August 05, 2004 - University of Kansas Medical Center

05 AUGUST 2004 • VOLUME 6 • NUMBER 32
Patient Satisfaction Scores
Speak Volumes
hen patients speak about their
experiences at The University
of Kansas Hospital, everyone listens.
“We take patient satisfaction
very seriously,” said Bob Page, hospital chief operating officer. Each
week, the hospital receives data
from Press Ganey Associates, an
independent national survey firm
that tallies patient opinions for more
than 900 hospitals nationwide.
Scores for the recently concluded
2004 fiscal year are the best ever.
Patient satisfaction results show:
W
• Overall scores (85.1) and percentile rating (70th) for the
quarter ending June 30 are the
highest since the survey process
began in 1991. (The percentile
rating compares the hospital’s
performance against others in
the Press Ganey database.)
Inside
Page 2
Murphy Celebration
Page 3
UHC Pilot Project
Pages 4-5 Front & Center
Pages 6-7 What’s News
Summer Scholars
Page 8
Classifieds, etc.
Here’s what
our patients
say about
their stay …
• 89.6 percent of responses were
“good” and “very good,” with
54.3 percent in the “very good”
category. Both of these represent the hospital’s highest
performance ever.
• Compared with other teaching
hospitals in the Press Ganey
database, the hospital is in the
85th percentile. This, too, is the
highest ever.
Hospital leaders study survey
results and look for ways to improve
performance. “With everyone’s continued hard work and commitment to
outstanding care and service, I am
confident that we will see even
greater improvement in our patient
satisfaction scores for fiscal year
2005,” said Irene Cumming, hospital
president and chief executive officer.
The University of Kansas Medical Center
“My experience was unbelievable. I am so impressed. I am
telling everyone to ‘forget
the past, KU is the future.’”
“I have been to KU now for over
four years and have always
received exceptional care.”
“We find it difficult to
describe our appreciation for
the care our mother received.
We and members of our family have experienced
hospitalizations at the Mayo
Clinic, Massachusetts
General and most of the hospitals in Kansas City. None
is in the same league as
The University of Kansas
Hospital. Our son-in-law, a
Mass General-trained urologist, described the level of
care as beyond anything he
has experienced.”
“Every time I have been a
patient (which has been quite
often, lately), I am impressed
with the compassion of the
staff.”
“(The staff is) caring, very
supportive and made some
very down days much more
bearable.”
KUMC Celebrates Murphy Flood Recovery
Bubble gum, duct tape, a damp
mop and special T-shirts were just
some of the “gold medal performance” awards presented at a
thank-you luncheon for everyone
who helped recover and restore
Murphy Administration Building
following the recent flood.
Donald Hagen, MD, KUMC
executive vice chancellor, served
as master of ceremonies for the
July 28 event. More than 200
employees, administrators and
“flood refugees” attended the
luncheon, which was held in the
KU School of Nursing Atrium.
“You’ve performed above and
beyond the call of duty,” said
Hagen. “Thanks again for your
willingness to go the extra mile.”
The event was as much a
celebration of Murphy’s Law as it
was Murphy’s restoration, noted
Hagen. “Many of you here today
took the lemons showered on you
and are making lemonade,” he
joked. “We had plenty of water for
the lemonade!”
An 80-year-old pipe located in
an office on the fourth floor of
Murphy rusted through in the early
hours of June 20, allowing more than
12,000 gallons of water to cascade
uncontrolled through the building
and cause extensive damage.
Hagen praised employees’ hard
work, cheerful spirits and perseverance in the face of confusion,
frustration and other countless difficulties related to the flood. Numerous
individuals, departments and contractors were singled out for recognition:
2
Left, Don Rau, director,
Facilities Management,
received the Jayhawk
Statue of Honor from
Donald Hagen, MD,
KUMC executive vice
chancellor, for his
“quick thinking, tireless
hard work and good
humor.”
Below, Byrrita Wood,
administrative assistant,
School of Medicine,
received her “I Survived
the Murphy Flood 2004”
T-shirt at the thank-you
luncheon.
• Rita Clifford, RN, PhD, associate dean for Student Affairs,
SoN, received a new clipboard,
whistle and a set of floor plans
for the SoN. She was instrumental in helping Murphy employees
find temporary offices and often
served as “dorm mom.”
• Jim Bingham, associate vice
chancellor, Information
Resources, received a package
of pipe cleaners to replace all of
the computer ties he and his
crews used for bundling computer and phone wires together
as they reinstalled equipment.
• Marcia Gilliland, RN, contract administrator, who was
not able to attend the luncheon,
was presented with a red and
gold crown in her absence.
