april 27, 2011 tornado stories Revisited - Children's of Alabama

our way
A publication for the employees of Children’s of Alabama • April 2012
April 27, 2011 Tornado Stories Revisited
Following up with three victims from that devastating day
Rachel Grier
trinity norris
tyler pate
It’s hard to see the scars of last year’s tornadoes
on six-year-old Rachel Grier. She is seemingly a
typical little girl. But when the weather service
issues a tornado warning, she is the first to stand
watch at the television set.
Crystal Grier, her
mother, recalls the day
as if it were yesterday.
Crystal, her husband
Curt, and their children,
Rachel and 10-monthold
Jacob, sought shelter
in the basement of their
Pleasant Grove home.
But the storm was more dangerous than anyone
could have imagined. The tornado shattered the
ceiling of the concrete basement and the house
caved in trapping Rachel’s head between a slab of
concrete and the baby’s car seat.
In a neighborhood that was virtually impossible to
reach because of debris from the devastation, the
survivors rallied neighbors to gather car jacks to
hoist up the concrete and free Rachel’s head. It took
10 car jacks and several people to release her.
Rachel was conscious but in great pain. Curt cradled
his daughter and then walked two miles to find
medical care. She was taken to Children’s where
they tested the nerves in her neck, concerned she
may never regain
full use of her arm.
Surgery would not
guarantee success
and so physical
therapy was ordered.
By August, Rachel
underwent an MRI,
which showed she
was completely
healed.
photos by Denise McGill
When the
tops of
trees
sway ever so slightly,
the panic overwhelms
Leslie Norris and
she remembers what
it felt like to be lifted into the air by the roaring
tornado, her three children cradled in her arms.
She remembers waking up in a field searching for
her husband and children. They were all around her
except for two-year-old Trinity, who lay lifeless in a
bloody heap.
The Norrises had just moved into a mobile home in
the Tuscaloosa county town of Holt when Reginald
Norris spotted a massive tornado heading right
toward their mobile home park. He ran in the house
and gathered the family in the bathtub, threw
a mattress over them and lay on top. The entire
mobile home community was ravaged, and its
residents were tossed
out and away.
A few hours after a
police officer took
Trinity to a local
hospital, Trinity was
airlifted to Children’s
for surgery, but her
condition was delicate.
Doctors prepared the
Norrises for the worst.
She was on life support and not expected to survive.
Yet, slowly, miraculously, Trinity came back.
Now 3, Trinity walks with a limp and her smile sags
on one side. Despite the challenges, Trinity is alive
and happy. She receives physical and occupational
therapy and experiences small successes every day.
“We still have faith in her,” Leslie says. “We know
she is a miracle.”
It’s not a date that rings in the memory of Andrea
Pate, it’s a time. “It hit at 3:15,” Andrea says of
the massive tornado that struck her mobile home
in rural Hillsboro in Lawrence County.
A year ago, Andrea was
at her job in Athens when
she and her coworkers
were pulled into the locker
rooms to take cover from
the storms. For two hours
Andrea tried to call her
husband, Michael, who
was at home watching
their 2-year-old son Tyler.
Hours later Andrea learned from her mother that
her mobile home was completely destroyed, and
her husband and baby had been taken away by
ambulance. Michael was taken to a hospital in
Decatur. Tyler’s whereabouts were still in question.
They finally got word that Tyler had been
transported to Children’s. Tyler spent 13 days in
the hospital. The injury had caused some paralysis
on his right side, and physical and occupational
therapy were ordered.
Michael returned to
work, but Andrea
had to quit her job to
care for the family.
Tyler is in a Head
Start program for
special needs children
and continues to go
to therapy. He is
gradually regaining
use of his right side
and walks with a slight limp.
The Pates now live in Decatur. Andrea says she
chooses to focus on the positive since the storm – the
fact both her husband and baby survived.

SHoRTS
Children’s
“Children’s Family Night at Regions
Park” Set for May 5
Children’s has reserved the Ventura Patio at
Regions Park on Sat., May 5 for employees
and their immediate families. There will be
a bounce house, food and refreshments. The
room opens at 6:00. The game starts at 6:30
p.m. Each employee who reserves a ticket
will be entered into a drawing, which will
take place on Friday, April 27, to determine who will
throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
To reserve tickets, contact Justin Cohen by email at
justin.cohen@childrensal.org or call 205.558.2789.
