Volume 1, Issue 1 - October 31, 2008
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Volume 1, Issue 1 - October 31, 2008 |
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What do we have "inCommon"?
If you have a message or announcement that you would like to communicate through inCommon, simply reply to the e-mail you receive or contact Kara Fitzgerald at 859.313.1845. |
Top Stories
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A New Beginning for Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling On September 24, Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling officially closed on the property for the future site of the new, replacement hospital. The new hospital will be located just off I-64 near exit 110 (Maysville Road) behind Wendy’s and Days Inn. The land was purchased from Falcon Realty and contains 30 acres on which the facility will be built. In its new space, the hospital will provide new and expanded services, continuing its growth strategy since joining Saint Joseph Health System last year. A formal groundbreaking will be held soon and the new hospital will open in 2010. |
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Get Ready to Enroll in Your 2009 Benefits
Watch your home mail. In early November, you will receive an annual enrollment information packet in the mail from Catholic Health Initiatives. It is important to review the packet and share the information with your family. You will find important enrollment tips and things to consider as you make your 2009 benefits decisions. RN/LPN Licensure Renewals Due Today Saint Joseph Health System RNs/LPNs: the Kentucky Board of Nursing licensure renewal period ends today, October 31. You can renew your license online at www.kbn.ky.gov. Primary source verification of LPN/RN licensure renewal will be completed through human resources. Remember to Fall Back this Weekend
Christmas Partners Project Needs You The Appalachian Outreach Program’s (AOP) annual “Christmas Partners Project” is partnering with Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East, Saint Joseph - Berea and Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling this year to help make Christmas brighter for families and individuals in need throughout eastern Kentucky. If you or your department would like to sponsor a family, senior couple or individual in need, providing them with basic necessities and gifts, contact Barbara Baumgardner at 859.313.4447, Jeanie Lawson at 606.843.0920 or Sr. Joan Wilson at 859.498.2585. In addition to sponsors, the program desperately needs people to "play Santa's helpers" this year and make deliveries. Get your family involved! Show your children the true meaning of Christmas!
Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East, Saint Joseph - Berea and Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling employees are invited to take a cafeteria survey November 3-14. Jot down your opinions about your hospital's cafeteria including current menu and services and what changes you would like to see in the future. By taking the survey, you'll be eligible for prize drawings. Look for the surveys near the cashiers' stations inside your campus cafeteria and use the drop-off box to turn in your survey. Final Week of the Employee Foundation/United Way Campaign
Donations made to the Foundation will benefit programs such as: Appalachian Outreach Program, Employee Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, Free Clinic, Nursing and Allied Health Scholarships, and Patient and Family Assistance Fund. Donations made to the United Way will benefit programs such as: Get on Board, Success by 6 and Dial 2-1-1. Watch for upcoming details regarding the campaign celebrations! Urban Active Gym Memberships
Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East
employees are being offered a special membership
rate for one year at Urban Active gyms, located at the corner of Palumbo
Drive/Man O’ War intersection, and directly off of Harrodsburg
Road. The rate for an Flu Shots for Employees Flu Shots will be offered to employees at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East in the employee health office on the following dates/times. IMPORTANT NOTE: If your medical insurance is through Saint Joseph Health System, please bring your insurance card with you when you get your flu shot. You are not required to have your medical insurance through Saint Joseph Health System in order to receive a flu shot— flu shots are being offered for free.
Day Care Openings The Children's Center at Saint Joseph Hospital has a limited number of open spots for enrollment in the 3-year-old and 4-year-old room. To make an appointment to enroll a child, inquire about rates, or to tour the center, please call Angela Woodrum at 859.254.7313. Participate in the Christmas Twilight Parade Float
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Rapid Response Team
The story of little Josie King allows us to evaluate the importance of patient safety. One of the most important times to CARE is when an RN or family member feels uncomfortable with a patient’s condition/situation and desires an additional clinical opinion. Remember to CARE: Concerned Anxious Resources Needed Empowering Teamwork The RRT process is a collaborative effort. By recognizing “early warning signs,” you can save a life! When in doubt … call them out. Dial 1-1-1-1 to activate the Rapid Response Team! For more information on Condition H, Rapid Response Teams and Josie King contact Satessa Grimes at 859.313.4480 or log on to the Clinical Patient Safety webpage under departments on the Intranet. |
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Saint Joseph Health System is the official central Kentucky sponsor of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women program, which alerts women to their risk of cardiovascular disease. On November 14, Saint Joseph and the Central Kentucky American Heart Association will host the first annual Go Red For Women Symposium/Luncheon in Lexington. The fundraising event will be held at the Campbell House Crowne Plaza and feature a fashion show by Macy’s and breakout sessions on heart health. Saint Joseph will offer screenings and former Miss Massachusetts and heart disease survivor Michaela Gagne will be a featured speaker. Tickets are $50 for individuals; call 859.278.1632.