“She is our Queen of Clean,”
Hagen said. For a scepter, he
held up a heavily used mop.
Facilities Management staff
members Don Rau, Tommie Sauls,
James Hawthorne and John Cook
received fresh supplies of duct tape,
bubble gum and cleaning cloths.
Hagen closed with a toast to the
“good spirit of cooperation and hard
work” shown by all who persevered
under trying circumstances and are
still working very hard on Murphy’s
complete restoration.
Hospital Chosen for National Pilot Project
The University of Kansas
Hospital is one of three academic
medical centers chosen for a pilot
project aimed at improving the way
teaching hospitals benchmark clinical and operational initiatives.
University HealthSystem
Consortium (UHC), an alliance of
academic health centers, has selected
the hospital to submit information that
will eventually help compare teaching
hospitals’ performance relating to both
inpatient and outpatient data: cost of
supplies, use of drugs, exams ordered,
tests performed, length of stay, complication rates, mortality, readmission
rates and frequency of procedures for
patients with the same diagnosis.
The hospital then will work
one-on-one with the best performers
in each category to understand and
apply their “best practices” in
improving overall performance.
“We have a long history of participating in measurement and
improvement initiatives with
UHC,” said Gail Sahlfeld, manager,
Organizational Improvement deci-
Staff from Information Technology Services and Organizational Improvement are
partnering on a national pilot project to help teaching hospitals improve performance. Pictured are, front row (from left) Cathy Boekstal and Gail Sahlfeld; back
row (from left) Kathy Hazlewood, Gail Christopherson, Chip Hulen and Bart Albers.
University and the University of
Virginia.
The University of Kansas
Hospital has submitted patient data
to UHC since 1997 as part of its
performance improvement initia-
“This (pilot project) will allow us to
benchmark our performance against other
systems like ours.” Gail Sahlfeld
sion support. “This will allow us to
benchmark our performance against
other systems like ours and will
give us more focused opportunities
for improvement.”
The other two academic health
centers participating in the pilot
project are affiliated with New York
tives. UHC provides systems that
analyze clinical, financial and
administrative data.
Currently, the hospital submits
only inpatient data for benchmarking purposes. The new initiative
will now also include outpatient
data, including patients admitted for
observation, Emergency
Department visits, outpatient surgeries and post-procedure patients.
All charge detail data will be submitted on every patient.
“This outpatient data will provide a much more comprehensive
analysis of our services,” said
Sahlfeld. “It is something our physicians have asked for.”
Information Technology
Services and Organizational
Improvement partnered to identify
data components, write reports and
verify data. The University of
Kansas Hospital was the first hospital to submit data for the pilot
project, which should be completed
this fall. The data will be shared
with all UHC member hospitals.
3
Heart Walk Winners
The University of Kansas Hospital’s
$76,915.86, which placed the KUMC
to Clinical Labs walkers and to Weber
Clinical Labs walkers raised more than
team second in the region after
for their outstanding efforts.
$11,700 for the American Heart
Yellow Corp.
Association in this year’s Heart Walk.
Pictured left to right (front row) are
Shirley Weber, Organizational
Bob Page, hospital chief operating offi-
Vicki Parsons, Linda Riley and Shirley
Improvement, was the top individual
cer, and Heart Walk coordinator Amy
Weber; (middle row) Bob Page,
fund-raiser with $3,042.50. The final tally
Metcalf, relational marketing manag-
Tracie Lewis, Barbara Beier, Marilee
for this year’s campus-wide effort was
er, presented a trophy and certificates
Means and Tai Nguyen; and (back
row) Dean Merkel, Linda Gorman,
Patricia Sanders-Hall, Charles Bartels,
Cathy Yonkey, Robin Heckelbeck,
Paige Boyer, Stacia ParkhurstHitchcock and Jodi Ballenger.
Other team members not pictured
are: Terry Arthur, Laurie Cindrich,
Duane Crow, Ginger Gault, Anita
Graham, Julie Guess, Teresa Hart,
Margaret Hood, Mary Hornbeck,
Jennifer Jones, Kim Lenz, Mike Martin,
Lisa McLaughlin, Valerie Payne,
Jennifer Ragona, Don Reid, Tracey
Spaeth, Susie Stokes, Ossama Tawfik,
LaVonne Trieu, Elizabeth Whitford,
Beverly Wicker and Marsha Wilson.
Treads & Threads Volunteers
More than 87 Cancer Center
employees and patients have volunteered for the hospital’s Treads &
Threads fund-raising gala, which is
set for Sept. 10 at Kansas Speedway.
