Corporate Labor PoolPlease consider signing up for one day per pay period in the Corporate Labor Pool, after you have guidance and approval from your manager. The last time the IT Division was called to help in this capacity, we exceeded our goal of 10% employee participation, and we are currently at 13.82% participation and have signed up for 19.28% of available shifts. Thank you to everyone who already stepped up to the plate to volunteer. For questions about the Corporate Labor Pool, contact
hmcorporatelaborpool@houstonmethodist.org.
Virtual Town Hall Meeting
We look forward to "seeing" you at our Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 3 - 4:30 p.m. During the meeting, we’ll share important updates with you. If you have any questions you would like addressed, please send them to Ken or feel free to ask them in the chat during the meeting.
Microsoft Tech Trainings Off to a Record StartLast month we launched two initiatives in partnership with Microsoft – Tech Tuesdays and Microsoft Teams Champions. Our Tech Tuesdays' attendance has broken Microsoft's record for number of people attending training sessions. These trainings are open to all employees and you are encouraged to participate. Tech Tuesdays – Weekly sessions covering various Microsoft tools
January brings a variety of topics to our Tech Tuesdays series including a deeper dive into Teams, how to create surveys using Forms, and getting organized with Planner and OneNote. Click the links below when it’s time for the event or click on a prior session to listen to a recorded session. Invites were sent in December from itinformationupdate@houstonmethodist.org. January sessions: Microsoft Teams Champions
Microsoft Teams Champions meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. These sessions focus solely on Microsoft Teams tips and tricks, and you can gain early access to new features and a resource library. Share your interest with your manager and complete this form to get your personal invitation. The next meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 3 from noon to 1 p.m.
Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools and tactics we have available – wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and getting vaccinated. As part of our #ProtectedTogether campaign, our team is rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated and sharing pictures of the historic event. Click here to view more pictures.
The Training Team Adopted a Family Under the lead of Sr. Training Specialist, Daphne Trevino, the training team participated in the HM Adopt-A-Family holiday program. The team came together to make the holidays cheerful for a family of three in one of our underserved communities. Way to spread the holiday cheer and share your I CARE values. The team collected over $400 in cash donations to purchase these gifts.
Distribution ListsAttention managers and directors: Be sure your team members are on the Everyone-IT distribution list and any other appropriate distribution lists in Outlook. Submit updates to the IT Help Desk. Please review our lists and add any team members who may be missing, so they are aware of IT news and events.
Human Resources UpdatesClick to download the December or January staff presentation. Communicating with your staff, especially during this time when many are working remotely, is an important part of employee engagement and retention. Use this opportunity to host video team meetings and have
two-way conversations with your team.
Thank you to every IT team for rapidly responding to COVID-19 treatment, testing and vaccination needs for patients, providers, clinicians and staff. These improvements included outpatient testing and vaccination sites, additional inpatient and vICU units, expanded lab testing capacity, application access and training for float staff, additional reporting tools, employee health self-scheduling for vaccines and assistance with the Corporate Labor Pool. Here is a small snapshot of the great work completed in 2020. Ambulatory / Orders / Pharmacy - Ambulatory supported over 320,000 virtual events,
including nearly 184,000 MyChart video visits; 84,000 inpatient Vidyo calls; 27,000 phone consults; 24,000 virtual urgent care appointments; and 7,000 e-visits.
- Orders launched new specimen scanning tools and workflows at HMSL, HMTW and HMCL.
- Pharmacy launched the Houston Methodist Specialty Pharmacy at HMWB and Alaris Pump integration at HMSL.
Clinical Informatics - MDI and ClinDoc teams successfully deployed Rover systemwide, including rehab
clinicians and quarterly updates.
- Clinical Ancillary teams integrated several OR imaging systems with Epic, including Stryker and Image Stream.
- Inpatient Clinical launched new Epic modules for Case Management and Inpatient Rehab.
- IT Lab, MDI and Epic Program / ECI developed Enterprise Virtual ICU (vICU) leveraging Epic, Sickbay and Caregility, supported the Lab Barcode Specimen Collection project and successfully completed Epic quarterly updates.
Corporate Business Systems / RI / Innovation - Financial Systems / Application Development identified a Russian hacking attempt, deployed several Giving Forms updates and facilitated setup for 53 new departments and 989 rooms/beds.
- Revenue Cycle rolled out DocuSign, which also expanded as demand and need increased.
- IT Corporate Business Systems launched new employee health portal self-scheduling immunizations and health screenings required by law and created a custom process for collecting PTO and payroll deductions to the COVID-19 Hero fund.
- Research Technology upgraded
the MORTI portal, REDCap and Biorepository systems, while also supporting high performance computing for COVID-19 research.
- The Center for Innovation distributed more than 2,250 Telerounding and MyMethodist Patient iPads across the system, over 1,500 Amazon Alexa devices and over 150 standalone and six group temperature scanners.
Security - Cybersecurity ensured there were no successful ransomware attacks and started regular phishing drills to train employees to be more aware of cyberthreats.
Technology and Shared Services - Communications and Shared Services trained more than 17,000 people, sent over 550 eNewsletters – resulting in more than 1.7 million messages opened and received. The IT Help Desk handled nearly 200,000 calls and more than 310,000 emails.
