Volume 23
Number 19
September 21, 2012
CALLING ALL
HUP Nurses and CPUP Nurses It’s time to leverage our strengths! The 2012 RN Satisfaction Survey from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators is your opportunity to evaluate the initiatives designed and implemented to improve your professional work environment. Your feedback helps to evaluate programs and influences future changes. The 2012 RN Satisfaction Survey yields important information relevant to nurses and nursing practice, including a nurse’s role in: decision making, adequacy of available resources and staffing, quality of care provided, opportunities for professional development, and more. Your responses are important to our efforts to provide world-class care to our patients and families. The RN Satisfaction survey will be available October 1 through October 21, 2012. You can access the survey through the Intranet via the RN Satisfaction link under “What’s Hot” or by typing www.nursingquality.org/survey into the browser. Additionally, you can take the survey from your home computer. Please note: The survey needs to be completed in one sitting.
5K FOR THE IOA UPDATE If you’re registered for the 5K for the IOA, note that race packet pick-up times and locations have been expanded: • Friday, September 28, from 1 to 5 pm, 1st floor Atrium of the Perelman Center. • Saturday, September 29, from 1 to 5 pm, at the Philadelphia Runner Store (37th and Walnut) • Sunday, September 30 (Race Day!), from 6:30 to 7:45 am, outside of main entrance, Perelman Center. If you’re not yet registered, there’s still time! Go to the Intranet home page and click on 5K for the IOA to learn more and register.
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
CANPREVENT LUNG CANCER CONFERENCE
The Abramson Cancer Center will host its second CANPrevent Lung Cancer Conference on Friday, October 12, from 8:00 to 11:30 am. Attendees will learn the latest information on:
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who is at risk.
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the latest screening recommendations for lung cancer.
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the latest tools to quit smoking.
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strategies to prevent starting to smoke cigarettes.
The conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 4200 City Avenue, in Philadelphia. To register or for more information, call 1-800-789-PENN or go to OncoLink.org/ conference.CANPreventLung. Registration deadline is Friday, October 5.
HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF
Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Lisa Paxson Designer
Easy Access to Total Compensation Statement Each year, UPHS provides employees with a personalized statement of their Total Compensation Package, which includes salary, health and welfare benefits, and information on retirement benefits. To access your statement, go online to www.uphshrandyou.com and click on ‘Total Compensation Statement’ on the right side. You’ll need your Penn ID number to register, which can be found on your paycheck advisory notice. If you have any questions about your Total Compensation Statement, contact Benefits at 615-2675. You can also submit a questions through the HR & You website.
ADMINISTRATION
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs CONTACT HUPDATE AT: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.
C R E AT I N G
PROMISING CAREER PATHS FOR WEST PHILADELPHIA YOUTH Penn Medicine’s Pipeline Program Andrea Blount (c) of Trauma with graduates of the 2012 Pipeline program.
High school students in West Philadelphia often have many responsibilities to fulfill in addition to classes, including school sports teams, jobs, and family responsibilities. Thanks to Penn Medicine’s High School Pipeline program, selected high-achieving students in public high schools in West Philadelphia are adding an exciting and rewarding challenge to that list. The High School Pipeline program employs students in clinical and non-clinical areas at Penn Medicine’s three hospitals and other Health System facilities, giving those interested in future health-care careers a unique learning path to start the journey. Growing from its
INSIDE Promoting Breastfeeding ........2 Quality & Patient Safety Application ................................2 Employee Flu Campaign .........3 5K for the IOA ...........................4
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“…it exemplifies Penn Medicine’s commitment to the community and developing a pipeline for career opportunities, and advancement of education.” start as a summer internship program, Pipeline is now a two-year program which offers high school juniors and seniors collegelevel courses through the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), professional development training, and experience working in a health-care setting. Getting into the program is not easy. Applicants with an interest in a health-care career must score at least at the 098/099 level on CCP’s English placement test, have no disciplinary violations on their record, hold a high grade-point average, and have and maintain at least a 90 percent high school attendance rate. Students are chosen from Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, Paul Robeson High School, and William L. Sayre High School. After graduation, students selected to enter the Penn Medicine Academy internship work 20 hours a week at Penn Medicine and are paid for 40 hours, while earning college
credits. The Pipeline program also offers the interns the option to complete the requirements to become a certified nursing assistant for those who wish to enter a nursing career. All of this year’s 20 graduates successfully completed high school and 18 started college this fall. “Most intend to go into careers in the health-care field,” said Telandria BoydJohnson, Workforce Development coordinator. “And many are thankful to Penn Medicine for allowing them to explore the health-care field.” “It’s the program that I have the greatest passion for, because it exemplifies Penn Medicine’s commitment to the community and developing a pipeline for career opportunities, and advancement of education,” said Judy Schueler, vice president, Organizational Development, and chief Human Resources officer. “That’s really why people come to work at Penn Medicine. We call it our strongest employment value proposition, the gift of learning. People come here to learn. They can advance their career (Continued on page 3)
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Kim Wright gives a potted flower to new mom Stephanie Tomchak (holding baby Tyler) , in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week. All nursing moms received a flower that week to help ‘plant the seeds’ of successful breastfeeding.
