsidies so that all

employees now receive the same level of parking

support. No employee groups have lost their level

of parking support, despite increases in downtown

parking costs.

NIGHT SHIFT STAFF ASKED FOR MORE ACCESS TO UMMC LEADERSHIP.In response, executive staff at UMMC have been

regularly rounding during the night shift to talk

with staff.

The Human Resources Department staff have also

started bi-weekly night shift rounds to help staff

whose schedules make it difficult to visit the HR

office during business hours to fill out forms or get

other help.

Nurses representing UMMC units that gained state-wide praise for reducing catheter-associated urinary

tract infections include (left to right) Katherine Ramirez, BSN, RN, from the Neurocare ICU; Amy

Grier, RN, of the Cardiac Care Unit; and Catherine Zei, BSN, RN, CCRN, of the Medical IMC Unit.

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