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CENTERVIEWS

A Publication of The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center

Monday, March 14, 2005

In This Issue:
Employee Relations Corner
Time and Attendance Requirements Change
Badges A Must
Nursing Scholarships Available
Tuition Reimbursement Available for Health Care Majors
Staff Kudos
Kudos to Dr. Ruiz
UTHCPC Authored Articles Top 10 Pick
New Intranet
Classified Staff Council Website
WorkPlace of Choice Survey
Volunteer To Be A House Medic
Houston Rockets Tickets Available
New Policies and Procedures

Employee Relations Corner
The Employee Relations Committee has been busy over the past few months. They hosted the holiday party, rodeo event and other activities for employees on all shifts. Visit the ERC website at:
http://hcpc.uth.tmc.edu/ERC/erc.htm To see photos from the holiday party, click here and for the ERC Salute and Valentine Sale Photos, click here.

Time and Attendance Requirements Change
All employees (nursing & non-nursing) are required to submit a T&A form for all leave time in order to better enable the management of the UTHCPC Attendance Policy that sets tolerance levels for unscheduled absences. Each form must indicate if the absence, regardless if it is sick, vacation, etc. is scheduled or unscheduled.

Also, all non-nursing employees will be required to sign their time details. Time details are now required for all non-nursing employees regardless if there is no leave time being taken.

Badges A Must
UTHCPC staff, faculty and contract employees are reminded that UT policy (Hoop Policy 2.08) requires all employees wear employee badges. The badges must be visible at all times. All badges must be visible by security upon entry to the building. If an employee does not have their badge, they are required to stop at the security desk and sign in to obtain a temporary employee badge. If they have a badge and it does not work, they must stop at the reception desk and sign to inform that there badge does not work so they can be buzzed in. If they do not have a badge or refuse to sign in to notify there badge does not work, they will not be allowed in past the lobby. All managers need to verify with their department personnel and confirm that they have a badge and it is operable.

Nursing Scholarships Available
Undergraduate and graduate students at the School of Nursing are eligible for educational scholarships through the Healthcare and Nursing Education Foundation.

Scholarships are awarded according to applicants' academic level, leadership ability, community involvement, financial need and commitment to pursuing a professional nursing career in the Houston area. Scholarship recipients receive up to $3,000 per year for their freshman and sophomore years and $4,000 per year for their junior and senior years. The money is intended for use on tuition, books or fees. Subsequent year continuation scholarships are available. Contact Carol George or Sarah Bodenman at (713) 868-4466.

Tuition Reimbursement Available for Health Care Majors
Hospitalwide Education reports two major funding sources are now available for nursing or healthcare available. The Department of Labor Grant pays for tuition and books and the APEX 4 Grant pays for tuition, book, supplies, parking, and Day Care.
Please review criteria:
Department of Labor Grant: Full-time employees who are enrolled in or have been accepted into health care/ health science related degree or be a full time employee who have completed or passed a formal certification exam since June 1, 2004.

APEX 4 Grant: 80% - Full Time nurses who are currently enrolled in an advanced degree program or who has an advanced degree with interest in the Adjunct Instructor Position at the participating Nursing Programs.

Please contact Hospitalwide Education for further information about these grants.

Staff Kudos
Congratulations and thank you to the following staff recognized by patients for providing quality care: Unit 3C (Tasha, Don Booker, Sandra, Erica, Ms. Williams, Ms. Washington, Lucretia, Tyrone, Ms. Piper, Dwayne, Greg and Felicia

Kudos to Dr. Ruiz

Dr. Pedro Ruiz was elected on February 25, 2005 as President of the American Psychiatric Association with 73% of the vote. Dr. Ruiz will start his one-year tenure as President Elect on May 2005 and his one-year tenure as President on May 2006. The American Psychiatric Association has a membership of about 37,000 psychiatrists in the United States.

Dr. Pedro Ruiz published the Fourth Edition of his textbook "Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook". The publishing house was Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. This textbook is considered one of the best textbooks in the field of Addiction in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Ruiz has also been selected as one of the recipients of the First Annual Irma Bland Award for Excellence in Teaching Residents. The award is presented by the American Psychiatric Association and its Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning.

