Five Questions

Good morning!

I wish you all a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday next Tuesday.  For those of you who will be working or on-call, a special “thank you” for being available to take good care of our patients. 

It’s the last Friday of the month so today I’ll respond to your questions.  As a reminder, I read all your questions and comments and appreciate all of them.  I’m not able to answer them all in VC Notes, but I do forward those I can’t answer to senior leaders for their review and action where feasible.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and please keep them coming.

Now, on to your questions.

Q:  Who should we contact about the crosswalk button not working in front of Backyard Burgers? This has been going on for weeks.

A:  I received three questions about frustrations with the State Street crosswalk button last month, so I knew something must be going on.  No doubt that button gets a workout during the course of a day.  I forwarded your question to our Physical Facilities Department and they in turn contacted the City of Jackson, which is responsible for the street lights and the control buttons.  The city responded immediately, sending a crew to rewire the button, and it should be working now.  Thanks for passing along your concern. 

Q:  UMMC is a place of healing; however, the conversations at and around the nurses’ stations do not reflect a healing environment. The loud laughter, street language, loud talking and inappropriate conversations can be heard by other staff, families and patients. Conversations at the nurses’ stations need to settle down. Leave street conversations at home. We need to whisper and have a lot more respect for ourselves and UMMC as a healing environment.

A:  Thank you for your comment.  There was a time when hospitals were austere places where the unspoken rules of behavior were much more formal.  Visitors to hospitals dressed in their “Sunday finest” and were on their best behavior as they came to check on loved ones and close friends.  We’ve lost a lot of that formality today and I can’t say that it is all bad, but it is imperative that we as staff members and providers act professionally at all times, enforce the written and unwritten rules, and remember that UMMC is a place of healing, as you say.  When that doesn’t happen and staff members act outside the norms of our culture, it’s up to their peers to make it clear that such behavior is not acceptable and not consistent with what we all expect. We should always bear in mind that some of our patients are going through great pain and sorrow.  Put yourself in their shoes and remember that not everyone is having a good day.  

Q:  Dr. Woodward, I think it is great that mid-career women faculty at UMMC have a way to have their voices heard through the Faculty Forward Survey, and that you acted upon their requests by creating the workshop you wrote about recently. However, what about those individuals who are not faculty? What way do they have to make sure their voices are heard? Why couldn’t mid-career women who are not faculty attend this workshop? I know several mid-career women who wanted to attend but could not due to their status as staff. I feel there is a deep divide between what is offered for faculty compared to what is offered for staff. There are many passionate and deserving staff members who should have an avenue for their voices to be heard as well as support for their goals and advancement. Supporting ALL members of our institution is truly the only way to become an excellent institution. 

A:  Like employee wellness, professional development for all of our workforce is something that I really want to work hard on during the next few years.  It’s key not only to improve the skills and effectiveness of our employees, but to enhance their engagement and satisfaction.  This is a tall order.  We are a diverse organization with many different types of employees who have different needs and interests.  Although there are areas of overlap, the faculty have professional development concerns – such as classroom effectiveness – that do not always coincide with those of staff members.  The point is that we need a rich menu of professional and skills development activities that speak to all sectors of our workforce.  We are not there yet.  We have some programs in place that have served us well for many years, but we also have gaps that need to be addressed.  One recent offering initiated this spring, “Success Skills for Managers and Supervisors,” is targeted to mid-level managers in our academic and research areas.  Dealing with such topics as coaching and generational differences in the workplace, this program has received a strong response.  As we complete the recruitment of a new chief human resources officer, I will look to this person to work with other leaders to make our professional development program second to none.

Q:  I've noticed that due to the proximity of Garage C to the Pavilion, patients and visitors are often tempted to pull in and attempt entrance.  On several occasions that I've witnessed, patients have pulled up to the ID scanner at the entrance, blocking employee entrance and backing up cars to the street. Everyone in line must then back up, and patients must be personally redirected to the proper parking area. I don't think anyone is bothered to help confused visitors, but I could easily see an accident or injury stemming from this issue, beyond the simple annoyance to employees. Perhaps the parking department would consider very large, boldly worded signage that Garage C is employee-only. 

A:  I’ve heard other reports of visitors to campus attempting to park in Garage C, which is badge access for employees only, and having to back out and drive elsewhere to park.  This is also true at the north entrance to C, where patients at our School of Dentistry clinics can be confused about where to park.  New signage has recently been installed to direct patients coming from Woodrow Wilson to the Pavilion parking lot (and not Lot 14 or Garage C).  We will do an assessment of the situation on the northern approach and consider more effective signage there as well.   

Q:  As a student, I have the "pleasure" of eating more hospital food than I'd care to admit. Today I noticed that the Wiser cafeteria earned a "C" on their most recent food safety inspection. This is inexcusable. If nothing else, a hospital should be clean and that includes the food. There was great fanfare made about the recent change in food vendors about all the money we were going to save and how healthier options were going to be more frequent. I can't speak to the savings, but the food has gotten far worse and the cost has increased.

A:  Thanks for your input, and I’d like to explain how that “C” rating came about.  Greg Richmond, our food services director, said a Health Department inspector visited the Wiser cafeteria May 18 and determined the water wasn’t hot enough at hand-washing sinks.  Maintenance was called immediately and the problem was fixed within a day.  On a follow-up visit May 25, the inspector found the cafeteria was in compliance and raised the “C” rating to a “B.” Health Department regulations prohibit a rating going immediately from “C” to “A,” even if the facility was an “A” before dropping to a “C.”  All of the other campus restaurants and coffee shops – Student Union, Pavilion, main cafeteria, Cups and Starbucks – have “A” ratings, as does the hospital kitchen.  Richmond fully expects all of our facilities to have an “A” rating when the next inspection rolls around in October.  Because of increased costs associated with obtaining and preparing fresh meat, grains and produce, the Department of Food Services in January announced price adjustment to fried catfish, rotisserie chicken halves, chicken wraps and select vegetables and side items.  It was the first change in menu pricing in the last four years.  Food Services welcomes suggestions on how to improve both the variety, healthiness and tastiness of its offerings.

As we roll into another academic and fiscal year – our 62nd – I just want to pause and thank you again for all that you do to make UMMC what it is:  a place of learning, healing and discovery that is not only a lifeline to the citizens of our state, but one of its most vital economic assets.  I am proud to work with you on our journey toward A Healthier Mississippi.