A volunteer kick-off event took
place July 30 in the Wyandotte
Room. Cancer Center employees
posed with a cardboard cutout of
NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace.
Pictured are (from left) Staci Austin,
Britta Dominguez, Marc Wendling,
Jeff Wright, Cancer Center executive director, and Alice Sage.
4
Good Night, Dorothy!
Left, after 17 years as a night-shift nurse on Unit 53, Dorothy
Carson, RN, celebrated her retirement with friends and colleagues July 29. Carson (front row, left) celebrated with Lois
McMillin, RN, who retired in 1999, and (back row, from left)
Brenda Humphrey, Dee Olson, RN, Don Hein, RN, Thu Janes,
RN, Unit 53 nurse manager, and Cindy Diamond, RN. Janes
said Carson was very considerate of her patients, often
using a small flashlight to illuminate her work rather than
turning on the bright overhead lights in a patient’s room.
Peer Recognition
Below, the KU School of Medicine’s Internal Medicine
department recognized support staff members with a
special reception July 29 in Hixson Atrium. Three employees were chosen from among 43 nominees to receive
the department’s first $1,000 semi-annual peer recognition awards for their performance and productivity.
Additional awards will be given to employees in August
based upon their contributions toward divisional profitability. The winners received their checks from Susan
Pingleton, MD, Internal Medicine chair. Pictured are (front
row, from left) Susan Pritchard, patient service representative, Betty Brown, medical assistant, and Janie Allen,
coding/data entry representative. Chris McGoldrick
(back row, left), senior administrator, and Bill McBride,
administrator for Clinical Affairs, served on the employee
Rare Conditions
incentive committee. Other members (not pictured)
included Broderick Crawford, Saunny Jordan, Carol
Above, the Kansas Fraternal Order of the Eagles Auxiliary
Lohman, Barbara Robinson, Lori Rome and Linda Scharf.
presented a check for more than $20,000 to the KUMC
Genetic Education Center July 28 for medical genetics
education and research. Combined with earlier gifts,
Kansas Eagle Auxiliary members have contributed more
than $27,000 to the center from the sale of handcrafted
items, pens, T-shirts, fund-raising dinners and other activities during the past year. Robin Talley (center), Kansas
secretary, presented the check to Debra Collins, genetic
counselor, and R. Neil Schimke, MD, clinical geneticist.
The funds support individuals and families who, through
a fluke of biology, have had to deal with one of more
than 5,000 rare genetic conditions that frequently fall
between the cracks of the health care system.
5
Grocery Fund-raiser
The Kansas Masonic Cancer
Research Institute (KMCRI) will benefit from purchases made at area
Price Chopper grocery stores between
Sept. 1, 2004, and May 31, 2005. For
the second year, the store will donate
one percent of total qualified purchases. Thirty-five active card-holders
must participate. If you participated
last year, you must re-enroll.
Register online at
www.mypricechopper.com or complete a registration form. Copies are
available on campus at 5028
Robinson and 4030 Robinson or
any Price Chopper Customer
Service Desk. To activate the registration, present it along with your
card during your next purchase.
Computer Security
Training
Securing confidential information
on computer systems and denying
access to unauthorized people are
high priorities for The University of
Kansas Hospital. To help employees
maintain security and meet new
HIPAA rules, all employees who use
computers are now required to take a
computerized security training course.
This training takes approximately 20-30 minutes and must be
completed by September 30, 2004.
After that date, computer access
6
may be restricted for employees
who have not completed training.
Like the HIPAA Privacy
Training begun last year, the new
security training is easy to access
from any computer at KUMC.
Employees who are unable to complete training at work due to job
requirements may access the training from a home computer via the
Internet, with supervisory approval.
To access the training, go to:
http://www2.kumc.edu/chalk/kumed.asp.
Contact the Help Desk at 8-4894
for more information.
number, 913-588-5555. The recorded message contains five options
for obtaining directions from all
parts of the Kansas City metropolitan area and beyond:
1. St. Joseph, KCI Airport and the
Northland
2. Olathe, Overland Park and
Johnson County
3. Topeka, Lawrence and
Leavenworth
4. Blue Springs, Independence and
Downtown Kansas City
5. Joplin, Belton, Grandview and
Lee’s Summit
2004 Alumni Reunion
The 2004 KUMC Alumni
Reunion will take place Sept. 17-19.
Events include a welcome picnic, a
historical slide show, deans’ updates,
presentations on advances in patient
care and scientific discoveries at
KUMC, class reunion festivities,
departmental celebrations and an
awards gala.
