Memo

Your envelopes, please

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Out & About: Calling all interoffice envelopes, please!

Payroll is moving! The Payroll Department is moving from Memorial Physicians to 15 West during the week of April 22. Paper paychecks will be available for pickup at 15 West beginning with the April 26 pay date.

Locate practitioners privileges and contact information – Joint Commission requirement: You can search from the VMM intranet to find the contact information and privileges for all practitioners on the Medical staff under Applications – Practitioner Privileges / Scope of Service.

A word from Russ Myers: Check out Notepad for an update from our CEO.

Fresh Hop Ale Festival and 15 West: This year’s Fresh Hop Ale Festival will be held in the parking lot of our building at 15 West Yakima Avenue. The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5, so impact to VMM customers and employees should be minimal. The festival supports our community and drives additional commerce for downtown Yakima businesses. Proceeds from the festival support the arts, sciences and other community endeavors. Last year, Fresh Hop raised over $100,000, which went to over 20 Yakima County-based, nonprofit organizations. Fresh Hop has outgrown its current location: It now hosts 6,000 attendees and over 70 local and regional brewers.

Your fitness benefit: Volution Fitness joins the list of subsidized fitness centers for team members. Did you know that if you join one of the included fitness centers and go at least 9 times per month, you will be reimbursed $25 for that month’s membership? Find the full list of fitness centers and more in the Wellbeing Benefits section on Page 16 of the Benefits Guide.

Inspire Health: Our employee clinic is another great employee benefit! Think of Inspire Health when you can’t get in to see your primary care provider right way: Same day appointment are available! It’s fast and located on the hospital campus. Most prescribed drugs are available for $10 copay. Inspire Health does sports and camp physicals. They’re there for you if you have an on-the-job injury. For hours and to make an appointment, click here!

The newest High 5 honoree is . . .Hospitalist Dr. Brad Lancaster! Dr. Eric Lindstrom has passed the VMM High 5 honor on to Dr. Lancaster saying, “Brad improves the hospital environment on a daily basis by being a problem solver.” The High 5 award is given by one VMM provider to another for extra-special teamwork in caring for our patients. Read all about it!

Evacuation and safety: We all should know the proper procedures for evacuating the hospital if needed. Two of our elevators are down for repair. The two remaining elevators have recently exhibited problems. Our Emergency Preparedness team advises that this makes our patients, staff, visitors and organization vulnerable. Team members are asked to revenue evacuation procedures, among them are techniques for using Evacuation Slydes, Evacuation Chairs and Med Sleds for Peds. Click on the links to learn more.

Provider Cerner training:If you still haven’t signed up for Cerner training . . . Providers who will be taking care of patients in the hospital need the 4-hour training (except for those in the ED or Anesthesiology, which will have separate trainings). Class length is generally 4 hours, but may vary by specialty. Classes will be held at 15 West. Remember: Our go-live date is on the evening May 17! Training for super-users is occurring now until April 5. End-user training begins April 8. Sign up here!

March Leadership Meeting: Check out Notepad for the blog from COO Diane Patterson about the most recent Leadership Meeting. Updates on our Healthy Equity efforts, our transition to Cerner and more! Get the latest on work to strengthen and enhance the Mission, Vision and Values of our organization.Read about the March meeting! Scroll down to see this blog.

The Farmers Market at VMM: Summer will soon be here, and so will the Farmers Market at Virginia Mason Memorial! The Market, held in the courtyard behind the Café, will return to Fridays this year – from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of the month, beginning June 14 and ending Sept. 13. Cindy Parkey, Senior Manager of Food Services, is on the lookout for vendors. Anyone interested should call Cindy at 575-8462.

EVENTS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Women’s and Children’s Grand Rounds: The next session of Grand Rounds, Friday April 26, features Dr. Amritha Bhat, perinatal psychiatrist and acting assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Her topic is titled “Maternal Mental Health: Bridging the Gap.” Grand Roundsare held in the hospital auditorium from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.

Clean for a Cause:Spring clean your garage, house, storage unit or project site and contribute items to Clean for a Cause, a community project to benefit Habitat for Humanity, presented by the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce! You can drop off usable items at one of two locations from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. Those who donate can enter to win a backyard patio entertainment package. Find a partial list of acceptable items and the drop-off locations here!

Cooking For One: Living alone is no reason not to cook healthy meals and eat well. Learn how to do just that at Cooking for One, a cooking class with a focus on teaching students how to make delicious recipes in smaller portions. The next Cooking For One class is April 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Harman Center, 101 N. 65^th Ave. Cost is $10 and covers food and cookbook. More Cooking for One classes will be held on May 17, and June 21. Registration required. Please call Nick Valadez at 509-574-6746 or email nicholasvaladez@yvmh.org.

National Drug Take-Back Day: If you have unused or expired medications at home you can drop them off in the parking lot of Cornerstone Medicine, 4003 Creekside Loop, between 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. Safe disposal of medications keeps them from entering our water supplies and landfills.

Do you leave your car home when you come to work? Whether you bike, vanpool, walk, run, take the bus, or travel any way but driving alone in your car, the annual Wheel Options Contest with funtastic prizes is for you! The contest begins in May. To qualify, you must get to work at least once a week in May without driving alone and record those trips on RideshareOnline.com. May is also National Bike Month. If you haven't ridden lately (or at all), why not start in May!

