Q & A

Good morning!
 
Today is a Q&A edition of VC Notes and the first topic that I want to discuss is one that you’ve asked or commented about many times, and I’ve included in past VC Notes – food services. I’ve mentioned that several months ago we solicited proposals from food services vendors to handle all patient and cafeteria food and nutrition. Through this request for proposal, or RFP, process, we have selected a preferred vendor different than our current one. We are in negotiations with the preferred vendor and are working with the current vendor on a transition process. All parties will collaborate to make this transition as smooth as possible and maintain a high level of food services. The timeline for when the new vendor will take over is not yet final, but when I have some information that I think would be important for you to know, I’ll share it here.
 
Now, on to other questions/comments you’ve sent to me through the VC Notes inbox.
 
A reminder, I read all 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:  Is there no celebration for Hospital Week/Employee Appreciation this year?
 
A:  I received this question on May 13, a couple of days before Human Resources started promoting their plans and schedule of events for UMMC Employee Appreciation Week 2024, which began on May 20. So, it got answered pretty quickly, but I want to use this as an opportunity to highlight what a great week it was last week celebrating and recognizing all that YOU do as UMMC faculty and staff.
 
I want to put it simply – THANK YOU. The state’s only academic medical center is important for the residents of this state because of the work you do. Because of your dedication. Because of how much you CARE for Mississippians – our patients and their families, our students and everyone with whom they engage throughout their careers, everyone impacted by our discoveries. Because you chose to work at UMMC, where the mission is THE THING. I appreciate you.

And since we consider everyone who works for the Medical Center to be a health care worker, we opt for an “employee appreciation” celebration rather than limiting the scope to a “hospital week.” Regardless of the mission area in which your job resides, we are all a part of the same Medical Center engine, and it takes all of us for it to run smoothly.

Frank Lenior, chief human resources officer, and his team did a great job of putting together a fun employee appreciation week. Just about every employee who wears a UMMC badge should have had at least one instance where they had an opportunity to be engaged last week. 
 
Thank you to the Medical Center leaders who spent some of their time last week handing out popcorn, other treats and/or verbal thanks to employees. Everyone likes snacks and certainly every employee values feeling appreciated.

Q:  On Fridays when leaving work at 7:30 p.m., I have noticed that all of the stadium gates except the one at the State Street light are closed. Once I had to wait over 20 minutes to get out of the stadium due to all of the other cars trying to get out. I just wanted you to be aware.
 
A: UMMC Police has a schedule for opening and closing the gates for the stadium parking lots (the main entrance facing State Street is always open). It is as follows:

• Monday-Friday
  • 5:30 a.m. - Open the drive-through gates and the main rear gate
  • 9 a.m. - Close all drive-through gates and open the walk-through gates along Stadium Drive
  • 3 p.m. – Open all drive-through gates
  • 6:30 p.m. - Close the drive-through gates at Overflow, C and D lots
  • 10:30 p.m. - Close the main rear gate and drive-through gates near the Health Department
• Weekends (Only the main gate is open for vehicle traffic)
  • 5:30 a.m. - Open walk-through gate on the southeast corner of the main parking area by the Health Department
  • 10:30 a.m. - Close walk-through gate on the southeast corner of the main parking area by the Health Department.

However, if officers are involved in responding to calls, there may be instances when opening or closing of gates may not tightly adhere to this schedule. If you have an issue with a gate being closed that is preventing you from leaving a lot, please call UMMC Police dispatch at 601-984-1360.
 
And if you ever experience or see something that is a safety concern, please call 601-815-7777 from a cell phone or 911 from an on-campus phone if it is an emergency and 601-984-1360 for non-emergent issues. If you want an escort to or from your vehicle, use the non-emergency phone number. Additional information can be found on the UMMC Police intranet page here.

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Q:  Will new employee orientation ever be in person again? While the HealthStreams are comprehensive, there is quite a lot of information that is left on the hiring manager the way things stand and even the best new employees will miss information. I know when I was hired a few years back, I greatly appreciated having HR staff available to explain the vast origination that is UMMC, answer questions, etc.
 
A: Good question. 
 
This is one of those things that changed because of COVID and never reverted. While there are some merits to the ease of going through the onboarding process virtually, I agree that some of the early connection to life as a Medical Center employee is lost without the in-person meeting.
 
Orientation is an opportunity for new employees to feel welcome, secure and that they are now a valued part of a vibrant organization. This can help them get their Medical Center journey started off on the right foot.
 
I checked with Frank Lenior about this, too, and he said HR has already convened a group to look at ways to resume some in-person parts of new employee orientation. They’ll evaluate current and past operations and develop a way to get the best of both processes. More on this as it develops.

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Q:  I wish there was a way we could evaluate our supervisors, there has been quite a few supervisors lately around the adult hospital who have treated staff inappropriately, Other than reporting them to HR, there is no way to let their supervisor know that things are going well. Also, if you do make a report to HR no one ever checks back in to see if things are better or how the staff is being treated. I believe it would be beneficial to have a way to let upper management know how things are going.
 
A:  Another human resources-related question on which I asked Frank to provide some input.
 
HR recently restructured in a way that provides employees and managers better accessibility to their staff – namely the HR Business Partners, HRBP for short.
 
Every UMMC unit is assigned an HRBP who is available to all employees within that unit for any HR-related issue. It’s not necessary for a unit’s staff members to go through their supervisor to contact their HRBP. To find out the HRBP who is assigned to your area, go to your own profile in Workday and click on “Support Roles” in the “Job” category.
 
Also, executive leaders and upper-level managers are always available to listen to any employee concerns confidentially. This is another avenue you can take if you have concerns or feedback about a manager or supervisor.
 
We, as an institution, take employee concerns seriously and encourage all feedback, negative or positive. It’s important that we are aware of opportunities to improve or times that we are doing something right and should look to expand on it.

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Again, thank you for all your submissions to the VC Notes inbox.
 
I want to close today sharing kudos to everyone who participated in last week’s The Joint Commission visit. When TJC is on site, it’s typically “all hands on deck,” and this visit was no different. Beginning early Monday and concluding late Friday morning, our clinical leaders and a team of others led TJC surveyors on tours of all our patient care areas and support units so they could evaluate our compliance with hundreds of standards. Early reports from surveyors revealed some things they liked and some things that we need to address. Accreditation site visits are a great opportunity for an outside opinion and a new perspective on some things upon which we can improve. Attention to the little details is essential to A Healthier Mississippi.