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Volume 2, Issue 36 - December 18, 2009 |
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Saint Joseph - London Named One of the Nation's Heart disease is still the nation’s number one killer, and Saint Joseph - London is providing members of its community with access to national benchmark-level cardiovascular services, particularly in improved survival rates, fewer complications and reduced cost. The hospital has just been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters … for the second year in a row! Only one other hospital in Kentucky made this national list along with Saint Joseph - London (Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah). Thomson Reuters’ annual study—100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks—examined the performance of 971 hospitals by analyzing clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions (PCI) such as angioplasties.
The study, in its 11th year, found that the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular winners have: • 17 percent lower mortality rates for heart attack patients. You can read more about the study results at www.100tophospitals.com. This award is on the heels of Saint Joseph - London’s high HealthGrades’ ratings—Saint Joseph - London is the number one hospital in Kentucky for overall cardiac care and cardiac surgery and among the top five percent in the nation according to a study issued October 13 by HealthGrades. |
In this Issue
Happy Holidays!
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| Reminder: Dec. 31 Will Bring 27th Paycheck for 2009 Due to the bank holiday on Friday, January 1, 2010, the paycheck scheduled to be paid on that date will be issued on Thursday, December 31. As a result, employees will receive a total of 27 paychecks in 2009. Given that the deduction calculation for your health care benefits are based on 26 payroll checks, the extra check issued on December 31 will be FREE of your normal health care benefit deductions. However, deductions will be withheld for employees making up missed health care deductions through a predefined payment plan. Also, your 403B and other deductions will be withheld as normal from your pay check. Final Paycheck for 2009—Make any Corrections by Dec. 31! Your final payroll check will be available to view via HR/Payroll Connection, My Pay, sometime on Wednesday, December 30 (or hard copy at SJMS). If there is any item needing correction, you need to contact your local Payroll department immediately. The reason for the urgency is in order to have the payroll correction included on your W-2 for 2009, the correction must be processed by December 31. Communicate any corrections to your Payroll department no later then 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 31. ‘Reader Reward’ Challenge Winners Thanks to everyone who participated in the Reader Reward challenge in the holiday issue (Nov/Dec) of Common Thread, Saint Joseph Health System’s employee magazine. Congratulations to the three lucky winners who will each receive a $75 Visa gift card! Kathy Johns (Lexington) Visit www.SaintJosephCommonThread.org to read past issues of the magazine and to submit your story ideas. Look for the next Reader Reward challenge in the Jan/Feb issue! Do You Have a Prayer Request? Saint Joseph Hospital: A dedicated voice mail box has been established for patients, families and employees to leave prayer requests. You can reach the confidential voice mail by calling (9) 313.3444, ext. 7729 (when calling inside the hospital) or 1.859.313.3444, ext. 7729 (when calling outside the hospital). The extension “7729” spells PRAY, so you can easily remember it. The Prayer Team meets Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the chapel to pray over these needs, as well as those written in the chapel prayer book. If you'd like more information about the prayer team, call Lara Harris at 313.2042. Saint Joseph East: Dial extension 4673 (HOPE) to leave your confidential prayer requests. The Prayer Team will pray for these needs on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. and the chaplains will pray over them Monday-Friday. If you’d like more information about the prayer team, call Chaplain Judy Donohue at 967.5676. Give the Perfect Holiday Gift through ‘Project Outreach’ You can avoid the holiday rush and still give a special and memorable gift to every person on your holiday list! Make a tax deductible donation to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation in honor of someone on your gift list through our PROJECT OUTREACH. Once the donation is received we will mail each recipient a special holiday card. This card will read, “In celebration of the Holiday Season, a gift in your honor has been made to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation benefiting Project Outreach by (your name here).” You may designate your gift to one of the following Foundation programs: Appalachian Outreach Program, Free Health Clinic, Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship Fund, Patient and Family Assistance Fund, and Where Most Needed. To obtain a donation form, please contact the Foundation at 859.313.1705 or download a donation form at www.SaintJosephFoundation.org. Please submit “Project Outreach” donations by Friday, December 18 to allow for processing and mail delivery.
