If the responses to the VC Notes inbox are any indication, it appears you appreciated the video interview with Dr. Thomas Dobbs in last week’s column. I’m so glad to see this. I really enjoyed doing the interview and I look forward to doing another one in the future. (If you missed it, you can watch the video here.)
Today is the last Friday of the month, so I’ll answer a few of the questions you’ve submitted. But first, I want to make this plea: Please get your COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible when appointment slots are available. The more UMMC personnel who receive the vaccine, the closer we will be to considering loosening some of the restrictions put in place to keep each of us and our patients and visitors safe. Currently, first dose appointments are full, but if cancellations occur a spot could open up. As more vaccine supply and appointments become available, a campus-wide notification will be distributed. Meanwhile, if you have received or are scheduled to receive your first dose, please remember to follow through with your second dose at the appointed time to ensure maximal immunity.
Now, on to your questions.
Just as a reminder, I read all of your questions and comments and enjoy hearing from you. I’m not able to respond to them all in this space, but I pass the rest along to senior administrators for their review and possible action. Please keep your questions and comments coming!
Q: I would appreciate it if administration would remind our staff of the mask requirement in the hospital. I am still seeing a lot of UMMC employees not wearing their masks properly.
For many months now, staff members in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer have been tracking “secret shopper” data that show how often employees in hospital patient care areas properly wear their masks. For the most part, after a slight ramp-up period following the announcement of the COVID-19-era mask usage policy, the compliance percentage has hovered around 90 percent (92 percent compliance out of 628 observations in the first half of this month) in the 28 units tracked in the Jackson-based hospitals – which is quite good. I’d be happiest, though, if that number were 100 percent.
What I can’t quite understand, and I’ve mentioned it in this column before, is that our critical care areas typically have the lowest compliance percentages. These are possibly the most sensitive areas in our hospitals when it comes to spreading germs and they really should be hitting 100 percent compliance. We need to do better.
It wouldn’t surprise me if wearing masks in patient care areas, or at least during any patient encounter, becomes a longstanding thing, even after this pandemic is behind us. I’ve likened this type of substantial change to the HIV breakout in the 1980s when it became mandatory to wear gloves when doing certain tasks, like drawing blood. That practice never went away.
Q: I wonder if bringing LPNs back into our facility would help lessen our staffing strain? Many of our nurses were once LPNs and I personally have worked with and learned from some great ones. Maybe on a temporary contract? Especially if we do move to crisis mode and the nurse-patient ratio increases. I believe it would help us continue to provide excellent patient care while possibly decreasing some of the stress our nurses are experiencing.
Like almost all health systems across the country, maintaining our inpatient staffing has been challenging during the pandemic. We’ve taken several steps to mitigate staffing issues, including adjusting many of our practices and policies and shifting resources to areas of most need. Essentially, we are doing everything possible to manage a common issue made worse by the effects of COVID-19.
In our hospitals, like many others in the region, the majority of our workforce who are licensed practical nurses – a role in very high demand these days – are employed outside of the inpatient setting. While we have considered adapting the inpatient workforce to include more LPNs, those measures introduce new challenges. We are focusing our efforts on recruitment and retention of RNs in our inpatient areas, where they can make a more immediate impact. However, we will continue to consider all potential options to meet the needs of our staff and our patients, including other types of care providers in our inpatient settings. Thank you for submitting this suggestion and please continue to send along ideas we can consider that may help us with any of the continuing COVID-19-related challenges we are facing.
Q: Advice for pregnant/nursing mothers who are physicians or nurses on the front line. While the vaccine may not be mandatory, I want as much protection as possible for my newborn but am unclear if it is recommended for my demographic.
It seems since the early days of this pandemic, how COVID-19 could affect expectant or nursing mothers and preborn children have been frequent topics in the news. The same goes for the vaccine, which is the topic of this question.