Please make sure you will attend before reserving
tickets.
Inpatients to Receive New Guide
The new inpatient guests – Guide to
Children’s of Alabama – are now in
use. The folders are available in both
English and Spanish and are designed
to provide families with general
information about Children’s to make
their visits less stressful. The folders are
given to guests via Customer Service representatives
upon admission. Information sheets about the patient’s
particular unit are inserted in the folders.
Walker County Named State’s First
“Heart Safe School System”
On March 8, the Walker County School System
became the first “Heart Safe School System” in
Alabama as Alabama LifeStart Director Cris Brown
presented free automated external defibrillators
(AEDs) and AED training equipment to the Walker
County Board of Education. Alabama Life Start was
started by Dr. Yung Lau, Barbara Mostella and Brown
as an initiative of Children’s and UAB.
Welcome to the Clean Hands Club!
The employees listed below were
observed by a hand hygiene
champion as consistently
demonstrating positive
hand hygiene behaviors and
encouraging their colleagues to
do the same.
Valencia Clay – Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Roberta Evans – Pediatric ENT Associates
Jaimie Livingston – After Hours
Dr. Robert Pass – Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Lisa Syx – ENT Clinic
Corrections & Clarifications
In the March edition of Our Way, we mistakenly
identified the patient in the cover story as Noah
Webster when his name is Noah Stewart.
Training for Soarian Financials Begins Next Month
continues implementation of its new financial system, Soarian Financials. This change will dramatically
change the way the organization registers, schedules and bills patients. Changes will include terminology,
processes and functionality.
Some attended the kick-off event in June and others are just learning about this change either through The Red
Wagon (intranet), Our Way, co-workers, departmental or leadership meetings. Obviously, moving to Soarian also
requires us to think differently about how we schedule, register and bill our patients so we are examining and
changing our processes to improve patient flow and customer service and make optimal use of the systems. Our
goal will be for 100 percent of scheduled patients to be pre-registered.
Below is some information to broaden your knowledge about this undertaking:
• Soarian is not just a replacement for Invision. It is an improvement over Invision.
• Soarian is a web-based application, meaning there will be drop down menus, text boxes and other features
similar to many websites. It will look and feel different, but is user-friendly and intuitive for users.
• Soarian is modern technology – server-based not main frame-based, menu screens are user-friendly, real words
replace “codes,” system generated receipts replace handwritten carbon receipts and ledgers.
• Integrated into the Soarian product is an updated version of Soarian Scheduling, which allows our scheduling
system to “talk” to our registration system. This is currently not the case. For example, if an employee adds a
patient’s insurance in Soarian Scheduling, this information will be retained and will pass to the registration system.
• Soarian is a “real-time” system. We will no longer have to wait overnight for day-end processing.
Why are we changing?
Invision is a solid system that has served our
hospital well since the 90s. Due to the campus
expansion and some limitations in Invision (for
example we have run out of patient types;
and also need real-time data), it is necessary
to upgrade to a more modern system.
Who will this impact?
Anyone who uses Soarian Scheduling, Invision
or Patient Accounting will be affected. Invision
is going away and some current Invision users
may not need Soarian. Others may have
“view only” access based on department
needs. Certain information currently accessed
through Invision will be accessed through other
systems like iConnect (SCM) or ChartMaaxx.
Michael McCann, director of Patient Registration, with Gwen
How will training be provided?
Youngblood, Patient Registration clerk.
If you work in any of these systems, you will
be required to attend training and establish competency prior to gaining access to the system.
When is all this happening?
Testing is underway. Training is planned for May. Go-live is planned for June.
Children’s on a QUEST for Excellence
During patient safety week 2012, a new framework
for quality and safety was announced, QUEST
– The Way to Organizational Excellence at
Children’s. This framework will be the foundation for
quality and safety and applies to every person at
Children’s. Quality and safety are an organizational
responsibility, so everyone has a role.
Q – Quality – We will improve patient outcomes and
customer service.
U – Uniformity – We will standardize our processes
and our technologies.
E – Efficiency – We will increase productivity by
reducing wasted effort and expenses.
S – Safety – We will reduce patient harm.
