Q&A

Good morning!

It’s the final Friday of the month, so, today, I will respond to some of the questions/comments you’ve sent to me through the VC Notes inbox. I received a lot of submissions over this four-week span, and I appreciate it. Thank you for taking some time to update me on something or to bring up a topic on which you – and likely others – would like more information. Keep them coming!

As a reminder, I read all your submissions, and each one is sent to an institutional leader for awareness. So, everything that you send me through the VC Notes inbox has an impact in some way.

Q: It would be helpful if all staff had a badge buddy who identified their role (example: RN, Physician, PT/OT, Student, Registration, etc.) for staff members, visitors and patients. Is that possible? I know many staff members have these badge buddies, but it would be nice if everyone did. I think this would help patients know to whom they are speaking and help staff identify their teammates and their disciplines.

A:  Badge buddies are extra ID cards that hang behind/below the name badge to highlight the employee’s clinical role, such as RN, Doctor, Physical Therapist, Nurse Practitioner, etc. Badge buddies can help patients, visitors and coworkers easily identify the type of professional providing care. This can be useful from a safety standpoint in some situations/areas. In other cases, a standard name badge plus any information embroidered on a scrub shirt or coat may be sufficient. We don’t have an institutional badge buddy program at UMMC, so the decision to order them is managed and funded by each clinical department. If you think it’s necessary to roll out badge buddies in your area, please let your unit leader know, and they can reach out to their upline manager to discuss options.

Q:  When will the roads in the stadium parking lot be repaved towards the front and back. Especially riding the bus in the morning and afternoon, it is really loud and uncomfortable, and it feels like we are being tossed everywhere.

A: This is one of many comments you sent to me about the state of the roads leading into and out of the stadium parking lots. Facilities Services recently completed an assessment of the stadium access roads and sent a comprehensive list of roads that need repair and a detailed corrective action plan to Jackson State University, from which we lease the parking lots and which is responsible for the upkeep of the roads around the stadium. The planning for these repairs is underway. Our team is coordinating with contractors and JSU with the aim of having road repairs begin in October.

In addition to the above item about stadium roads, I received questions about the state of the roads on our campus as you enter from State Street, across from the old Back Yard Burgers building. Efforts to fix this are also underway. Our Office of Planning, Design and Construction is soliciting contractor quotes to repave that entrance. The plan is to begin repairs in October, which will cause some minor disruptions in traffic flow until the project is complete.

Q: I recently noticed that UMMC does not have a formal maternity or lactation policy. This seems unusual to me for a large institution to not have a policy to protect this population from discriminatory practices. There is also no paid leave for maternity, which is very commonplace in most job environments. I am also unaware of any designated spaces that can be utilized for lactation.

A: The Medical Center fully supports breastfeeding mothers. There is a policy that specifically covers the availability of lactation rooms on our campus for employees and visitors. It can be found on the Lactation Services webpage, which includes a list of lactation room locations on campus. We comply with state and federal regulations on this subject.

We also comply with all state and federal regulations regarding maternity leave. All eligible employees have access to generous time off accruals that may be utilized for medical leave, including for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child. Details about eligibility and under which conditions can be found in the Leave Policies section of the Faculty and Staff Handbook.

If you have any questions about either of these topics, please reach out to your designated Human Resources business partner. If you don’t know who your HR business partner is, reach out to your supervisor.

Q: We had written when they installed the new lights, but we are asking again. When the new lights were installed in Wiser Urgent Care, many employees complained that their brightness and wavelength cause eye and head pain. Some have purchased FL-41 glasses to help, but they only work so well. More employees are suffering from headaches, eye pain and migraines at work and at work only since the new lights were installed. 

A: Per my usual process, I sent the submissions on this topic that I received a few months ago to the administrator over that area.

The new LED lights only come in one brightness setting, but we hear your comments and want to do what is possible to bring them down some. Facilities Services’ electricians are looking into options to add a dimmer to the lights so they won’t be as bright but still provide good coverage in the areas.

Q: Does UMMC still offer telehealth? I tried to make an appointment recently on the UMMC2U app and it was no longer a working app. This was such a convenient service when it was available. 

A: Yes, we still offer telehealth for all our employees. I touched base with Dr. Saurabh Chandra, chief telehealth officer, on your question about the app, and here’s some clarifying and helpful information he provided:

The UMMC2U phone app was retired on March 1, 2022, but the UMMC 2 YOU program is still available via the web at ummc2you.com or by logging into your UMMC MyChart account online or in the mobile app. Details about the program and what services are offered can also be found on that webpage. For your general information, urgent care appointments are available through UMMC 2 You 24/7, and behavioral health services are available by appointment 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

UMMC 2 You is available to anyone, including UMMC employees, whose insurance coverage is through the Mississippi State and School Employees' Life and Health Insurance Plan or through some other plan. Most insurances are accepted, and costs will vary based on coverage.

Q: There seems to be a problem in our inpatient units with finding suitable wheelchairs for patients. Our manager has ordered four wheelchairs that belong to our unit, but there is no way to track them at any point, so when we need to take patients out for discharge or to the NICU to see their babies, we either don't have access to a wheelchair at all or we are using broken chairs. Is there a solution to bringing unit-specific chairs back where they belong and keeping them there?

A: A fix for this is in the works. We are working with a vendor, TRIMEDX, that is installing tracking tags on our wheelchairs and other equipment so they can be located and returned to their designated area. Staff for the areas that have wheelchairs will be able to log into a web-based system to find their wheelchairs, stretchers, transport monitors and other items that are tagged so they can be retrieved. TRIMEDX expects the system to be online and ready to use by mid-November.

Q: There seem to be more smokers congregating in the area around the flagpole at the front entrance for patients and visitors. I would like to politely ask if the smokers could be moved away from where we have to walk through on the way to and from work?

A: UMMC Police are aware of these incidences and always disperse smokers from this area when found. If you see someone smoking on our campus – which is not allowed at any time – you should feel free to let them know that smoking is prohibited at UMMC and ask they move to an area off our campus. They may just not be aware of this rule. You can also report the smoker to police dispatch using your cellphone at 601-984-1360.

UMMC Police are engaging with our clinical teams on ways that patients and visitors can be made more aware that UMMC is a no-smoking campus, and with the Office of General Counsel on helpful, needed revisions to our policy.

Thank you for these and all your submissions to the VC Notes inbox. Keep them coming!

To close today’s column, I want to take this opportunity – three days before Labor Day – to express my deep appreciation to our workforce. Our faculty, staff, volunteers and anyone else who puts forth effort on any of the MANY Medical Center projects, are second to none. That’s why we routinely refer to our workforce as our most valuable resource. Thank you for all you do. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is possible without your dedication, thoughtfulness and effort. We are moving in the right direction, and we will continue to do so with your help, which is an essential component of A Healthier Mississippi.