C R E AT I N G
(Continued from page1)
PROMISING CAREER PATHS FOR WEST PHILADELPHIA YOUTH
PROMOTING BREASTFEEDING
Employee Flu Campaign
Starts N ext Month
AS THE BEST OPTION
Over the past three years, 99% of HUP and UPHS employees have been vaccinated for seasonal influenza. Getting the flu vaccine reduces the risk of illness for our staff and helps keep our patients, colleagues, and families safe and healthy. UPHS has been recognized by the State of Pennsylvania for this key patient safety initiative.
HUP was one of 90 hospitals selected to participate in Best Fed Beginnings, a first-of-its-kind national effort to significantly improve breastfeeding rates in states where rates are currently the lowest. Breastfeeding is one of the most
effective preventive health measures for infants and mothers. Yet, half of US-born babies are given formula within the first week, and by nine months, only 31 percent of babies are breastfeeding at all.
The selected hospitals will work together in a 22-month learning collaborative, using proven evidence-based methods to achieve a ‘Baby-Friendly’ designation. “The ‘Baby Friendly’ designation is given to hospitals that promote excellence in maternal-infant feeding practices,” said Jessica Lazzeri, nurse manager of Silverstein 8. Fewer than 150 health care centers have this designation and “the majority are birthing centers.” “We want to promote breastfeeding as the best option,” Lazzeri said. And there’s good reason for that. Breastfeeding decreases the incidence and severity of many infectious diseases in infants, reduces infant mortality, and optimally supports neurodevelopment. These infants also have fewer ear, respiratory tract, and urinary tract infections, and fewer allergies. Moms who breastfeed have a lowered risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease. “While we’ll support our patients no matter what decision they make, we want to make sure it’s an informed decision.”
The Baby Friendly designation verifies that a hospital has implemented the ‘Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,’ as established by UNICEF/WHO. One of these steps is skin to skin contact, which is now a part of the post-birthing process at HUP. “Immediately after a baby is born, we place the baby skin to skin with mom,” Lazzeri said. This simple step provides significant benefits, including regulating the baby’s heart rate, breathing, and temperature, and stimulating digestion and feeding behavior, which leads to more successful breastfeeding. “If the mother chooses to nurse, we try to initiate breastfeeding within an hour of birth.” Another step in this process is rooming in, ie, keeping the mom and baby together in the room and limiting the baby’s time in the nursery. “We will also avoid giving the baby formula unless it is medically necessary. Formula decreases a mother’s milk supply.” In addition, all health-care providers on the unit will receive 20 hours of training, supplementing the hospital’s lactation teams. Lazzeri said their goal is to achieve the Baby Friendly designation by September 2014.
There’s Still Time
TO SUBMIT QUALITY & PATIENT SAFETY APPLICATION The deadline to submit an application for the 2012 Quality & Patient Safety Awards has been extended to Friday, September 28. These awards acknowledge departments or teams at Penn Medicine that have exhibited leadership and innovation in activities that ensure high-quality clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and/or cost efficiency. All applications and projects must be submitted electronically. To learn more and submit your project, go to What’s Hot on the Intranet home page and click on 2012 Quality & Patient Safety Award Submissions. Questions? Contact Michael Anderson (HUP) at 215-614-0632 or andersom@uphs.upenn.edu, or Scott Schlegel (CPUP) at 215-614-0041 or scott.schlegel@uphs.upenn.edu.