T – Transparency – We will share information about
and learn from our successes and our mistakes.
Throughout
2012, the
Performance
Improvement
and Patient
Safety departments will be focused on sharing
information about QUEST. Consider how you will utilize
QUEST in your daily activities and responsibilities.
Stay tuned for more information from Quality and
Safety regarding the Children’s QUEST for Excellence.
Denise McGill
blueprints
Mike’s Musings
Construction Update
By Matt Anderson, Hoar/BE&K Construction Team
Inspections and
certifications will
be the main focus
in April. The city of
Birmingham will begin
inspections while the
State of Alabama
Fire Marshall will
begin checking the
fire pump, smoke
evacuation system
and fire alarm.
There will be plenty
of alarms and strobes
sounding off due to
inspections throughout
A view of the central nurses station and the meadow-themed
room surrounds in the Sanders NICU on the 6th floor.
the building, but all of the hard work and dedication from the entire team will
culminate at the end of May.
On March 23, the existing patient bed tower was dedicated to and named
in memory of Dr. Jim Dearth, the late hematologist-oncologist who served as
Children’s chief executive officer for more than two decades. Attending the
dedication were staff, board members and Dr. Dearth’s friends and family.
Pictured above from left to right are Tucker Dearth, Joanne Dearth, Anna
Wesley, Robin Soran, Jackson Wesley and Tracy Wesley.
photo courtesy of Multivista
Denise McGill
COA Expansion Facility Fun Fact
Although many of the public spaces in the Benjamin
Russell Hospital for Children will contain terrazzo
flooring, there is approximately 62,118 square feet of
carpeting in the building. This is enough to fully carpet
23 averaged-sized (2,700 sq. ft.) U.S. homes.
Many events on the horizon
For most of us there are special events or major happenings that stand out
for years in our memories. For example, many people can tell you where
they were when they learned of the Challenger disaster or the September
11 attacks. And most of us do a reasonably good job of remembering
dates that are personally important like birthdays and anniversaries. All
of this makes me think of the important dates to remember that we have
coming up at Children’s of Alabama.
By the time you read this, we will have already
celebrated the dedication of the Dearth Tower on
March 23 and remembered the many and lasting
contributions of Dr. Jim Dearth to our organization
and to the lives of thousands of children.
We will have also recognized the many contributions
of the Tom Lowder family that have been made for
the healthcare of children and we will have honored
the memory of Jarman Lowder, Tom’s wife and a former nurse.
Warren
We celebrated the dedication of the McWane Building on April 6 as we
paused to thank Phillip and Heather McWane and the McWane family
for their support of Children’s and their challenges to us to make our new
facility environmentally friendly and energy efficient and to focus our
efforts even more on quality and patient safety.
Then there is May 23 and a day of tours for our employees. This will be a
day for all Children’s staff members to see our wonderful expansion facility
up close and personal.
On Tuesday, June 5, we will have the official ribbon cutting with all the
festivities. This special day will be followed on June 24 by an open house
for our family and friends. There will be more information to come on these
two events for our Children’s family.
We will clearly have many very special days to remember and many
special events to help us celebrate this historic happening. These will surely
add to our special Children’s of Alabama memories.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday, May 23
BRHC Employee Tours
Tuesday, June 5
BRHC Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening (2 p.m.)

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW
Expansion facility and adaptive re-use Q&A
As Children’s moves closer to the completion and opening of the Benjamin
Russell Hospital for Children and as some adaptive re-use of the current facility
is underway, many staff members have questions.
Our Way will continue this series of questions and answers over the next
several months. If you have a specific question you would like to see answered
please send it to Justin Cohen at justin.cohen@childrensal.org. An archive of
the “Inquiring Minds” series is available on The Red Wagon.
Question: What are the names of the buildings on our campus?
Answer: The entire downtown campus will be known as the Russell Campus
upon completion of the expansion facility. The Russell Campus will be home to
five primary buildings: The Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children (expansion
facility), The McWane Building (current facility), The Lowder Building
(ambulatory care center), The Harbor Building (home to Children’s Harbor
Family Center and the Bradley Lecture Center), and Park Place (housing some
outpatient clinics and parking).
Q: What is going to be on the 11th and 12th floor of the expansion?
