RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital November 19, 2012 Vol. 68 No. 43

A Time To Give Thanks; A Time To ShareIt’s Thanksgiving week, and that means it’s time for the An-nual Employee’s Council Holiday Basket Drive. We will be collecting baskets to distribute to fellow employees in need.

If you are in a situation of need, or know someone who is, please submit a brief written paragraph describing your cir-cumstances and how the basket would help to nattardo@harthosp.org by Friday, Nov. 30.

Include items that you would like to receive and age-specific items (e.g. adult/kids clothes, games, food items, baby items, etc.) Please be specific and concise to help us provide you with the most suitable basket. (Make sure to include the best way to contact you).

We cannot guarantee that everyone who submits a request will get a basket. It will depend on the number of donations. We will accommodate staff requests first; if there are re-maining baskets, we’ll give them to the OPD Clinics to dis-tribute to patients.

For more information, contact Nicole Attardo at 860-545-1299.

We would love for each de-partment/unit in the hospital to “Build a Basket” to donate.Be creative! Basket items can include:

• Nonperishable food items

• Gift cards to grocery stores, department stores, toy stores, gas stations, etc. THE MOST VALUABLE ITEMS ARE GIFT CARDS TO GROCERY STORES AND STORES LIKE TARGET AND WALMART!!

• Scarves, hats, mittens for the family

• Baby items

• Board games, playing cards, etc.

Baskets should be dropped off in the cafeteria on Monday, Dec. 10 from 7:30-9 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12 p.m. For drop-off in the IOL, please contact Nancy Hubbard at 860-545-7098. You may also make a cash donation at the drop-off locations. Baskets will be available for pick-up on Friday, Dec. 14.

The holiday season is upon us. Please help us to make this season brighter for the families we serve in our Child & Ado-lescent Services by making a donation to the “Celebrations Shop” at the IOL.

Throughout the year, “Celebrations” housed in the Child & Adolescent Out-patient Clinic on the Institute of Living Campus, has provided a “shop” where families facing difficult financial times can select gifts for the holidays as well as for their children’s birthdays, gradu-ations, and special achievements. We do not charge the families for anything they select. Largely this has been possi-ble through the wonderful generosity of many of you who have contributed.

We always welcome donations of new toys, books, and gift items for teens and children of all ages. Gift bags, birthday cards, wrapping paper and bows are also appreciated.

Monies raised through contributions will be used to purchase gift cards from places such as Wal-mart and Stop & Shop and will be given to families that have been identified as in particular need of extra support.

Although the need is especially great around the holi-days, we would gratefully accept donations through-out the year.

If you would like to make a donation, please contact Nelis Bidó-Jiménez at extension 5-7035. Thank you and have a safe and wonderful holiday season.

There was a ribbon cutting cer-emony on Nov. 16 for the new six-bed Comprehensive Epilep-sy Center on Center 11. It began admitting patients on Nov. 12.

We expect the Center to achieve Level-IV designation, the high-est designation given by the National Association of Epilep-sy Centers, by next Septem-ber. This distinction will recog-nize Hartford Hospital as one of the few hospitals in the nation that has the resources and ca-pability to provide the most ad-vanced and complex care for epilepsy patients. There are ap-proximately 100 Level-IV epi-lepsy centers in the nation and only one in Connecticut.

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Epilepsy Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Donations Sought For IOL’s Celebrations Shop

You are cordially invited to the

2012 Holiday PartyDecember 5, 2012

North & South Campus Afternoon session

11 A.M.- 4 P.M. Heublein Hall

Newington Campus 11 A.M.- 2 P.M. Dining Room

North Campus Evening session 10 P.M.- 12 A.M. Cafeteria

Please wear ID badge for entrance

President/CEO Jeff Flaks will be holding Town Hall Meetings over the next month open to all staff mem-bers. This is a time to ask questions or discuss any ideas or concerns you have about Hartford Hospital. Please join President Flaks at one of these meetings:

• Tuesday, Nov. 20: 6-7 p.m., Special Dining Room, Cafeteria

• Tuesday, Nov. 27: 1-2 p.m., Gilman Auditorium

• Friday, Nov. 30: 3-4 p.m., Blue Back Square, 4th Floor Education Room

• Thursday, Dec. 6: 3-4 p.m., IOL, Commons Building, Hartford Room

• Friday, Dec. 7: 10-11 a.m., ERN Glastonbury, Western Blvd., Education Room

• Monday, Dec. 17: 5-6 p.m., Newington Eye Center, Waiting Room Lobby

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Town Hall Meetings With President Flaks

Compliance Questions

or Concerns?

