November 5, 2020 Westmoreland Hospital Auxilary and Latrobe Area Hospital Aide Society Show Support to Staff Page 2 Excela Health Heart, Lung & Vascular Institute Page 2 PTO Sellback Page 3 Open Enrollment for 2021 Page 3 Employee Engagement Page 3 New Faces Page 4
Volume 3 Issue 24 Join Excela Health and the American Heart Association for the 2020 Heart Walk Join Excela Health and the American Heart Association on November 14 for the 2020 American Heart Association Greater Pittsburgh Heart Walk, held virtually this year. Excela Health is proud to be a Silver Sponsor for this event and invite everyone to join or support our team, led by team coach and heart survivor Nichole Sisson, Excela Health Heart Failure Clinical Pharmacist. Your donation will fund groundbreaking research that literally keeps hearts beating and helps people within our community and beyond live longer, healthier lives. Employees who donate $25 or more by November 14 will receive a commemorative Excela Heart Walk team t-shirt and qualify for a drawing of a gift certificate for dinner at Vallozzi’s Restaurant. Please ensure when registering that you use your Excela email and select your t-shirt size so that we can verify you as an employee and thus are eligible for the t-shirt and drawing. Read Nicole’s story and register here.
Lights of Love Moves to a Virtual Event “In this challenging year of the pandemic, it has been difficult to look forward, as we slowed our pace of life and remained in our homes. Through it all we have become more keenly aware of the special people in our lives and the time we spend with them,” noted Nancy McKinnon, LAHAS president. “Remembering loved ones who have passed and honoring those with whom we still share our lives with a Lights of Love light is more important now than ever before.” Rather than forego this special fundraising event which honors and memorializes loved ones, LAHAS will celebrate virtually this year, and post both a pre-recorded ceremony and the donor recognition on Excela Health’s public website, www.excelahealth.org. The links become live at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 1, and will remain available through Jan. 8, 2021, for viewing. The suggested donation is $8.50 per name. Donations can be made through the online form using PayPal here, or a form can be printed, completed and mailed in with a check here. Lights of Love is one of many community outreach activities initiated by LAHAS, whose mission is to support the hospital and the communities it serves through education, fundraising and volunteer service.
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Blog Cuisine for Your Immune System When daily vitamins aren’t enough to keep your immune system strong, certain foods can give you a jump on incoming illness and protect your immune system. Fruits and vegetables are the standard when we think of eating healthy, but we might not realize that other foods can provide the body with necessary vitamins too. Read more. Thoughts From‌ A Cardiac Survivor My name is Nichole Sisson, and I will be this year's coach for Excela's Heart, Lung, & Vascular Institute Heart Walk Team. I am a 10-year heart survivor and have been involved with the American Heart Association (AHA) for almost half of my life. In addition to being a Heart Walk team leader I have been a volunteer, spokesperson, and most recently chairperson for Open Your Heart, which raises awareness for congenital heart defects through AHA. All of these roles in this organization have shaped me into the woman that I am today. Read more.
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Westmoreland Hospital Auxilary and Latrobe Area Hospital Aide Society Show Support to Staff
The Westmoreland Hospital Auxilary and Latrobe Area Hospital Aide Society recently added signs of support and delivered treats to all three hospital campuses.
Patty Mastandrea, Chief Executive Officer of MedCare Equipment Co. has been Selected as the HME Woman of the Year by the VGM Group, Inc. The award, now in its fifth year, recognizes one woman in the industry who has made significant contributions throughout her career to her company, community and the home medical Equipment (HME) industry. She was selected from over 100 other nominees.
Excela Health Heart, Lung & Vascular Institute When watching your favorite TV station look out for this is new commercial featuring the Excela Health Heart, Lung & Vascular Institute. Learn more here.
Upcoming Virtual Job Fairs
Tell your friends and family to start their career with Excela Health! On Friday, November 13 there will be two virtual job fairs hosted on Indeed. To join the laboratory services virtual job fair, click here. To join the imaging services virtual job fair, click here. Excela Health offers a variety of benefit options for employees and eligible dependents. These benefits are designed to provide personal security, convenience and assistance to employees and their family.
