Q&A and Updates

Good morning!

It’s the last Friday of the month so I’ll answer some of your questions but first I have an update for you on a topic I’ve touched on previously. 

The project to connect the Lakeland Medical Building to the UMMC well-water system, and not the city water line, is complete. No more portable toilets for LMB employees and patients when there are city water issues – like last year’s frozen pipes situation. The Department of Finance and Administration and the City of Jackson worked with us to get this enhancement completed and the water quality now in LMB has received clearance from the Mississippi State Department of Health. This is great news and I know it’s well received by all who work and receive care in that building.  

Now on to some of the questions you’ve submitted to me through the VC Notes Inbox. Just as a reminder, I read all of your questions and comments and enjoy hearing from you. I’m only able to respond to some of them in this space, but I pass the rest along to senior administrators for their review and possible follow up. 

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Q:  There have been several car break-ins over the past month at the stadium where employees park. As of today, there has been no resolution just there is nothing we can do or a "we are sorry". Do you have any plans to make the employees feel safe leaving our cars for hours each day, with no security measures?

A:  I can report an offender has been arrested thanks to work of the UMMC Police and Public Safety Department.

Following reports of vehicle break-ins and larcenies at the stadium parking lots, our police department developed a plan which resulted in an arrest of a suspect who was charged with several felonies. This is another example of how various strategies of UMMC Police are decreasing crime on our campus.

I can’t say it enough – we are lucky to have full law enforcement officials watching over us, including investigators to track down and catch criminals. UMMC Police leadership is always evaluating our campus and surrounding areas and our buildings for ways to improve safety. And as a reminder, be sure to lock your car and hide any valuables you may leave behind from view.

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Q:  Dr. Woodward can we please get an internal phone directory for those of us who work in the Ambulatory clinics and offices so we can call other clinics or offices without going through the phone tree that is not answered by a human being most times.

A:  I gather by your question that you want to be able to quickly get in touch with a scheduler at a certain clinic or department to make an appointment for a patient, but there’s not a full listing of the main phone numbers for clinics and departments. Though, for several years now, every faculty and staff member’s contact info can be found on the Intranet by searching their name in the search bar at the top.

I consulted some operational leaders about your inquiry, and it kicked off what may turn out to be a helpful discussion. At this time, there are procedural reasons why a phone listing like you mention isn’t available, but I can tell you that how to approach the situation you bring up is being evaluated.

Dr. Shannon Pittman, chair of family medicine and the Medical Center’s chief medical information officer, Elizabeth Beasley, an ambulatory access leader, and Kevin Yearick, chief information officer for technology, are leading a group now discussing this topic and best ways to approach a potential solution. As you know, appointment scheduling is a tricky business and a one-solution-fits-all approach doesn’t always fulfil everyone’s – including our patients – needs. It’s important that something as important as access is handled thoughtfully and aligns with institutional strategies and goals.

In the hands of the group led by the people I just mentioned, I know an outcome that has considered all merits and potential pitfalls will be presented at the right time, and I’ll share that with you when it’s ready. Thanks for bringing this up! Your question may be the spark to an institution-wide opportunity to smooth out some existing barriers to patients quickly and easily getting an appointment.

For now, though, it’s helpful, for more than just scheduling, if each of us routinely update our information in Workday. This is fed to a number of places and accuracy is vitally important. Instructions on how to update your personal information in Workday can be found here.

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Q: Will University Heart offer cardiology screening again? And will the location be favorable to minority and elderly population?

A: Late last November, it was announced that a comprehensive cardiology screening could be scheduled with a University Heart specialist at our Grants Ferry clinic in Flowood and the response was immediately positive. In just a few weeks, more than 25 patients received a screening, which was competitively priced. Unfortunately, an unforeseen staffing issue caused a temporary suspension of the screenings in that location.

While no date has been set for when University Heart will be able to resume the full screening package at Grants Ferry, our Department of Radiology does offer CT calcium score heart screenings at all locations where radiology staff are present: Pavilion, Grants Ferry and on the main campus. A CT calcium score screening can identify calcium deposits, which can be a sign of coronary disease and indicate likelihood of a heart attack, and it is an excellent option for some at-risk patients. For information about this test and who should consider one, click here. If you want to schedule a CT calcium score heart screening, call 5-4723 and follow the prompts for adult scheduling.

University Heart leadership does plan on bringing back the full cardiology screening as soon as staffing allows with a goal of making this available to as many communities as possible in the future. 

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Q:  Can we please reopen the skywalk for night shifters?

A:  A group has been formed to look into the feasibility, timeline, cost and funding source to make it possible for the entrance between Garage B and Wiser to be open to employees and students only. Patients and visitors entering our hospitals need to go through one of the staffed entrances – University Hospital and Sanderson Tower – so it’s not possible for those doors to be open without limiting it to badge access only. When we have a plan finalized on this, I’ll let you know.

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Thanks for sending in your questions and/or comments. Keep them coming.

Before I sign off, I want to recognize that today is “Thank a Resident Day” as celebrated by the Arthur P. Gold Humanism Honor Society. The hundreds of residents who are learning new skills while at the same time serving vital functions in our hospitals is a group certainly deserving of recognition and our thanks.

The years spent in residency can be some of the best times of a physician’s career. During residency, the learning curve is very steep. Close relationships and tight connections with your fellow residents make getting through those years much easier. Lean on each other and help your colleagues when the time calls for it. Residency is high stress, but done right, the eventual reward will all be worth it. Don’t wish it away, soak it up. And, yes, get sleep any chance you can. Residents, fellows and all of our learners are an important part in our overarching goal of creating A Healthier Mississippi.