- Data Analytics launched a COVID-19 executive dashboard and six new Slicer Dicer models, while also delivering more than 650 reports.
- Enterprise, Architecture and Engineering made data protection improvements with backups of all data to Austin.
- IT Field Ops provided frontline support to facilities throughout the pandemic and helped to launch new COVID-19 ICU, HIDU, MedSurg and Testing units across the system.
- Portfolio and Process Management Office completed 46 projects with 59 more in progress.
- Shared Support Services developed SharePoint tools for the Corporate Labor Pool, Overtime Systems for COVID-19 and ADA system requests.
- Technical Application Services launched Microsoft Teams, with more than 16,000 Teams activated, decommissioned over 1,400 Windows 2008 servers and launched 60 new interfaces/Epic
integrations.
Thank you for your service! After his most recent deployment with the Texas Army National Guard, Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Sapiens has returned to HM. During his deployment, Sapiens ran a COVID-19 test site and worked as a military paramedic transporting COVID-19 patients to critical care sites. A 14-year veteran of the National Guard, Sapiens is also an application analyst on the MDI team.
Congratulations! Andrew Chase earned his Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems from Lamar University! He started his program in June 2019 and graduated in August 2020.
ChangeGear 8.0: Change Freeze Effective Now
IT Service Transformation Coming in 2021!In the first quarter of 2021, we will be upgrading to ChangeGear 8.0. In preparation for the upgrade, a change freeze is in effect including development, testing and production. The freeze is effective until we complete the upgrade (exact date is being finalized). You can still submit and close IT Help Desk tickets, as the change freeze only impacts back-end ChangeGear systems. The ChangeGear 8.0 upgrade is part of a larger IT Service Transformation Program launching this year. This encompasses ITIL best practices and process improvements, including knowledge management, access management, ticket management and request fulfillment. Stay
tuned for more information on this exciting new program!
Congratulations to Our December WinnersBRAVO Boosts recognizes outstanding IT team members each month from a random selection of those who have received an eCard. Winners receive a dinner (valued up to $100) to enjoy virtually with their managers and IT Leadership. To send an appreciation eCard, click the BRAVO tile in MARS.
Ashley Chan - Lead Application Analyst
"Huge THANK YOU to the MDI Team for working long hours over the past few days, including late hours Friday and over the weekend, to fix the TeleStroke connectivity issue at HMWB! Thank you for going above and beyond every day to ensure our patients receive timely access to care on the virtual platform. Thanks!" – Stacy Campos
Lena Davis - Sr. IT Training Specialist
"Thank you for being such awesome Gatekeepers! You made the shared NN review process for Comms more streamlined and have taken the burden off the shoulders of many teammates! Huge thanks for volunteering to be a Q1 Gatekeeper!" – Melody Velasquez
Christopher Farias - Application Analyst
"Hope you guys enjoy some time relaxing with your family. Thank you for being such an amazing team and a lot of fun to work with! Feeling very blessed." – Sarah Shaunfield
Vickie Nicholson - Financial Analyst
"Vickie, you do an awesome job with reviewing and processing the voluminous contracts that we receive. Even when you are busy you stop to provide us guidance and answer our multiple questions. I admire your work ethic, your sense of humor and determination. I am thankful that you are on our team. Thank you!" – Jennifer Ocasio
November Winners Enjoyed a Taste from Home
Alison Ruffin is a native Louisianan, so she and her son, Andrew who was visiting, were craving Pappadeaux! Look closely and you can see they got a virtual visit from Jim Francis and Eileen McGrath.
Proud New Yorker, Jose Nava, enjoyed a taste of home with Kenny & Ziggy's. He claims they have the best New York style pastrami in Houston!
Sachi Bhatt
Promotion
Quality Assurance Lead
Beth Blanchard
Promotion
IT Epic Hospital Billing Manager
Terrance Eaglin
Promotion
Sr. IT Service Desk Analyst
Donna Ingle
Promotion
IT Process Consultant
Gustavo Gomez Jr.
Promotion
Sr. Network Engineer
April Kelly
Promotion
Sr. Applications Analyst
Billy Koch
Promotion
IT Field Ops Manager
Lucio Montenegro
Promotion
IT Field Ops Manager
Meghann Ognoskie
Promotion
Sr. Applications Analyst
Matthew Paxton
Promotion
Sr. Applications Analyst
Jon Raines
Promotion
Lead Application Analyst
Dipti Shah
Promotion
Sr. Applications Analyst
LaToya Smith
Promotion
Sr. Applications Analyst
Nhan Tran
Promotion
Ambulatory Clinical Systems Manager
Booker Butler
New Hire
Sr. IT Service Desk Analyst
Andrew Cobb
New Hire
Applications Analyst
Diego Herrera
New Hire
Sr. Mobile Developer
Tyler Jacobs
New Hire
IT Security Analyst
Chris Juric
New Hire
IT Service Desk Analyst
Ernest Lee
New Hire
Sr. Applications Analyst
Susan Weidler
New Hire
Applications Analyst
Chacedi Wilson
New Hire
Sr. Training Specialist
Don’t see your marriage, birth or team announcement here? Send your great news or story ideas to IT-Comms!
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