A: The top two floors of the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children will be
unfinished, shelled space. This space is reserved for future growth that is
“shelled in” at today’s construction costs so that in the future when expansion is
needed Children’s can expand more easily and efficiently.
Q: How many bridges (crosswalks) are there leading from the expansion
and will these all be available to the public?
A: There are a total of seven bridges (crosswalks) connecting the Benjamin
Russell Hospital for Children to other buildings on our campus (Russell Campus)
and to the UAB Women and Infants Center (WIC). Three bridges will be open
to the public including all of “Main Street” (2nd Level). One connects into the
Children’s Harbor lobby and provides access to the present 6th Avenue Bridge
leading into the McWane Building. The second is a new bridge spanning 5th
Avenue South and provides access
to and from Park Place and the
parking deck. The third public
bridge will span the linear park
between the expansion and the
WIC. This will provide access to
and from the UAB campus. There
are two additional new bridges
spanning 6th Avenue leading to and
from the McWane Building and two
more bridges leading to and from
the WIC on levels 3 and 4 that will
be for staff use only and not open
to the public.
aroundchildren’s of alabama
April is Occupational Therapy Month. Occupations are defined as activities
that people engage in throughout their daily lives to fulfill their time and give
life meaning. It is a child’s “job” or “occupation” to play to develop physical
coordination, emotional maturity, social skills to interact with other children, and
self confidence to try experiences and explore new environments. Children may
experience difficulty in the ability to engage in desired occupations which are
typical for ones’ age to due to disability or illness. This is where occupational
therapists are able to use their expertise to develop ways to assist in increasing
the child’s independence.
Denise McGill
Judy Billmeier (middle), RN, retired on Feb. 24 after
42 years of service at Vestavia Pediatrics. Pictured at
her retirement party were (L to R) Christy Danford, Kay
Hynds, Lisa Johnson, Betsy Thomas and Carol Mann.
Justin Cohen
Benjamin Russell
Hospital for Children
Russell Campus
McWane Building
(Current Facility)
Lowder Building
(Formerly ACC)
o u r w a y
o n l o c a t i o n
Admitting/Cashier (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Bruno Pediatric Heart Center (4th Floor)
Cath Labs
Critical Care Patient beds
Interventional Radiology Lab
Operating Rooms
Pre-Op/PACU
Emergency Department (1st Floor)
Enteral Feeding Lab (2nd Floor)
Gift Shop (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Harbert Tower
Critical Care Patient beds (6th - 7th Floors)
Helipad (14th Floor)
Med/Surg Patient beds (8th - 10th Floors)
Imaging (1st Floor)
Laboratory/Pathology (2nd Floor)
Main Street Deli (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Meditation Space (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Patient Education Center (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Patient Relations (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Patient Theater (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Performance Stage (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Pharmacy (2nd Floor)
Quarterback Club Tower
Critical Care Patient beds (6th & 7th Floors)
Med/Surg Patient beds (8th-10th Floors)
Respiratory Therapy (6th Floor)
Russell Surgery Center (3rd Floor)
Operating Rooms
Pre-Op/PACU
Sterile Processing (4th Floor)
Biomed (Ground Floor)
Cafeteria (1st Floor)
Central Supply (Ground Floor)
Chapel (1st Floor)
Dearth Tower (5th – 7th Floors)
Med/Surg Patient beds
Imaging (Outpatient) (2nd Floor)
Lactation Center (Ground Floor)
Maintenance/Engineering (Ground Floor)
Medical Staff Library (1st Floor)
Medical Staff Services (1st Floor)
Outpatient Clinics
Clinics 1-10 (1st Floor)
Clinic 11 (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Referred Testing (2nd Floor/Main Street)
Resident’s Lounge (4th Floor)
Café Origins (1st Floor)
COA Administration (6th Floor)
Lowder Surgery Center
(2nd Floor/Main Street)
APASS
Operating Rooms
Pre-Op/PACU
Outpatient Clinics
Children’s Behavioral Health (5th Floor)
Sports Medicine (4th Floor)
Physician Offices (3rd - 6th Floors)
UAB Pediatrics Administration (6th Floor)
This is the second in a series of three Children’s of Alabama
organizational and wayfinding pieces.
The diagram represents the three primary buildings on the Russell
Campus and the primary services in each building.