Details are posted at
www.kumc.edu/alumni or contact
the KUMC Alumni Associations at
913-588-7963 or 888-679-5951.
Directions Phone Line
Patients and visitors who need
directions to The University of
Kansas Hospital may now obtain
them by calling a dedicated phone
The new service will benefit
both the hospital and the entire
KUMC campus since anyone can
use it. Written directions and a map
are available on the hospital’s Web
site, www.kumed.com. People can
also call the hospital switchboard at
913-588-5000 for extra assistance.
Worlds of Fun Tickets
Wednesday, Aug. 11, is the
deadline for purchasing tickets for
KUMC day at Worlds of Fun/
Oceans of Fun on Saturday, Aug. 14.
Tickets cost $18.95 each for children and adults.
Tickets provide admittance
to both parks and include a late
afternoon Mexican-style meal.
To purchase tickets, stop by
1024 Murphy from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
weekdays. For more information,
contact Tamela Loos at 8-5148.
Wichita Celebration
In celebration of the University of
Kansas Medical Center’s Centennial
and the 30th anniversary of the
KU School of Medicine-Wichita, the
KUMC Alumni Associations and
administrators will hold a reception
and program for alumni and students
5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10.
The events will take place in
the Daniel K. Roberts Center, west
atrium, 1010 N. Kansas, Wichita.
RSVP to Alumni Relations at:
alumni@kumc.edu or call toll free
at 888-679-5951.
Lock-down Test
Facilities Management, in conjunction with KUMC Police, will
perform a campus-wide lock-down
test of the ID card access system
from 5:15-5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6.
The annual test on the campus’
111 card access doors is conducted
in case a lock-down is required due
to a national or local emergency.
During the 15-minute test, all
perimeter card access doors will be
placed in “lock-down” mode and
tested to be certain they are working properly. ID badges will still
open doors for which they have
authorized access. People may still
exit through the doors.
Questions about the card access
system should be directed to Dennis
Murphy at 8-7904.
Program Exposes Students to Research Careers
The Summer Scholars Program, conducted at the
KU Medical Center campus and at eight other Kansas
universities, allows talented high school and college students to work with scientist-mentors and learn about
careers in biomedical research.
Under the guidance of faculty members and staff,
each student works on a summer research project that
allows them to explore new areas such as anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, pharmacology,
neuroscience, genetics and more.
“Our goal is to expose students to research early in their
education, with the hope that this experience will encourage
them to pursue research as a career,” explained Paul
Terranova, PhD, professor and director of the KU School
of Medicine’s Center for Reproductive Biology and coordinator of the Summer Scholars Program.
The program is made possible by a National Institutes
of Health grant. Joan Hunt, PhD, is coordinator of the
statewide Summer Scholar Program and principal investi-
gator of the grant, which was recently renewed for nearly
$18 million and expanded to cover several additional
research initiatives over five years. She is the senior associate dean for Research and Graduate Education at the SoM.
The Summer Scholars Program exposes talented high
school and college students to biomedical research.
Participants in this year’s program included, from left,
Christal Carpenter, Lauren Reed, Macole Mayweather,
Joan Hunt, PhD, senior associate dean for Research and
Graduate Education, KU School of Medicine, Ashley Burdex,
Corey McKain and Mark Fisher, PhD, associate professor,
Molecular Biology, and a scientist-mentor for the program.
7
Classifieds, etc.
Coming Up
Thursday, Aug. 5
Automotive:
1988 Honda Civic, 4-door, grey, runs
great, excellent gas mileage, 5-speed,
power doors/locks, needs muffler, $500
OBO. 913-710-2961.
1992 Jeep Wrangler, trail ready, 4-cylinder, 112K miles, 5-speed, Posi-Lock cable,
A/C, AM/FM, CD player, soft top with
island topper, trail cover, Powertrac locker,
new heavy duty Chevy transfer case with
slip-yoke eliminator, new drive shaft, 2"
body lift, 2" add-a-leaf, 31" tires, $5,500.
816-797-3043.
1993 Pontiac Grand Am, 2-door,
5-speed, excellent condition, $1,500
OBO. 816-753-4641 or 816-985-6407.
1997 Mazda B2300 pickup, 4-cylinder,
A/C, CD, alloy wheels, power steering,
new tires, 71K miles, one owner, excellent
condition, $4,000. Jon at 913-722-5654.
2003 NP50 dirtbike, $800 OBO.
913-927-5703.
For Sale:
32' aluminum extension ladder, $80.
816-353-0064.
