5 Questions

Good morning!

It’s the final Friday in August, so today I’d like to respond to some of the comments and questions you’ve sent to me.

Just as a reminder, I read all your questions and comments and enjoy hearing from you. I’m only able to respond to some of them in this space, but I pass the rest along to senior administrators for their review and possible follow up. You can submit your question or comment to the VC Notes inbox here.

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Q: I would like to know what is offered at the Center for Integrative Health for patients as well as employees.

A: Thank you for this inquiry, and I’m happy to share more information on the resources available to our patients – and our faculty, staff and students – through the Center for Integrative Health.

First, helpful information can be found on the web here. For additional information, I reached out to center director Dr. Danny Burgess, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry.

The Center for Integrative Health is the first and only comprehensive integrative health center in the state. The center’s approach – including its partnership with Lifestyle Medicine out of the Department of Preventive Medicine – complements traditional medical care with evidence-based approaches intended to treat the whole person, not just a specific issue. CIH provides individual and group interventions to help patients better manage their chronic medical conditions and develop healthier lifestyle behaviors based on an intimate understanding of each unique person.

I encourage each of you to learn more about CIH and take advantage of what it has to offer. Also, the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, located in the University Rehabilitation Center, provides comprehensive lifestyle assessment and nutrition consults and is available for referral from your provider or for employees to self-refer by calling 4-2233.

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Q: I saw mention of a “discharge lounge” in the Aug. 11 VC Notes in the part about improving patient flow. What is the discharge lounge and where is it?

A: What a great resource this has been since it was first opened in March of this year.

The lounge is located on the first floor of the Conerly Critical Care Hospital, next to the elevators just past the SICU waiting room when coming from University Hospital. When inpatients are fully discharged but are not yet ready or able to go home, they can be transported to the Discharge Lounge. Here, under the supervision of an RN and LPN, up to 11 patients can wait for their transportation to arrive, medication to be ready or delivery of needed medical equipment.

Open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., the lounge can get quite full in the afternoon when a lot of patients tend to be discharged. However, there’s comfortable seating, televisions, restrooms, snacks and drinks and a secure place for personal belongings. It’s been popular since it first opened, and we’ll continue to review ways to make it pleasant for some patients to transition out of their hospital stay.

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Q: Will signage be updated in the main hospital? Although I do not mind helping patients find places like Chick-fil-A or the cafeteria, I have noticed that I am coming in contact with patients in need of directions almost daily. As an employee who went through the online orientation, it is sometimes hard for me to help the patient due to not receiving a tour of the hospital when I started. Updated signage throughout the hospital would be a great help for patients and staff.

A: I want to express my appreciation for your willingness to help people who may need wayfinding assistance. We should all be so customer service-oriented, and I know many of you are.

We are a big campus with lots of square footage, and over the years, locations have changed. It’s certainly time that we update our in-facility signage to aid our patients and visitors – and each of us who also at times needs a little help to get where we are going. Some of the more popular requests are directions to the business office, the MRI suite, the dental school, the emergency room and, of course, the cafeteria. The greeters and police officers in the main lobbies are ready to help patients and visitors get to their intended location, but accurate signage is still necessary.

We will be hiring a vendor that specializes in this sort of thing for a holistic approach. But, in the meantime, our Facilities Services and Construction, Planning and Design teams are putting in place a plan to remove incorrect signs and replace them with temporary solutions that will help direct people correctly. Also, while this big project is in the works, let’s all keep being helpful and check with those who look a little lost.

An additional wayfinding update is that the effort to replace our on-campus outdoor signage is nearly complete. I’ve already noticed fewer drivers who look like they are having difficulty getting to their destination with the new directional signs in place.

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Q: As a safety concern I would like to recommend adding the "bulb mirrors" in Garage D for employee parking. There have been several incidences of near collisions in that particular garage because of people driving too fast around the corners.

A: This is a great suggestion. Thanks!

I passed your request to our Parking Services group to check into the feasibility of installing the type of mirrors you mention. They have prices and will be installing a couple of the mirrors to test their effectiveness.

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Q: I was happy to see the Campus Memo from Marc Rolph regarding the updated brand standards. I did not see anything related to getting apparel branded. Is there somewhere to get lab jackets, vests, scrubs, etc. embroidered with the UMMC logo and our names, titles, departments?

A: There sure is.

It wasn’t specifically mentioned in the memo, but what you’re asking about is covered in the UMMC Brand Standards, found here.

There are several pages dedicated to how vendors should properly use UMMC logos for things like shirts, jackets and white coats. If you have additional questions, need clarity on anything in the memo or standards or need approval for an item that includes a logo, reach out to our marketing team at marketing@umc.edu.

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Thanks for these and all of your submissions.

I’m honored to work alongside each of you – our faculty, staff and students – and, together, make headway on the important work we do here. You put your all into serving Mississippians, and I’m grateful for your dedication, compassion and energy. It’s going to take all of us, working together, to realize our vision of A Healthier Mississippi.