If you are a nurse and care for acutely or critically ill patients,
you’ll definitely want to be a part of the Fall Critical Care
Conference, “Enhancing Your Critical Care Skills,” sponsored
by Saint Joseph Health System. It is a time to learn
and to rejuvenate. This is more than an educational conference. It’s
an experience, an encounter that only you and your |
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Evidence-based practice is key to best care. Research improves patient outcomes, improves job satisfaction and empowers the nurse. Register for this upcoming workshop at www.SaintJosephHealthSystem.org (education & events calendar). RSVP by November 1, 2008. Call 859.313.2187 with any questions. November 13, Saint Joseph Hospital 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Keeneland Health Education Center (Building D, 4th Floor), 6 CEUs Cultural Competency: Are You Speaking the Right Language? The Diabetes and Nutrition Center invites employees to an upcoming webinar called “Cultural Competency: Are You Speaking the Right Language?” The webinar, offered by the American Diabetes Association, will identify key aspects of cultures, beliefs and practices of various ethnic communities and describe strategies to improve patient-provider communication with diverse populations. Register at www.SaintJosephHealthSystem.org (education & events calendar). Call 859.313.2187 with any questions. Continuing education is available for RNs, registered dietitians and registered pharmacists.
November 5, Saint Joseph Hospital, 1:00-2:30 p.m., Blakley Auditorium |
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Spoonbread Festival 5K Run A recuperated Dr. David Greene (left) returned to the Spoonbread Festival 5K Run this year after being injured in last year’s race when he was struck by a car. Greg Gerard (right), president of Saint Joseph - Berea, joined him as the hospital sponsored the race on September 20 in downtown Berea. The hospital also provided health information and first-aid services during the annual Spoonbread Festival.
Waneta P. Newsome Day The first nurse hired by the administration of Our Lady of the Way Hospital in 1947 in Martin, Kentucky, was Mrs. Waneta P. Newsome. And sixty-one years later, Waneta Newsome retired from the hospital (now Saint Joseph - Martin), marking another historic occasion. On September 17, 2008, an admiring and appreciative crowd proclaimed “Waneta P. Newsome Day” as they gathered to celebrate. In prayer, Saint Joseph - Martin employees gave thanks for the variety of blessings they have known through her: the heart and compassion of her bedside presence; the skill and wisdom as she coached nurses or monitored medical care; the after-hours surgical nursing; gift shop management; coordinating volunteers; and, finally, serving as pastoral care assistant. Numerous times over the years, individuals in the community have commented, “Waneta Newsome is Our Lady of the Way.” Pictured: Waneta Newsome with Judy Parsons, director of pastoral care.
Walk to Remember The annual Walk to Remember was held on October 5 at Easy Walker Park in Mount Sterling for those who have experienced a loss. The event allows parents, grandparents, family and friends to come together for a day of remembrance and sharing. The program is coordinated by Jan Cornett, RN, nurse manager of the women's care unit at Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling, which sponsors the event. A memory quilt was unveiled that will be displayed in the hospital and a symbolic balloon release allowed families to let go of a small amount of their grief.
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There
are more than 5,000 employees in the Saint Joseph Health System
family. As we continue to grow as a consolidated organization it's more
important than ever for us to become closer through shared communication.
Even though our hospitals are as far as 180 miles from each other, employees
will stay connected through this new e-newsletter called inCommon.
Every Friday, inCommon will travel to inboxes across the system
announcing news and information that may be important to your job or
of interest to you. 
Saint
Joseph Health System will feature an advertising supplement
in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Sun., November 2. This is
a very nice piece that you'll want to keep as reference explaining how
seven of the best hospitals in the region have come together to better
care for the communities of central and eastern Kentucky. By combining
our technology, services, expertise and caring, everyone in every community
we serve will benefit. This advertising supplement also will appear
in the local community papers of Nicholasville, Berea, Mt. Sterling,
London, Martin and Bardstown during the week of November 2.
