RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital November 26, 2012 Vol. 68 No. 44

Cedar Mountain Commons Recognizes Veterans Cedar Mountain Commons, a senior living community owned by Hartford Hospital and Jefferson House, recognized Veteran’s Day on November 9 by paying tribute to its resi-dents who served in the armed forces.

The day started with a Veterans Breakfast, followed by a recogni-tion ceremony for all residents who were veterans. There was entertainment by John Paoillo.

At the Veteran’s Day Recognition Ceremony, staff unveiled two new plaques that list the names of all 57 men and women veterans who have lived at Cedar Mountain Commons. This Wall of Fame is proudly hanging in the building’s front lobby.

Estonian Doctors Visit Our Simulation CenterThree officials from the Estonian government visited Hartford Hospital’s Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) on Nov. 5-6 to determine if Hartford Hospital is a suitable mod-el for the development of an Estonian simulation center. They observed live simulation training and had an opportunity to try out some of the equipment themselves.

Additionally, they toured the Department of Emergency Medicine, the operating room and ICUs, Life Star, the Department of Anesthesiol-ogy, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, the UConn School of Medicine, and the New England Disaster Training Center.

Estonia is a small country in Europe on Rus-sia’s western edge of the Baltic Sea. The Esto-nian team expressed their gratitude for Hartford Hospital’s hospitality and were very impressed at the magnitude of both our clinical and train-ing systems.

Visitors come to Hartford Hospital from all over the world to view our world class institution with cutting edge training and medical care.

Left to right: Stephen Donahue (director of CESI), Dr. Kirsti Lea (Surgeon Gen-eral of the Estonian National Defense Forces), Dr. Ahti Varblane (Medical Cen-ter Chief of the Estonian National Defense College), Dr. Kuido Nomm (head of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Critical Care at Tartu University Hospital), Dr. Joseph McIsaac (chief of Trauma Anesthesia at Hartford Hospi-tal), and Dr. Thomas Nowicki (Emergency Medicine, Hartford Hospital).

It’s time for the Annual 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 circumstances and how the bas-ket would help to nattardo@harthosp.org by Friday, Nov. 30.

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

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

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

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

• Nonperishable food items

• Gift cards to grocery stores, depart-ment 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 Hub-bard 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.

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Donated Gift Baskets Will Help Employees In Need

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. 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

Benefits Open Enrollment Ends TODAYOpen enrollment (opportunity to make changes in benefits) ends today Monday, Nov. 26. A newsletter has been mailed to the homes of all benefit-eligible em-ployees. THIS IS THE LAST DAY TO MAKE CHANGES to your 2013 benefits. Please call the Farmington Company 1-866-494-4496 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., or logon to www.eelect.com and use enroll-ment code 58995.

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 annual 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 proceeds are used for hospital grants.

Tupperware Vendor in Cafe-teria 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.

Foxwoods Trip Dec. 7Join us Friday, Dec. 7 for an evening at Foxwoods Casino to benefit the Unit-ed Way Campaign at Hartford Hospi-tal. (The trip was rescheduled from Fri-day, Nov. 2. Tickets already purchased for

the Nov. 2 date will be val-id for the Dec. 7 date. If you bought a ticket but cannot at-tend on Dec. 7, contact any of

the people listed for a refund.) The bus will leave the Newington campus (Cur-tis Building) at 6 p.m., and will stop to pick up passengers at the HH Hartford campus (Jefferson St. entrance) at 6:30 p.m. It will arrive at Foxwoods at 7 p.m., and depart Foxwoods at midnight. It will arrive at the Hartford campus at 1 a.m., and at the Newington campus at 1:30 a.m. Cost is $25 per person, which includes bus, a $15 food voucher, and a $10 Keno play. Tickets are first come, first serve. Contact:

• Wendy Benjamin: 860-696-3106

• Stasia Gray: 860-696-6046

• MaryAnn Majewski: 860-696-6083

• Gwen Freeman: 860-696-6043

• Lucy Rignrose: 860-696-3114

• Rosa Rosa: 860-696-6048

• Jerry Belanger: 860-545-3905

How Did You Improve The Patient Experience?How did you or your team improve the patient experience? Submit an ab-stract about it for a tabletop poster display on “Connecting With Purpose” for the First Annual HHC Patient Ex-perience Event on April 12, 2013, de-signed to showcase best practices and innovation across HHC. There are three categories: Improved Transitions of Care, Innovation, or Enhanced Pa-tient and Family Centered Care. 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

Donate Gifts to IOL’s StorePlease help us to make this season brighter for the families we serve in our Child & Adoles-cent Services at the IOL by making a donation to the “Celebrations Shop.” Throughout the year, “Celebrations,” housed in the IOL Child

& Adolescent Outpatient Clinic, has pro-vided a “shop” where families facing dif-ficult financial times can select gifts for the holidays as well as for their chil-dren’s birthdays, graduations, and special achievements. We do not charge the fami-lies for anything they select. This has been possible through the wonderful generos-ity of many of you. 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 which will be giv-en to families that are in particular need of extra support. We gratefully accept do-nations throughout the year. If you’d like to make a donation, please contact Nelis Bidó-Jiménez at extension 5-7035.

Happening at Hartford Hospital

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