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LEARN Module Now Available for In 2010, Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) is making a stronger commitment to helping employees improve their health and well-being. Echoing Catholic Health Initiative’s new program, CHI Healthy Spirit, SJHS is launching new programs to help employees develop a spirit of health and have greater access to healthy lifestyle options. To learn more about these new programs, you can take a LEARN module called "SJHS 2010 Healthy Spirit Wellness Initiative." Look for it under the “My Learning” page once you log into your LEARN account. Watch for the Jan/Feb issue of Common Thread featuring healthy resources available to you as an employee, as well as stories about our “health nuts”! Interested in Attending ‘Weight Watchers at Work’ If you are interested in attending a Weight Watchers at Work on-site meeting beginning in January, please contact the wellness representative at your facility: Saint Joseph - Berea Saint Joseph - Jessamine Saint Joseph - London Saint Joseph - Martin Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling Flaget Memorial Hospital Program information: Weight Watchers at Work is a 17-week program with 45-minute on-site meetings held at each hospital facility. The cost of the program is $186 for the 17-week program with payment made directly to Weight Watchers. Free eTools are included in the program so the online component can be accessed any time. To receive a one-time incentive of $50, 15 out of 17 meetings must be attended. The Gift of Health The Saint Joseph Healthy Living Center would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season. Please remember that a massage gift certificate would be a great gift for those hard to buy for individuals on your list, and they make great stocking stuffers. Just drop by the Beaumont YMCA to purchase one for yourself or others. Gift certificates for wellness classes also are available. Call 859.219.0530 for more information. |
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Need Some Training in Video Conference Technology? Keeneland Health Education Center Coordinator Rusty Sexton recently attended the Tandberg University’s Tandberg Certified Associate Partner training course in Houston, Texas. The Tandberg Certified Associate Partner (TCAP) course covers the installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting for Tandberg Endpoints, Multi-Connection Units (MCUs or “Bridges”), and Gateways. Rusty will be offering classes to Saint Joseph Health System employees covering the following topics in video conference technology: • Conference Room Setup The following dates are active for your registration: December 21 January 11 January 18 Register today in LEARN by searching the Class Schedule for SJHS Video Conference 101. Need Help with Access, Excel or Want to Know More? Brett Mason is a computer programmer whose primary strength is Microsoft Access databases. He's created databases for a probation agency with 20 branches across Kentucky, databases for manufacturing companies, and databases for the Lexington City Government—including a large inmate-tracking system at the county jail. Soon he will be teaching Excel and Access classes at If you have some big, complex lists that you are storing in Excel or Word, you might wish to have him convert those lists to an easy-to-use Access database, with friendlier screens for creating new entries or generating summary reports. Also, if you need help building reports inside a large Excel spreadsheet, or if you wish to automate any repetitive tasks that you frequently do inside Microsoft Office, Brett can help. To schedule a consultation with him, please visit this page (or call educational services): |
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Prepare to Welcome Jesus With Christmas soon arriving, we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah into the bustle of our lives and the hard-to-find moments of solitude. Into our homes and situations along with friends and families we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah. Into our hearts, and those often hidden parts of our lives we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah. For beneath the surface of your story is an inescapable fact, You entered this world as vulnerable as any one of us in order to nail that vulnerability to the cross. Our fears, our insecurities and our sins all that can separate us from God exchanged by your Grace for Love. We cannot comprehend the reasoning only marvel that Salvation comes to us through a baby born in a stable, and reaches out to a world in need. In this season of anticipation we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah. “What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary's lap is sleeping? This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing; |
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Daisy Award Winners at Saint Joseph East Congratulations to Angie Henley, RN, Med-Surg; Alesha Pennington, RN, Labor & Delivery; and Sherri Shelby, RN, CCH for being named recipients of the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Saint Joseph East. The award is part of the Daisy Foundation’s national program to recognize the super-human efforts of nurses, and is in place throughout Saint Joseph Health System. Honorees receive a certificate of commendation, a Daisy Award pin, and a sculpture hand-carved by the Shona Tribe in Africa titled “A Healer’s Touch.” In addition, the nurse’s unit is treated to cinnamon buns. You can complete and submit your nomination form for a deserving registered nurse online at www.SaintJosephNurses.org, or look for the Daisy Award brochures and nomination boxes throughout the hospitals. If you have questions, call Paula Keally at 859.313.4776.
