The Newsletter for Waterbury Hospital Employees & Network Affiliates

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Win a Prize Worth $100! Have you ever been faced with a situation at work that caused you to feel uncomfortable? Have you found yourself asking, “What is the right thing to do?” Maybe you know about a co-worker who is using sick days when she is really on vacation. Or perhaps in a crowded elevator, you overhear an employee discussing another employee’s salary and performance review. What if a vendor sends you a gift as a token of gratitude for using their services for your project? Can you keep it? Sometimes it’s hard to know what the right answer is. We all want to DO THE RIGHT THING... we’re just not sure what that is. The Network Compliance and Ethics Committee at the hospital is trying to raise awareness about compliance and ethics issues in the workplace. Beginning this month, they will offer a hypothetical question for you to answer each month. We encourage you to consider your own response and to talk with others. Then, send an e-mail to Kerri Allmer at kallmer@wtbyhosp.org with your answer. The first person to correctly answer the question will receive a prize valued at $100! We’ll provide the answer to April’s DO THE RIGHT THING question, in the May edition of the Update newsletter. APRIL’S ETHICAL DILEMMA QUESTION: A friend in your department calls to ask you to check his e-mail for an important message. He gives you his password, promising to change it as soon as he gets back. Is that okay? Please explain your response. “Our staff, and more important, our patients are now reaping the benefits of what a well-conceived and well-built electronic medical records system can do.” --Jim Olson, Chief Information Officer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Other benefits of the system, according to Olson, include the capability, with just a few key strokes, to immediately apprise staff of patients’ previous visits. “This means we can use the electronic information to respond to a patient more quickly,” he said. Additionally, “Physicians can access a patients’ data from their home or office because our hospital now provides them with remote access to the Cerner system if they request it,” said Olson. “Finally,” he continued, “the ability to collect more information at scheduling or registration is allowing patients’ bills to be more promptly paid by insurance companies.” Olson estimates that the conversion to the Cerner system has slashed the hospital’s special forms budget by one third and even more impressive, it has given the hospital a $1 Million return to its bottom line--a direct result he says, of improved documentation. A year after its launch, Olson says the hospital is optimistic about its electronic conversion. “Our staff, and more important, our patients, are now reaping the benefits of what a well conceived and well-built electronic medical records system can do. Of course, this is a work in progress, but the staff and the hospital have good reason to be proud of what we have already accomplished.” Send your response by April 27 to: kallmer@wtbyhosp.org. If you have questions, please call Heather Tindall at extension 6717. 2
HOSPITAL PRESENTS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS Waterbury Hospital was recently invited by Cerner Corporation to present at the National Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference in New Orleans where the Information Services department was asked to showcase the hospital's implementation of its electronic medical records system involving Cerner software. The team chose an infectious disease scenario that started in the Emergency Department and ended as an inpatient encounter. Within the patient-focused scenario, the team highlighted several key Cerner system features which have been developed or customized at Waterbury Hospital to help improve patient care. It is expected that the sharing of such presentations by several key Cerner clients (like Waterbury Hospital) will have a net positive effect on the entire Cerner user base. The convention drew over 15,000 health care professionals and provided the hospital with the opportunity to share the stage within the Cerner exhibition booth and demonstrate to professionals who stopped by the display. The hospital team included (L to R, above): Peter Porrello, MD, Chief Medical Informatics Officer; Betsy Sweeney, System Architect; Brenda Nichols, Clinical Informatics Analyst; Giselle Nunes, Clinical Informatics Analyst and Steve Laskarzewski, Director of Information Services. In an email to John Tobin, President and CEO, Dick Flanagan, Senior Vice President at Cerner, said, “Your team's presentation was well received and really showcased your fine organization.” DID YOU KNOW? Cerner considers Waterbury Hospital a member of their Premier Hospital Group? This means the hospital is part of the “go to” group Cerner uses to improve their products. Waterbury Hospital is also part of the Cerner Reference Site Program, that is earning the institution “Cerner Dollars” for each visit. These dollars can be spent on future software or services. And last but certainly not least . . . the hospital is being visited by other Connecticut hospitals (like Danbury, Middlesex and Bridgeport) who all want to learn more about Waterbury’s successful implementation of the Cerner system. Crozier Scholarship Provides Financial Assistance to Students Pursuing Medical Careers Students who intend to pursue a career in healthcare, are the son/daughter of a hospital employee(s) and are seeking financial assistance, may submit their application for consideration to the 2007 Emmet & Mildred Crozier Scholarship Fund by May 21. Applications may be picked up from the Human Resources (Rm. #2310) or Payroll (Rm. #2240) Departments. Applications may also be downloaded from the hospital’s Intranet by clicking on HR Forms. Mildred Crozier, who passed away in 2002, was formerly the Director of Special Projects and a devoted volunteer at the hospital after her retirement. She established the scholarship in her husband’s memory to assist students of hospital employees who desired careers in the health sciences fields. Originally established in Mildred’s husband’s name, the Crozier Scholarship has been assisting medical hopefuls since 1988. Over the years, tens of thousands of dollars have been dispersed to the children of hospital staff. In the past year, over $15,000 was awarded to eleven students. Awards are based on academic performance, financial need, and a proven, dedicated commitment to the student’s chosen field or career. For further information on the Crozier Scholarship, please call Jacquie Minor at extension 6273. 3 The Morale Booster Club sponsored the 4th Annual March Madness Employee Shootout on March 5 in the hospital's Bizzozero Conference Room. The event was attended by Maria Conlon, former University of Connecticut women’ basketball star who assisted with the shootout competition, signed autographs, and helped with other events planned for the day. The hospital-wide employee basketball shootout competition is one of several employee-focused activities generated by the Morale Booster Club throughout the year to help create a positive, cohesive environment at the hospital. March Madness organizer Claire Bauknecht said 62 teams registered for the competition, a new record for the event. The 2007 winning team from the Operating Room consisted of Mike Flanagan, MD; Pat DaSilva, Dept. Assistant, Surgical Services; and Elise Callahan, RN, Surgery Dept. The Finance team placed second and Hospitality placed third. Pictured above is Ann Frenette, Hospitality Services Supervisor who demonstrated her finest shooting form during the competition (Ann recently retired after 19 years of service to the hospital).
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The Newsletter for Waterbury Hospital Employees & Network Affiliates

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