Food for Life: How Foods Fight Cancer: During this 4-week course, Ineke Ojanen, registered dietician, will demonstrate 3 different recipes each week that are affordable, low fat and plant based. They’re also delicious and satisfying! You will have an opportunity to sample all the food and gain some important nutrition education along the way. The course will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on May 3, 10, 17, 24 at North Star Lodge. No cost, but space is limited. Please call 509-249-5317 to register.

The Virginia Mason Memorial Downtown Yakima Mile! CEO Russ Myers and representatives from the Yakima School District, Hogback Development and others addressed the media Feb. 27 about Yakima’s newest downtown event, The Virginia Mason Memorial Downtown Yakima Mile. The race, with heats for everyone from elite athletes to tiny tots, will be run down Yakima Avenue on Saturday, June 8. Thanks to sponsorship from VMM, the race is free for all those under 18 years old! Sound like fun? Want to run? Find out more atyakimamile.com!

Safe Sitter classes: Safe Sitter classes help students gain confidence in dealing with children. And it teaches them how to handle emergencies when caring for kids with rescue skills and basic first aid. Students will also will gain important life skills, such as introductory employment protocols. The one-day class is for youth ages 11-13. It is held 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Children’s Village. Dates are June 27, July 8, 15, 25, 29, and Aug. 8. The fee is $40 and includes the class, Safe Sitter manual and completion card. To register, visit yakimamemorial.org, click on classes and events. Or call 509-577-5015 for more information.

REMINDERS

Health Care Career Scholarships: If you have a child who wants pursue a career in health care, they just might qualify for one of Virginia Mason Memorial’s $1,000 scholarships to help defray the cost. Students must be accepted by an accredited college or university and be seriously pursuing a career in the health-care field. Applicants must be the child of a VMM employee or an active student VMM volunteer. Applications will be accepted April 1 through May 10. For more information or an application please contact Volunteer Services at 575-8053. Click here for more information.

We’re always working to be better: That’s what the Performance Improvement Department is all about! This month’s newsletter is packed with interesting articles, such as Safety Event Reporting, Regulatory Readiness, Trauma Program, 2018-2019 Seasonal Influenza and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. Find out more!  

Department Spotlight, IV Therapy:VMM’s IV Therapy team serves our patients throughout the hospital 24/7. They are key to providing successful care at VMM. Meet the team!

Locate staff phone numbers: You can now search from the VMM Intranet to find contact information for team members in Yakima and in Seattle. It’s easy. Find out how!

Read The Memorial Foundation’s latest newsletter, “Seeing need and meeting challenges . . .”

Language skills pay: Did you know that you can now receive $50 per pay period for your language skills? Learn more about the ALTA Medical Interpreter test today! To find out more, contact Language Access Program Supervisor Angelina Garcia (angelinagarcia@yvmh.org) or Craig Wilson (craigwilson@yvmh.org) director of Patient and Family Experience.

Calling a Code: If you need to call a code, please dial 8123 and not the operator. Your call will be answered and the code implemented immediately by calling 8123.

Do you really need to print that? Let’s reduce our use of paper! In 2017 alone, VMM purchased over 13,863 cases of copy paper -- that is 68,315,000 sheets of paper! The 136.63 tons of paper cost over $45,000 a year! Also, the cost of paper went up 6% in fall 2018 and is expected to rise 6% again in 2019. Help us reduce costs, improve health outcomes and our environmental impact by considering the following before printing: default printing double sided, reduce margins, grayscale, single spacing and use a 9 point font.

Need printer supplies? Please remember that any printer supplies (other than paper) need to be ordered through QBSI. Please contact IS to get those supplies. Do not order toner or other supplies from any company that contacts you by phone or fax.

Name & department on interoffice envelopes, please! To get your interoffice envelope delivered properly and promptly they need to be addressed with both the recipient’s name and department (not program or job!). Also, if you have extra interoffice envelopes in your department, please help keep those in circulation by returning the envelopes. Just place them in your outbox and the volunteers will pick them up. Our volunteers thank you!

Looking into home solar options? Here is a new list of options near us: https://www.energysage.com/supplier/search?q=&selected_facets=technology_types:Solar%20PV&zip_code=98901&distance=150&page=1 Learn how you can save money on your electricity bill, boost your home’s property value, generate clean electricity that protects human health and the environment.

Carpooling/transportation: Looking to carpool to work with fellow employees? Look for opportunities here. More opportunities to find a ride can be found on the Waze Carpool Finder app. Find it here! Also, check out the new transportation guide here. Have questions, need help? Kategottlieb@yvmh.org

Waste Reduction and Recycling: Please read the NEW waste reduction and recycling guidelines for VMM. If you have any questions or would like to become a champion, please email kategottlieb@yvmh.org.

Don’t forget!You can view MEMO when you’re offsite here >>Keep up to date even when you’re not at your computer! You can view MEMO on all of your mobile devices!

If you would like your news or events to be included in MEMO, or if you have questions, please contact rebeccateagarden@yvmh.org. The deadline is Tuesday at noon and the email typically goes out mid-week. Just Be sure to include “FOR MEMO” in the subject line.