UTHCPC Authored Articles Top 10 Pick
Two articles authored by UTHCPC staff have made the “Top 10” most sought after on the web. The articles are: "Prior history of physical abuse and sexual abuse among the psychiatric inpatient population: a comparison of males and females", authored by Andrew Shack, Patricia Averill, Charles Kopecky, Kenneth Krajewski and Pushpa Gummattira. and "Mixed versus manic bipolar disorder: a comparison of demographic, symptomatic, and treatment differences," authored by Nuran Shah, Patricia Averill and Andrew Shack.

New Intranet
The MIS department has deployed the new version of the HCPC Intranet (web forms). This new version replaces existing web forms site as well as the online medical records review tool. If you have questions or problems, please call the help desk at ext.4999.

The new tool provides for:

• Easier login: use your UT LDAP (Blackboard) username and password for login. This eliminates the need to remember the current web forms password as well as the medical records review password.
Simplified navigation: easier to find the form that you need.

Classified Staff Council Website
The University Classified Staff Council introduces its new and improved Web site, which the committee hopes will encourage more interaction between classified staff and the council. Visit the new site at http://www.uth.tmc.edu/ucsc.

WorkPlace of Choice Survey
There is still time to take part in the university's most recent step toward becoming a Workplace of Choice. Participate in the newly released baseline survey to share your ideas on improving or changing the health science center's work environment. Your input is important. Participate in this quick and confidential survey that will gauge faculty and staff attitudes related to the university as a place of work.

The survey is available on the "Join the Evolution!" Web site, http://www.uthouston.edu/workplaceofchoice through Friday, March 18.

Volunteer To Be A House Medic
Be a doctor for a day and nurse an old home back to health with the UT House Medics. Sign up by Wednesday, March 16, to join the home remodeling program that restores senior citizens' homes to a safer, more enjoyable condition. House Medics seeks volunteers from each of the health science center schools to pitch in. Volunteer to work Saturday, April 16, and/or Saturday, April 23. No experience necessary. To register, visit http://is.hsc.uth.tmc.edu/projects/housemed.html or contact Krysti Suarez,(713) 500-2241, or Dennie Clemons, (713) 500-2235.

Houston Rockets Tickets Available
The Houston Rockets would like to invite the employees of UTHCPC along with their family and friends to watch the Rockets take on the New Orleans Hornets Friday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, contact: Tia Norman,
Houston Rockets, 713-758-7451, insidesales@rocketball.com

New Policies and Procedures
The following update(s) have been made to the procedures website. All staff are responsible for noting these changes and following through with them as applicable.

Advance Directives
Patient Care (Volume 2), Registration and Admission (Chapter 2), Patient Registration (Section B)

Advance Directives Notification Form
Forms (Volume 4)

Code Green
Organizational Functions (Volume 1), Chapter 7, Section B (Risk Management)

Initial Psychiatric Examination
Forms (Volume 4)

Performance Improvement Management Plan
Forms (Volume 4)

Risk Management Plan
Forms (Volume 4)

Fire Emergency General Preparation
Safety and Security (Vol 3), Fire Plans (Ch 3), Fire Response (Sec A)

Nursing Fire Plan
Safety and Security (Vol 3), Fire Plans (Ch 3), Departmental Fire Plans (Sec B)

Social Services Group Process
Patient Care (Vol 2), Treatment Services (Ch 3), Therapy Assessment/Services (Sec C)

Music Therapy Assessment
Patient Care (Vol 2), Treatment Services (CH 3), Therapy Assessment/Services (Sec C)

Psychosocial Assessment
Patient Care (Vol 2), Treatment Services (Ch 3), Patient Assessment Upon Admission (Sec A)

Policy and Procedure Creation and Revision
Organizational Functions (Vol 1), Communication and Public Relations (Ch 4), Internal Communications (Sec B)

Resident Physician Responsibilities
Patient Care (Vol 2), Patient Focused Support (Ch 1), Introduction to Patient Care (Sec A)

Interpreter Observation Form
Forms (Vol 4)