If you need to obtain information about

compliance issues or raise concerns re-

garding internal and regulatory practices

or policies, please contact your supervisor

or call the ComplianceLine, a confidential

and toll-free service, at

1-855-HHC-OCAP

or online at

HHC.OCAPComplianceLine.com

All staff members, volun-teers and students are re-quired to get a flu shot by Dec. 1. Hartford Hospital is providing them free.

Information can be lo-cateds on the Flu Preven-tion Intranet page (http://int ranet .har thosp.org /flu.htm). For more in-formation, please e-mail fluguru@harthosp.org.

Flu Shot Deadline: Saturday, December 1

Thanksgiving Food DriveTODAY - Mon-day - Nov. 19 - is the deadline donate to our Thanksg iv i ng Food Drive. Non-perishable items can be dropped into the collection box in the Cafeteria, and cash donations can be made at the Cashier’s Office. Discover the good feeling of helping someone else enjoy what we may take for granted - a warm filling Thanksgiving dinner and food for the cold days that follow.

Thanksgiving Bake SaleFood and Nutrition Services is pleased to offer baked goods for your Thanksgiving holi-day celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 20 and Wednesday, Nov. 21 in the Caf-eteria serving line.

Items will be available on Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Benefits Open Enrollment Ends Nov. 26Open enrollment (opportunity to make changes in benefits) will occur from now until next Monday, Nov. 26. A newslet-ter has been mailed to the homes of all benefit-eligible employees.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TO MAKE CHANGES to your 2013 bene-fits. Please call the Farmington Compa-ny 1-866-494-4496 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, or logon to www.eelect.com and use enrollment code 58995.

Tropical Plant Sale In Donnelly Nov. 21The Horticulture Pro-gram will be selling tropical plants, nor-mally available at the greenhouse, in the Donnelly Building Lobby on Wednesday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more in-formation, call 5-7397, or e-mail flow-ers@harthosp.org.

Schwartz Rounds Nov. 28Schwartz Center Rounds will be held Wednesday, Nov. 28 from 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. in Gilman Auditorium. Pre-senters will be Ellen Blair, nursing direc-tor for the IOL, and Danette Alexander, nursing director for Emergency Depart-ment Services. At this session, enti-tled “Come Together......Right Now..... or Else!” We will be discussing the “us vs. them” dynamic. Learning how to build consensus amongst two different de-partments with a single initiative can be challenging. Hear how the ED accom-plished their goals by meeting the needs of the psychiatric patient in the Purple Pod. Schwartz Center Rounds is a forum where staff get together to discuss a common theme in health care. All staff/volunteers/physicians are encouraged to share their experience.

Poinsettia Sale Nov. 29 The Auxiliary’s an-nual sale of poinset-tias will take place on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the lob-by and cafeteria as supply lasts. All pro-ceeds are used for hospital grants. For more information, contact Anita Manuck (amanuck@gmail.com) or Kathy Herzog (kathherzog@aol.com).

How Did You Improve The Patient Experience?How did you or your team improve the patient experience? Submit an abstract about it for a tabletop poster display on “Connecting With Purpose” for the First Annual HHC Patient Experience Event on April 12, 2013, designed to showcase best practices and innovation across HHC. There are three categories: Im-proved Transitions of Care, Innovation, or Enhanced Patient and Family Cen-tered Care. The winner will be asked to present a brief presentation. Dead-line for submission is Jan. 11, 2013. Rules and application forms are here: h t t p : / / h a r t h o s p . o r g / P o r t a l s / 1 /

NonSearchable/e-xTra/abstracts.pdf

Tupperware Vendor in Cafeteria Nov. 29 The Tupperware vendor will be in the Cafeteria on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Come and see the latest trends, buy on the spot, place a special order, or find re-placements. Tupperware makes a great gift for any holiday, weddings and show-ers. Sponsored by the Auxiliary Store.

S.T.A.B.L.E. Training - LIFE STAR Education ProgramThere will be a LIFE STAR S.T.A.B.L.E. program on Jan. 12, 2013 from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in JB-118. S.T.A.B.L.E. is an ed-ucational tool for maternal/child health care providers to organize care during post-resuscitation/pre-transport stabili-zation. It stands for: sugar, temperature, airway, blood pressure, lab work and emotional support. Instructors will be Jason Doonan, RN, and Michael Frakes, APRN. Registration is $25, and includes breakfast, lunch and snack. For informa-tion, contact Patrick Dowd at 860-545-4369 or pdowd@harthosp.org.

Happening at Hartford Hospital

Questions or comments about RxTra? Contact editor Annie Emanuelli at aemanuelli@harthosp.org or 860-545-2199