The 411 On Down Time Cell Phones »

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Out & About: Do you know what to do during a downtime cell phone drill?

TJC inspections vital to providing the best care:Please read the Notepad blog from CEO Russ Myers about the important role Joint Commission inspections play in helping us provide the highest quality of care with zero harm to patients.

Cerner Updates Here: For current updates and information, go to the Cerner All-In page of our intranet.

Keep those safety reports coming!: Reporting safety events is always a priority at VMM! If you have a safety issue to report, you can simply write it up and send it to safety@yvmh.org. Patient Safety will input the event into Quantros for you. Please keep those safety reports coming! 

Check out the 2018 Annual Report! Be inspired by the remarkable stories of our patients, team members and donors: Take a look at the 2018 Virginia Mason/Virginia Mason Memorial Annual Report online at https://annual-report.virginiamason.org/

Conversation on Faith, Culture, and Patient Care: Our third panel discussion will feature several members from the Yakama Nation, who will discuss their views on faith, culture, death, the process of dying and how those relate to providing the best patient care. Q & A session to follow. The event is open to everyone! It will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, in the Auditorium. More information here.

Smoke/Tobacco Free Campus Reminder: “Smoking, chewing tobacco, vaporizers, E-cigarettes, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems are not permitted anywhere on VMM property.” VMM and individual staff are subject to civil penalties if tobacco is used anywhere inside, outside within 25 feet of an entrance, air intake, or operable window.

New Employee Assistance Provider: As of July 1, our EAP provider will be The Standard. This is a great resource for the times in life when you might need a little help coping or figuring out what to do. For more information click here.

Compass Care Hospice Volunteer Services: Volunteers are looking for donations of items used in making fidget blankets for Alzheimer’s patients on hospice. Items such as zippers, silky binding, textured fabric scraps, large buttons, large beads and fabric ribbon. If you have items to donate, please bring them to either the volunteer office at the hospital or to Cottage In The Meadow. Check out this link and this one for examples of fidget blankets.

Downtime cell phone drills: At least once each month a downtime cell phone drill is held to verify the phones are working. When the drill is announced overhead and via text on the cell, someone from each department should use the downtime cell phone to call the number on the back. Give your name, department, location and phone number of the cell phone (also on the back of the phone.) Then hang up. It’s that easy! The phone password is 8123. These phones are a vital tool if our other phones are down, Incident Command has been called or for an internal/external disaster. The phones contain VMM emergency preparedness policy documents and all other downtime cell phone numbers. The phones should always be plugged in and turned on (with the sound up!) and should be accessible to all team members.

EVENTS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Fiesta De Salud: This free event is coming up July 27th from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Yakima State Fair Park Modern Living Building at 1301 S. Fair Ave. There will be more than 30 community outreach agencies and vendors, live music and an obstacle course for the kids, along with free health screenings for diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure. For more information call: 509-573-3990

The Farmers Market at VMM: Our summer Farmers Market has begun! It is held in the courtyard behind the Café, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of the month through Sept. 13. Vendors will include handmade crafts, jewelry, soap, candles and more! There will also be a taco vendor and cinnamon rolls from the café. Look for the next Farmers Market on June 28!

Courtyard Reception at YUGM: The Union Gospel Mission Medical Care Center will host a courtyard reception on Thursday, June 20, from 4-6 p.m. at the mission, 1300 N. 1st St. There will be hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and tours of the medical center. The MCC provides medical services to those who are homeless and/or experiencing financial hardships that might leave them without access health care. They have also been recognized as Washington state’s largest free clinic. To attend, please RSVP to Shan Trick at 509-853-4307 or shan.trick@yugm.org

Safe Sitter Classes: Safe Sitter is a 1-day course for boys and girls, ages 11-13, where they learn safe and nurturing childcare techniques, behavior management skills, and tips for handling emergencies when caring for children. Students will learn infant and child CPR and choking child rescue, but will not become CPR-certified. The cost is $40, and classes will be heldJuly 15, July 25, July 29 and August 8.The June 27th & July 8th classes are full. Classes will be from 08:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will be held at Children’s Village. Call 577-5015 to register.

Women’s and Children’s Grand Rounds on video: If you couldn’t make it to any of our recent Grand Rounds sessions or if you would like to review previous sessions, you can find links to the videotaped sessions 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 will be held June 21. Registration required. Please call Nick Valadez at 509-574-6746 or email nicholasvaladez@yvmh.org.

REMINDERS

File a patient safety report and win: Everyone who reports a safety event in Quantros is eligible to be entered into the monthly drawing to win Inspire Bucks. You can choose from Inspire Bucks good for the Gift Shop, Café or for a drink of choice at Into the Brew!

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 appointments are available! It’s fast and located on the hospital campus in West Pavilion I. Most prescribed drugs are available for $10 copay. Inspire Health also 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!

Locate practitioner 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.

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.

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!

Language skills pay: Did you know that you can 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 IS. Do not order toner or other supplies from any company that contacts you by phone or fax

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.

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 monicatripp@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.