Employee Engagement PTO Sellback The December 2020 PTO Sellback will be honored and paid to those who have elected it in 2019. The monies will be paid in the December 3, 2020 paycheck. The PTO Sellback Opportunity for 2021 will also be offered. Forms can be found on the Intranet, here. Employees have the option to elect the 2021 PTO Sellback by December 31. For more information please contact your manager.
Open Enrollment for 2021
Open enrollment is from November 1 to 14. View all information regarding enrollment here. Remember you must must log in to Ultipro and acknowledge even if waiving coverage.
Schedule Your Flu Shot
Remember if you did not receive a flu shot during through Excela Health you have until December 11 to present proof of inoculation received at your doctor’s office or retail clinic to Employee Health via flushotstatus@excelahealth.org.
EAP Update- Addressing Post-Election Anxiety in the Workplace Washington EAP Services released a new online seminar free to Excela Health employees. The 2020 U.S. election campaign season has created tremendous polarization that at times has spilled over into the workplace. This webinar offers tips on how to best support employees who are struggling with election-related anxiety. To access the webinar, click here and use the Work-Life login code “excela”.
We Want to Hear From You The strengthened tobacco free policy goes into effect on November 19. Questions about the new policy are welcome and can be submitted here. View previously answered questions here. Once in effect, tobacco use and tobacco smoking alternatives such as e-cigarettes or vaping by Excela Health employees will be strictly prohibited during the employees’ shift or work hours.
Kudos & Recognition Thank You Lance Brunton & Staff “Thanks to Dr. Lance Brunton and his team at Excela Health, I have full use of my hands again, which Carpal Tunnel had stolen from me. And now I can bring joy to others with my pumpkin carving.”
Department/Service Line Recognitions November National Home Care & Hospice Month 11/8 to 11/14- National Nurse Practitioner Week 11/8 to 11/14- National Perioperative Nurses Week 11/8 to 11/14- National Radiologic Technology Week 11/9 to 11/13- Forensic Nurses Week Want to have your department/service line recognized? Click here to submit information.
Share Your Story Have something that you would like to share with the Excela Insight staff for future editions? Email information to insight@excelahealth.org
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New Faces Latrobe Hospital
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Laboratory Services Nicole Ball, Phlebotomist Neuro/JointWorks Rae Butz, Technical Partner Nursing Pool Brittany Cooper, Technical Partner Operating Room Melissa Sisti, Surgical Technician I Outpatient Administration Saleena Gauba, Imaging Aide Progressive Cardiac Unit Stuart Varadi, Technical Partner
Family Medicine Mount Pleasant Deanne Remaley, LPN Neurology Greensburg Kristie Thomas, Patient Services Associate Occupational Medicine Alexis Hagedorn-Harrison, Patient Services Associate Primary Care Norwin Kathryn Toman, Certified Medical Assistant West Newton Traci Wood, Patient Services Associate
Westmoreland Hospital Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit 1 Priscilla Leathers, LPN Karrie Swanhart, Technical Partner Clinical Resource Management Beth Shogan, BSN, Case Manager Food and Nutrition Services Jason Schmidt, Food and Nutrition Supervisor Human Resources Kelsie Harenchar, Talent Acquisition Representative Intensive Care Unit Stephanie Evans, RN Laboratory Services Anna Mae Skoros, Clinical Lab Assistant Medical Surgical Unit 3D/3E Sarah Guzik, BSN, Clinical Nurse Coordinator Medical Surgical Unit 4AB Chandler Badiceanu, RN Nursing Pool Katelyn Hill, RN Justin Short, RN Patient Transport Maria DeFloria, Patient Transporter Shelby Stoner, Patient Transporter PCU 1D Melissa Sullenberger, Technical Partner Pharmacy Kathaleen Cole, Pharmacist
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