Week of February 13, 2023
Town Halls Wrap Up This Week; New Session Added
To accommodate as many employees as possible, we’ve added an additional Town Hall session on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 a.m. in the Brazos Conference Center. This will be an in-person session only.
Our recent Town Hall meetings have been well received and we’ve had great engagement from employees. This final session for the quarter is a good opportunity to stay informed and learn more about our plans for 2023.
This year we plan to hold Town Halls every quarter, because the leadership team recognizes that these meetings are vital to our organizational success and efforts like Performance Excellence, Magnet, hiring/recruitment and more. We encourage you to attend.
To register, log into LMS and click on “My Learning.” Then, in the “Find Learning” tab, search for course number 1627067, select “assign to me” and then “register now.”
PCA Novice Program
HMSL is proud to announce the Patient Care Assistant (PCA) Novice Program in partnership with Lone Star College. This free program is designed to provide an opportunity for HMSL employees without prior experience to transition into a direct patient care PCA role. The deadline to apply is Sunday, Feb. 19. Click here for a helpful flyer with more information. Please email Mary Harris or Anna Herreth with questions.
Fight Human Trafficking
HMSL Clinical Education, Case Management, and the Emergency Department have partnered with Unbound Now on a virtual Valentine’s Day seminar to discuss human trafficking in our community and how to identify and manage victims. This presentation fulfills the requirements of HB2059 for licensure renewal under Texas Health and Human Services. CEs will be provided through Unbound Now. Click here for a helpful flyer with meeting login information.
Support for Turkey and Syria
The world continues to watch the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that has upended lives in Turkey and Syria and taken the lives of 35,000 people. This crisis has left many without food and shelter while they continue to search for loved ones. Houston Methodist is committed to helping those most in need beyond our hospital walls, we invite employees to stand with the people of Turkey and Syria through their journey to recovery. Click here for how you can help.
Celebrating Black Heroes
The Black Ties for Culture ERG would like to recognize some of our own Black Heroes! They invite Black employees to share their professional accomplishments by completing this form and including a brief statement on “What Black History Month Means to Me."
The ERG will share these randomly on Chris’s Corner and print to have for our final day of celebrations, Tuesday, Feb. 27. Every person who submits will receive a prize from HR.
Black History Month Spotlight
This week, we shine a spotlight on Dr. James McCune Smith, the first African American to earn a medical degree. Smith had to travel to Scotland to study because no American university would admit him. Upon returning to New York City, he began his medical practice and also opened the first black-owned pharmacy in the U.S. He would go on to be a prolific writer and became the first African American to publish peer-reviewed articles in medical journals. You can read more about him in this week's DEI Corner. The DEI Corner is available weekly at the bottom of this newsletter.
Monitor Tech Week
Happy Monitor Tech Week! Staff in Centralized Telemetry (CTM) works as the eyes of the hospital, monitoring every heartbeat in our building. On average CTM monitors 200-220 patients daily. At HMSL, our CTM team has 32 EKG-certified monitor techs. Thank you for all you do!
Happy Valentine's Day!
A special kudos and shout out is in order for our NICU staff who always go above and beyond for HMSL's tiniest patients. They created Valentine's Day ornaments for parents with babies in the NICU, made with the footprint of their child. In the past, the NICU staff has made Halloween costumes and even dressed babies up for Santa's visit. These little gestures truly embody our I CARE Values. Thank you for all you do!
DID YOU KNOW? According to Hallmark, more than 145 million greeting cards are sent for Valentine's Day, making it the second-largest holiday for cards behind Christmas.
Reminder: Junior Volunteers
HMSL Volunteer Services is excited to welcome the 2023 Junior Volunteer Summer Program for high school students (16-18 years of age). Applications will be available for pick up beginning today, Monday, Feb. 13 at the HR front desk any time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m.
Reminder: Graduate Nurses
Registration for the Summer GN cohort is now open. If you know a nurse who has recently graduated or has less than six months of experience, please consider sharing this registration link. The deadline to apply is Feb. 17.
PATIENT COMPLIMENTS
Sienna PT/OT Patient: "My therapist was Michael Lynch. He's very knowledgeable and very caring. I had so much muscle pain but when I went back he did help me a lot. I appreciate that. Thank you."
Breast Care Center Patient: "I have had mammograms at Methodist for several years, and I am always so pleased with my experience, I wouldn't even think of going anywhere else. Thank you for good service and please continue this wellness service for us women."
Endoscopy Patient: "My nurse Carrie was the best. She was very attentive and made sure that all of my needs were met and she checked on me as often as I thought was necessary and beyond. She made sure that my pain level was managed correctly. Carrie was an A+ nurse. Thank you."
IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, February 14: Human trafficking seminar. Open to anyone who interacts with patients. Click here for information.
Thursday, February 16: Employee Health Clinic closed 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday, February 17: Final in-person Town Hall. Register on LMS.
Friday, February 17: Deadline for Summer Graduate Nurse cohort application. Click here for information.
Wednesday, February 22: Hand hygiene bonus payout
JUST FOR FUN DATES
Monday, Feb. 13: @ Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday, Feb. 15: @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, February 14: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Toyota Center
Saturday, Feb. 18: Los Tigres Del Norte, Smart Financial Centre
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"There is always a light, if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it."
- Amanda Gorman