Five Questions
Good morning!
A couple of days ago I hosted (well, virtually via YouTube) the Spring Faculty Meeting during which I presented a pretty broad update on the state of things at the Medical Center. The new strategic plan, some financials, mission-area updates and other topics were lightly covered. I do this twice a year – spring and fall – but the 2020 spring edition was replaced by a COVID-19-update town hall meeting. The information and data presented during this Spring Faculty Meeting is, I think, of interest to more than just our faculty. If you want to watch a replay, you can do that here.
Today is the final Friday of the month, so I’ll an answer some of the questions you’ve submitted to the VC Notes inbox. Just as a reminder, I read all of your questions and comments and enjoy hearing from you. I’m not able to respond to them all in this space, but I pass the rest along to senior administrators for their review and possible action. Please keep your questions and comments coming!
Q: I see that TB mask fits have restarted. As a night shift employee, I noted the vast majority of times are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. M-F. There are very few 7:30 p.m.-9 a.m. times available. In the past, these times were a daily occurrence and reserved for night shift employees. It is extremely inconvenient to this large group of the workforce as the hospital runs 24/7. Can we please get these times back or have Student/Employee Health open at evening times convenient to night shift?
A: I checked with Student/Employee Health leaders. They said they recognize the challenges that night-shift employees face in taking care of their fit testing and want to make the process as convenient as possible. At the same time, staffing coverage does not permit overnight or very early morning fit testing. Currently, SEH is conducting fit testing for night-shift employees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:30, 8 and 8:30. SEH can fit test three employees per 30 minutes for a total of 27 employees each week.
Dr. Joshua Mann, chair of preventive medicine, the department that includes SEH, has asked night-shift employees for whom this schedule absolutely does not work to email him at jmann4@umc.edu or Nicholas Kowaluk, respiratory protection program administrator, at nkowaluk@umc.edu, with an explanation of their needs. While it cannot guarantee every request can be accommodated, SEH is committed to meeting the needs of the Medical Center’s workforce as effectively and efficiently as possible.
— — —
Q: Does UMMC have any plans for employee daycare or an affiliated daycare?
A: This question/comment comes up frequently and I think it has been about four years since it last appeared in VC Notes – so, maybe it’s good to again address this topic. Plus, I have some information to share that is relatively new.
From late 2019 through the start of the following year (when our financial outlook was trending in a positive direction), we asked a company that evaluates and provides consultation on our employee benefits package to look into the feasibility of making childcare services available to our workforce. The pandemic derailed much of its work, but in essence, it found that most institutions across the country like ours that offer childcare as an employee benefit did so through a relationship with an existing, private business. We were set to look into this more in 2020, but then COVID-19 took over. This is something that pops up in my inbox from time to time and our HR team also receives queries about it from our employees regularly, so it’s a topic we will continue to look into, along with other good ideas to consider. Right now, however, considering the tight financial situation we find ourselves in (it will take some time to right the ship after massive losses tied to the pandemic), we’re just not able to consider this as high of a priority as other initiatives – many of which are driven by our new strategic plan.
— — —
Q: What is going on with the UMMC gift shop hours? The Sanderson Tower gift shop has only been open a few days a week. The days it is open, it closes at 2 p.m. This is very frustrating for people working in the Sanderson Tower, as our options to get snacks are few. Can you enlighten us as to why the gift shop is not open full time?
A: We’ve been experiencing challenges in maintaining adequate staff to cover each of our on-campus gift shops and the one in the new Sanderson Tower has been the hardest hit.
The original plan was for the Children’s gift shop to be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, but to make the best use of available staff, we’ve transitioned to being open each weekday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., which have proven to be the most in-demand times. If the gift shop isn’t open during that time frame, it is most likely because a staff member wasn’t available to fill that slot.
Efforts are ongoing to replace staff and some new gift shop employees have either already started working or are in the pipeline. We hope all of our gift shops will be fully staffed and recognize normal operating hours soon.
— — —
Q: What are the criteria or course of events that represent our threshold for moving to a point where we return to pre-Covid-19 operations? Is that discussion on the radar of hospital leadership, or have we decided to adopt all current mandates as our future model?
A: We’ve now been living in a COVID-19 world long enough that it’s not easy to distinguish between what is a pre-pandemic “normal” and what was put in place as a virus-spread safety precaution. And as I’ve said previously, it will not surprise me if some guidelines or safety measures put in place during the last 13-plus months are here to stay. Many of these measures have proven beneficial and we may never turn away from them. With that said, we are always evaluating active safety measures to determine what initiatives may be adjusted, rolled back or reversed. A couple of examples include our visitation policies, which have changed a few times during the last several months (an updated Adult Hospital policy went into effect just this week), and the UMMC-sponsored event policy, which was announced a couple of weeks ago. These and other actions show our ability to open things up a little. However, I can’t say there’s a certain “threshold” that, if met, will trigger a return to pre-COVID-19 life here at the Medical Center. Let’s keep in mind, this pandemic is not over, and as we are seeing in other countries and some parts of ours, the chance for a resurgence still exists. For now, changes will be incremental and according to CDC, MSDH and our own infectious diseases and clinical leadership recommendations.
— — —
Q: Just a response to your column. I agree that everyone has a responsibility to maintain the appearance and functionality of the medical center campus both inside and outside. I've mentioned this before and did not see a change--we need more trash cans in the building. I will pick up trash on the floor while I'm walking around the buildings and wind up holding it until I get back to my work space to throw it away. They say Walt Disney observed the distance people would carry trash when Disneyland opened and that's how far apart he placed trash receptacles. We may not need receptacles every 25' but we need more than we have. It won't change the people who believe other people are responsible for their mess, but it will help those of us who try to maintain a better environment for all.
A: This comment, and a few others like it, came in following my “spring cleaning” column from a couple of weeks ago. Several of you observe there aren’t enough easily accessible garbage cans on campus. Well, I’m happy to report that a movement to address this is already underway. Our Facilities Services team located some garbage cans in storage and will be placing them in areas where they are most lacking. Also, the Sustainability Committee will discuss the distribution of receptacles across campus and inside buildings to see if a more comprehensive plan should be developed.
— — —
I’d like to leave you today with a plea: If you have not already received the required amount of doses of whichever vaccine you choose to get, please get them soon. About half of all UMMC employees and students are fully vaccinated, and I really feel that number should be higher. We should lead by example, especially with regard to public health measures. It’s important – if we want to hold this virus at bay – that more Mississippians get vaccinated. And I believe that starts with us. So I encourage you to #TakeTheShot and hope that you’ll encourage your family and friends to do the same. It’s a race between the variants and the vaccine. Getting vaccinated is our best move toward a Healthier Mississippi.