To respond, I went straight to subject experts. What our ob-gyn and infectious diseases teams said is pretty simple:
While pregnant or nursing mothers have not participated in clinical trials, to date there are no data showing increased harm to women who became pregnant after enrolling in a trial - or to their fetuses - or to women who are pregnant or nursing who elected to receive the vaccine. Any theoretical risk of harm from vaccination is greatly outweighed by the very clear and present danger COVID-19 infection poses to any individual, including pregnant or lactating women. And, to date, there has been nothing that shows a nursing newborn is negatively affected following the mother’s vaccination.
Many expectant mothers who became infected with COVID-19 experienced complications – including ICU stays – that possibly could have been prevented if they had been vaccinated. Choosing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination is a personal decision, but if you are unsure about whether it is the right choice for you, I encourage you to discuss it with your personal physician.
Q: Would it be possible for the structure of raises to be changed here at UMMC? Staff change positions because there is little incentive to stay. One of the few ways to get a raise is to change positions. Continuity and stability in departments are affected by this continually. We get someone trained, they are doing an excellent job, but they do not get rewarded with pay increases. So in order to help their families, they must seek another position, higher-up pay. This means every few years we are training new staff for positions.
You have asked an important question. For those of us who have been here many years, we have seen what you describe happen over and over again. For some years, it was believed that the concept of merit-based increases was not allowed due to external regulations. We have recently confirmed, in fact, that isn’t the case.
Our leadership in Human Resources is working to develop a merit-based compensation program. One key ingredient in an effective merit-based system, is an evaluation process with criteria that provide data for managers and leaders to make informed compensation decisions in a fair and objective manner. As we speak, the evaluation system and the needed tools that sufficiently support the program have been implemented. The system will continue to be comprehensively reviewed (and modified if needed) on a regular basis to ensure it continues to provide the information required for a successful merit-based compensation program. The Halogen-based evaluation process for staff within the institution’s academics, research and service areas is currently active. Affected employees and their manager should have already received email notifications with details about the process. If you have additional questions, please contact Human Resources at HR-AcademicResearch@umc.edu.
Q: There is a consistent problem with the crosswalk between the dental school and the pharmacy school on both sides, but especially the dental side. It is a fall hazard because, unfortunately, it is consistently wet/slippery, even on the sunny days. This appears to be due to poor drainage.
I’ve asked our teams in Facilities Services and Environmental Health and Safety to assess this area.
On a campus this large (more than 5 million square feet of buildings and approximately 200 acres of grounds on the Jackson campus alone), it’s impossible for our facilities and maintenance teams – even when they are now working two shifts – to inspect every area of campus regularly or know about some existing issue if it is not brought to their attention. They rely on each of us to do our part to let them know when we come across something that needs to be looked into or fixed.
The web link to file a work request is easily found on the front page of the Intranet. At the top right of the page, in the boxes underneath the heading “Administration,” is “Maintenance Request.” Click that link and submit your UMMC login information and then you’ll be presented an online form to submit the details needed to get your concern or issue checked out. Here’s a direct link. Let’s do our part and give our facilities and maintenance teams a “heads up” whenever there’s something that needs attention. And in the case of an emergency, like power outages, hazardous materials spills or something else that requires immediate attention, dial up their 24/7 call center at 4-1420.
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Thanks for submitting your questions. Keep them coming!
Before I end today’s column, I’m excited to announce that for the first time in a long time – and maybe ever? – we reached 100 percent compliance with our flu vaccination policy. This is fantastic news and I’m very appreciative of your diligence in making sure we reach this important and necessary compliance goal. I extend my gratitude to everyone who was involved in helping us reach this milestone. Key units that deserve recognition include the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Student/Employee Health. Without leaders from those areas and their staff, full compliance would not have been possible. Thank you and let’s strive to hit this mark again this year as we do our part to foster A Healthier Mississippi.
Currently, first dose appointments are full, but if cancellations occur a spot could open up. As more vaccine supply and appointments become available, a campus-wide notification will be distributed. Meanwhile, if you have received or are scheduled to receive your first dose, please remember to follow through with your second dose at the appointed time to ensure maximal immunity.