Next month, Our Way will feature an updated stacking diagram of the
*This diagram represents only the three primary buildings on the Children’s
of Alabama Benjamin Russell Campus Russell and Hospital the primary for Children. services in each building.
Richard Brown (right), pediatric bone marrow transplant program
coordinator, and Brooke Bonham, a nurse on the Lowder Bone Marrow
Transplantation Unit, were among the volunteers at the Call to Caring
Blood and Bone Marrow Donor Registry Drive held Feb. 23 – 24 at the
Riverchase Galleria. Nearly 200 names were added to the registry and
almost 90 units of blood were donated. The event was co-hosted by the
Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s,
UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, American Red Cross, Be
The Match and Walgreens.
Denise McGill
Kelley Burgess, Corporate Communications, poses with her
copy of Our Way in front of Buckingham Palace in London,
England. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms and is the
administrative headquarters of the Monarch.
If you have any questions or would like to submit a photo,
please email justin.cohen@childrensal.org or call 205.558.2789.
Heather Burgess

NON-PROFIT
U.S. Postage
PAID
BIRMINGHAM, AL
PERMIT NO. 433
1600 7th Avenue South
Birmingham, Alabama 35233
www.ChildrensAL.org
(L to R) Sarah Guidry (Facilities), Beth Serotsky, Courtney
Lucas and Misty Farmer of the Foundation celebrate Canvas
for Children’s, an event designed to provide the public with a
“sneak peek” of the mixed-media art that will be displayed in
the expansion facility. Children’s partnered with three local art
galleries on March 8, including Loretta Goodwin Gallery, Matt
Jones Gallery and Portraits, Inc., to benefit the Art Acquisition
Fund at Children’s of Alabama, which will help to create a
comfortable home away from home for our patients. The
evening included live entertainment, dinner and the opportunity
to mingle with local featured artists and learn more about
their work. Canvas for Children’s raised more than $90,000 to
support the efforts of the hospital’s design team.
Children’s Employee Emergency Fund (EEF) (formerly Employee Benevolence
Fund) was established in 2011 to provide transitional support to affected
staff as they deal with the hardships and emergent needs from unforeseen
circumstances and situations like natural disasters, fire, illness or injury.
The EEF committee will review requests from Children’s employees for
emergency financial assistance and will act upon these requests according to
established criteria.
Denise McGill
Process to Apply
Children’s of Alabama is recognized as a Magnet organization.
Our Way is published monthly by the Department of Corporate
Communications for employees of Children’s of Alabama.
To pass along your stories or feature ideas, contact Justin Cohen:
Phone: 205.558.2789 Fax: 205.939.9064
E-mail: justin.cohen@childrensal.org
Employee Emergency Fund Can Assist During Hardship
1) Employees should complete the “Employee Emergency Fund Application
Form” which can be found on the The Red Wagon (intranet) by clicking on the
“HR” button and then click “My Benefits.”
2) Submit to Mercedes Hawkins or Michelle Galipeau in Human Resources at
Magnolia Place, Human Resources. If you have any questions, please contact
Mercedes at 205.939.5829.
Eligibility Criteria
1) Individuals who are current employees.
2) Applicant has no alternate source of funds available.
3) The need for financial assistance must be unexpected, immediate and
financially impact the employee directly.
4) Examples of circumstances that do not apply: repairs due to normal wear
and tear, cell phone bills, cable bills, etc.
5) Special consideration will be given to extreme circumstances where an
employee is in need of medical services or equipment and such services or
equipment are considered a matter of life and death.
Current Limits
1) Employees may receive assistance from the EEF fund once per rolling year
based on the date that the employee received assistance.
2) Assistance should not exceed $1,500 per rolling year.
3) The maximum assistance is $3,000 in a three (3) year period.
4) Total expenditures per year cannot exceed available EEF funds.
Justin Cohen
Lequette Hunter (left), clinical
assistant in Clinic 7, and her
house (inset) after a tornado
hit Centerpoint on Jan. 23.
“I applied for the Employee
Emergency Fund and sent in
verification of the damage
to my house. I was kept in
the loop during the whole
process. I was able to receive
a food voucher and help
with a couple of bills. This
assistance was a tremendous
help to my family. My
message to other employees
is that it doesn’t hurt to see
if you qualify if something
happens beyond your
control.” - Lequette Hunter