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The 2012-13 Penn Medicine Employee Flu Campaign is an opportunity to continue our achievements. It will begin at HUP in September as usual with the distribution of vaccine to high-risk clinical units and practices. The Occupational Medicine Flu Vaccine Clinics will follow in mid-October at a wide variety of HUP/CPUP/CORP locations. The times and locations of the Flu Vaccine Clinics will be posted on the Intranet and in the next issue of HUPdate. Seasonal influenza vaccine is provided free of charge to all Penn Medicine staff, clinical faculty and contractors. Annual vaccination is needed for maximal protection. The 2012-13 seasonal influenza vaccine protects against the three most likely influenza strains expected to circulate this year, all of which are different from those in the prior year’s vaccine. To ensure minimal waiting times and rapid documentation, bar-coded vaccine consent forms will be available to employees directly through ‘Employee Records and Paychecks.’ Details on how to access your bar-coded form will be posted on Intranet home page, under What’s Hot. Look for the Flu button.
and go clinical, non-clinical, and this program provides a pathway for these students.”
Celebrating the Class of 2012 At a luncheon celebrating the program’s class of 2012 graduates, Schueler gave special thanks to faculty, staff, and Health System departments that open up the work place and volunteer to mentor these students, and to the families of the students for providing their support. She also thanked University City District, the Philadelphia Youth Network, and CCP, our partners in making this happen. Parents also take notice of their child’s development through the program. “I just wanted to say thank you to the entire staff at Penn for the influence that you have had on [my daughter] Julia,” said Jennifer Laws. “I have seen her grow and mature and it became more than just a place she worked. The friendships that she has formed will last throughout her lifetime.” Out of this rigorous program are numerous success stories of students who provided instrumental support to locations such as Perioperative Services, Surgical Nursing, and other areas at HUP. “We told you at the beginning of this program that this is not an easy program, that this needs commitment and dedication,” said Frances Graham, associate director,Workforce Development. “While in this program, you were high school students, college students, you went to professional development sessions, mentoring sessions, and you worked at different positions throughout our health-care system, and you exceeded our expectations. We are so proud of all of your hard work.”
One of those students rising to this task in the 2012 graduating class is Jasmine Starks. She especially enjoyed being challenged in college courses at CCP and assisting doctors where needed at HUP. “I have come to love the program,” said Starks. “It’s a great experience to have.” Another student who accepted that challenge is Nahree Anderson, from the Pipeline 2011 graduating class. Excelling as a Penn Medicine Academy intern, Anderson accepted a full-time role on the floor she trained on, before the year ended. “We were given the opportunity to work at the actual bedside with patients, see what the nurses do, the CNAs do, the techs do, and it was just really amazing,” said Anderson. “I got a chance to not only to watch at the bedside, but to be actually involved.” Anderson had some early doubts going into the program. “It’s been a long run. When I was in high school, in June 2011, I found out I was pregnant. I came and I talked to the high school program coordinators and they said ‘It’s okay, we’re going to be here for you, we’re going to support you, and no matter what you do, you can always hang on us’ and that made me feel so good. They gave me the courage and confidence I needed to say I can get over this.” Anderson is just one of many great examples of success stories from this initiative. “I have a job with benefits and I am applying to nursing school in the fall. You can do it. Stay in the program. It’s hard, but stay,” said Anderson. “I am able to really help patients and make a difference.” (L to r) Lorna Taylor, unit secretary, Silverstein 9; Julia Laws, Pipeline graduate; Nahree Anderson, CNA; and Diane Leichter, Nurse Manager, Silverstein 9.
The UPHS Influenza Vaccine Policy is unchanged from last year.* Contact your HR generalist for any questions about the policy. *To access the policy, click on ‘Policies’ on the left side of the Intranet home page. Then, under HUP, click on ‘Human Resources Policies” and then ‘Influenza Immunization.’
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