G.E. window AC units: 8K BTUs energy
saver, 7-8 years old, $70; 19K BTUs,
230 volt, recently serviced, $175; washer/dryer, all electric, 8-10 years old,
good condition, $150; Kenmore refrigerator, side-by-side, cream color, works
great, $125. 913-384-3378.
Babycise parent-infant exercise set, new,
out of original box but in shrink wrap,
includes padded mat, 2 “bar bell” rattles,
3 inflatable triangle blocks to be used as
bolsters, baby blue-colored background
with small rose-colored pattern, $15.
913-897-9492.
Fully beaded, beautiful wedding dress,
detachable train, matching veil, $80.
913-488-9398.
Galaxy gas stove, very good condition,
$75. 816-822-1422.
Clean gas stove, black and white, $100
OBO. 816-405-1106.
Dining room table with 2 leaves, 5 chairs,
china cabinet, $250 OBO. 816-305-2091.
Chiefs’ tickets for sale: Aug. 23, St. Louis
Rams; Aug. 28, Cleveland Browns; Nov.
28, San Diego Chargers; section 325, row
17, seats 3 and 4, Chiefs’ side; $64 per
seat preseason games; $79 per seat regular season games. Rob at 913-397-6458.
Four Kansas Speedway tickets for Sat.,
Oct. 9. 913-722-3631.
Set of 1970’s brown, thumbprint glassware, $8 each tumbler; stemmed water
glass, wine glass, dessert dish, $50 for
all; dishes: Winterwheat, full set for 8;
V&B, Geranium pattern, 4 place settings plus extras; Princess Diana’s
everyday dish pattern. 913-268-6417.
Overland Park luxury condo, 8741 Riggs
Circle, between Metcalf and Lamar, 2 BR,
huge closets, 21/2 BA, den, office, new
kitchen with granite/new appliances, private patio, great for professional couple,
$219,000. 913-269-9963.
4 BR, assumable loan, easy highway
access, close to bus stop/shops, 11/2 story,
owe $52,000, 23 St. & Sterling, KCMO
School District. Lisa at 816-468-4040 or
Marlene at 816-806-2953.
• “Assessment of Behavior
Disorders in the Dementia
Patient,” Jon Dedon, MD, and
“Preventing Behavior Problems
in the Dementia Patient in the
Acute Care Setting,” Bruce
Voegele, RN, 12:30-2:20 p.m.,
Landon Center.
Friday, Aug. 6
• Class of 2008 White Coat
Ceremony, 2 p.m., Battenfeld
Auditorium. Reception in School
of Nursing Atrium. Call Amy
Meara at 8-5280 for information.
Tuesday, Aug. 10
• “Current Status of Lung Volume
Reduction Surgery for
Emphysema,” Jeffrey Piehler, MD,
Cardiothoracic Surgery,
7 a.m., Clendening Auditorium.
For Rent:
2 apartments: 1 BR, 2 BR, in triplex, all
utilities paid, within walking distance of
KUMC. 913-397-6476 or 913-722-5735.
Free:
Good family dog looking for good
home: 6-month-old Mastiff/Boxer mix,
sweet, great with kids, unable to keep
due to move. 913-789-7327.
Firewood, already cut, must pick up.
913-789-7327.
Wanted:
Push or propelled mower with deck rear
bag, prefer a Craftsman, new or in good
condition. 913-208-2205.
Irene M. Cumming
President and CEO
The University of
Kansas Hospital
Donald Hagen, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor
University of Kansas
Medical Center
Carolen Collins, Internal Communications Manager
Val Renault, Senior Writer
Kirk Buster, Graphic Design
Jan Lewis, Editorial Manager
Mary King, Communications Services Director
In The Center is a weekly employee publication
published by The University of Kansas Hospital’s
Communications Services Department. Send story ideas
to Carolen Collins, Bldg. 48, Room 1070, e-mail
ccollins9@kumc.edu or call 8-1074.
Ad Policy - Send or bring your ad, 30 words or less,
to Bldg. 48, Room 1070, fax to 8-0241, or e-mail
inthecenter by noon Thursday of the week before it is
to run. Ads run free of charge for employees, students
and volunteers. All ads must include the advertiser’s
name and work extension (or student box number) for
verification. Only home phone numbers–no pager
numbers or work extensions–will be published. Please
include area code. No ads for commercial services or
pets for sale will be accepted. Ads will not be taken by
telephone. Ads may be held a week if space is limited.
3901 RAINBOW BOULEVARD • KANSAS CITY, KS 66160 • (913) 588-5000 • WWW.KUMC.EDU