In
July, Saint Joseph - London received a Congestive Heart
Failure Outreach Project grant from Catholic Health Initiatives in the
amount of $170,819. The grant will allow the hospital to provide education,
church-based outreach clinics and in-home outreach nursing care for
the poorer community of Laurel County. The goal for the project is to
educate and assist patients with congestive heart failure by monitoring
and assisting them in the control of their disease process. This is
a new ministry to the London area and one greatly needed for patients
in the “coronary valley” of Kentucky. 
Saint
Joseph Health System has chosen November 20, 2008 as the first
day of its tobacco-free initiative, in conjunction with the annual Great
American Smoke-out. Likewise, many hospitals across the state will also
implement tobacco-free policies on the same date. The initiative means
that all patients, visitors, employees, medical staff members and vendors
are permanently prohibited from using any tobacco products inside hospital
buildings or anywhere outside on the campus, including hospital grounds
and parking areas. As a health care organization, Saint Joseph Health
System’s primary mission is to protect the health of those in
the communities it serves while promoting and supporting a culture of
healthy living. Saint Joseph Health System employees can enroll in the
Quit For Life smoking cessation program for free by calling 1.866.QUIT.4.LIFE
(866.784.8454) or visiting 
Saint
Joseph Health System annual enrollment is coming soon (November
7 – 21). This year we will use HR/Payroll Connection to enroll
online! (Note: Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling will use the traditional
method.) It’s the one time of year that you can review your current
benefit elections and make changes or adjust your level of coverage
for the coming year. 
Daylight
Saving Time will end this Sunday morning, November 2, at 2:00 a.m. Remember
to turn your clocks back one hour. Saint Joseph Health System
Standard Time and Attendance users: the time on the clocks
will automatically adjust and fall back. The ST&A database will
automatically adjust employees' time through the time change, adding
an hour to each employee's daily totals. There will be no need for any
manual intervention from managers, timekeepers or local MBO IT personnel.
Cafeteria
Survey Begins Monday 
The
“LIVE UNITED” Employee Foundation/United Way Campaign ends
on Friday, November 7 at Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph
East and Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling. Your participation
will help meet the needs of many critical programs and services that
benefit employees and thousands of patients and their families in central
and eastern Kentucky. You may donate to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation,
the United Way or both. 
individual
will be $24.99
per month, for a month-to-month membership. A long-term contract is
not necessary under this offer by Urban Active. Contact Jerame Ricks
at 859.396.5901. 
Saint
Joseph - Berea is planning a festive float for the 23rd Annual
Christmas Parade, to be held in Berea on Saturday, December 6 at twilight.
Saint Joseph - Berea staff members will be adorned in costumes representing
the Holy Family, Three Kings, shepherds and angels and will ride on
top of a wagon transformed into a primitive stable. Additional staff
members, their families and volunteers will walk beside the float—
the adults wearing regular clothes and their kids dressed up as angels
and shepherds. Everyone will hold a battery-operated candle and sing
Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem and Away
in a Manger. Help bring our message of love to the community and
enjoy the true meaning of Christmas together. Contact 
Staff
members of units 3A and 3B at Saint Joseph Hospital
are participating in a pilot for the implementation of “Condition
H,” known as family-activated RRT. The goal of the standard is
to provide families and patients with a mechanism for addressing unresolved
communication, concerns and changes in the clinical stages that warrants,
“I need Help.” Aside from the nurse who knows the patient
best? 
colleagues
from across the central Kentucky region can truly understand and appreciate.
Through this educational experience, you’ll come away with new
ideas and a fresh perspective. And this year, it is presented by one
of the world’s most exciting experts in critical care—Laura
Gasparis-VonFrolio! Whether you’re at the bedside or in a leadership
role, you’ll find plenty to fill your professional and educational
reservoir. Please tell your friends and co-workers about this conference.
It will be held December 4 & 5 in the Saint Joseph Hospital Blakley
Auditorium. Attend either day and receive 6.9 contact hours. To register
or for more information, please visit 
I
am writing to you in regards of expressing my appreciation to our staff
here. As you know, my mother has been very ill and on multiple occasions
has required care from our hospital. I cannot begin to tell you just
how much I appreciate everything the staff has done not only for her,
but for my family as well. Everyone from the ER staff to the ICU staff,
respiratory therapy and med/surg nurses that cared for her were excellent.
Even the ancillary staff from dietary, along with Julie and Elsie, took
special effort to provide just what she needed and wanted. 