Nurses Honored in Martin for Outstanding Care of Pneumonia Patients Saint Joseph - Martin nurses Kay Fugate, RN (emergency department), Sharon Bates, RN (med/surg), Anita Hall, RN (med/surg), and Jan White, LPN (emergency department) were recently celebrated for their outstanding care of patients with pneumonia, and for diligently complying with the Pneumonia Core Measures to ensure quality care. They each were awarded a $25 gift card toward the purchase of a uniform.
Seton Home Health Receives Quality Recognition Seton Home Health, a service of Saint Joseph - London, has been selected for the "2009 Best of London Award” in the Home Health Service category by the United States Commerce Association (USCA). The USCA's "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program "focused on quality, not quantity." Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the United States Commerce Association and data provided by third parties. |
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Flaget Cancer Center Groundbreaking A groundbreaking ceremony was held December 10 for the Flaget Cancer Center. The new, full-service Flaget Cancer Center will be added to the medical office building on Flaget Memorial Hospital's campus. The center will offer a first for the community: radiation cancer therapy. This treatment will be delivered through cutting-edge technology: the Elekta Synergy machine, a digital accelerator that allows clinicians to see the tumor at the precise moment of treatment. Older machines use imaging studies done several days in advance of treatment. Under the old system, between the time the imaging is done and the patient receives radiation, tumors can shift position. The Elekta Synergy has the ability to image during treatment, which targets a tumor more precisely, spares healthy tissue, and results in fewer side effects and greater comfort for patients. The radiation machine that will be installed at Flaget is the only Elekta in Kentucky equipped with this Precise Beam Dynamic technology. Construction on the addition that will house radiation equipment, and on the renovation of the part of the medical office building that will house private chemotherapy rooms, is expected to be completed by summer of 2010.
21st Annual Saint Joseph Foundation Evening with the S*T*A*R*S It was a fabulous evening at the 21st Annual Evening with the STARS on Saturday, November 14 at the Hilton Lexington/Downtown. Guests enjoyed an evening of dining and dancing with music performed by the Jimmy Church Band, as well as, a live auction including items such as an autographed Brooks and Dunn Guitar and a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Netting nearly $44,000, the black tie optional event was a huge success. The Foundation was extremely excited to honor Robert K. Salley, M.D., Nurses’ Choice Award for Physician of the Year at Saint Joseph Hospital (2008), Tamara James, M.D., Nurses’ Choice Award for Physician of the Year at Saint Joseph East (2008) and Mr. Jack Kain, Community Volunteer Extraordinaire. The honorees were presented with a small gift and honored in a brief presentation. Proceeds from the event benefited thousands of Saint Joseph patients and their families throughout central and eastern Kentucky. Programs and outreach services funded include the Appalachian Outreach Program, the Saint Joseph Free Health Clinic, the Patient and Family Assistance Fund and the Phyllis Cronin Nursing Scholarship Program.
American Red Cross Hero in Jessamine
Celebrating Christmas at Saint Joseph - Berea
Shop with a Cop in London On December 5, several Saint Joseph - London employees partnered with local law enforcement officers to help grant children in need a Christmas “shopping spree.” Dozens of grade school children from the area participated in the "Shop with a Cop" event. They were able to select $70.00 worth of clothing and $30.00 worth of toys.
Holiday Dessert Contest in Bardstown Flaget Memorial Hospital employees baked their favorite holiday desserts for a friendly competition. The winners are: Cake Winner: Tammy Kirsch (HIM), Strawberry Brownie Torte *** Kim King was the overall grand prize winner of the contest with her pie! ***
Managers' Christmas Party in Martin Saint Joseph - Martin managers celebrated the holiday season with a get-together and gift exchange. Much to everyone's surprise, all gifts were UK-themed!
Christmas Open House at Saint Joseph East The executive office at Saint Joseph East held a Christmas Open House December 7 for employees. Below are a few snapshots.
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