Memo
Out & About this week: Gnome for the holidays
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Out & About this week:Gift Shop Holiday Open House & Sale!
GIFT SHOP HOLIDAY SALE! Be sure to stop into the Gift Shop for the Holiday Open House on Friday, Dec. 7. Save 20% on all Christmas products, enjoy a complimentary coffee & fudge, and also receive a gift with purchase while supplies last! Shop local, support local – proceeds from the Gift Shop support The Memorial Foundation!
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. NOTE: Any employee who has not passed the ALTA Medical Interpreter assessment or the Listening and Speaking assessment by March 20, 2019 will no longer be eligible to receive Medical Interpreting or General Listening and Speaking premium pay until they have successfully met the qualifying criteria.
SAVE 25 CENTS AT INTO THE BREW! When you bring your own reusable cold or hot beverage container to Into The Brew, you will save 25 cents off the price of your beverage. Help VMM reduce waste by bringing your own CLEAN, reusable cold or hot beverage container!
PAPERLESS W2’S: Now is the time to select the option to go paperless on your W2 if you have not yet enrolled. What does this mean? It means you will need to log into My Memorial and print your W2. You will notreceive one in the mail, which saves on cost! Click here for more information!
2019 CALENDAR:The calendar for 2019 with VMM paid holidays is now available here! You can also find it on the intranet under Employee Resources / YVMH Human Resources / Benefits.
I’M IN ON VIDEO:If you missed the recent I’m In sessions with Russ Myers, you can watch it here! The topic is Health Equity. Did you know that Equality and Equity are two very different things? Find out why: Featured is a video that clearly demonstrates why we need to continue our efforts to treat patients in ways that work best for them.
Read The Memorial Foundation’s latest newsletter, A Spectrum of Care.
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.
Parking Lot Electric Charging Stations: Please do not park in electric charging station spaces in the North parking lot. We have several employees who depend on those spaces for commuting to work. Security will be monitoring the spaces and action will be taken.
More on the Parking Front: Security has received complaints about the lack of parking in the West Pavilion I lot. They have also seen a number of team members parking in that lot. This lot is for patients and visitors only! Patients and Families are No. 1 in our Quadruple Aim. Care begins as soon as they arrive on our campus!
EVENTS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Yakima Free Bikes 4 Kidz update: Any interest in fixing bikes? To volunteer go to http://fb4kyakima.org/ and click on volunteer. There are three levels—cleaners, preppers (changing tires and tubes) and mechanics (more advanced mechanic work such as brake and derailleur adjustments). The volunteer section will ask you a couple questions to determine your best fit and provide some dates and times to participate. Questions? Email us at volunteer@fb4kyakima.org We will be adding new shifts, so if you don't see one that fits, please check back. There will be someone to help get you started at the volunteer location (VMM’s 15 West building). We appreciate your support to get kids on bikes!
REMINDERS
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.
Home Solar: Virginia Mason Memorial is partnering with Energy Sage to offer a new employee benefit: Discounts for Home Solar! 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. And, by choosing your solar through EnergySage, $250 will be donated to the Memorial Foundation after installation! Find out more about the benefits of solar energy options here. Estimate how much money solar can save you and explore your solar options here.
Car pooling/transportation: Looking to carpool to work with fellow employees? Look for opportunities 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.
The 5 S Closet: Decluttering and want to get rid of excess items? Bring them to the 5 S closet in the basement of the hospital! Also, shop here first before ordering supplies from purchasing. You can also recycle toner cartridges and batteries here. NEW to the 5 S Closet is a nonperishable food box. Please bring your unwanted nonperishable food to share with fellow employees who might be experiencing food insecurities. A special thank you to our volunteer who is helping us keep the closet organized! Learn more here.
Have questions about your retirement plan? Talk to a representative from Fidelity Investments. Fourth-quarter appointments are availableClick here to sign up and reserve your time.The name of the employer will be under “Virginia Mason Memorial.” You can also call 877-895-5986 to reserve an appointment.
JUST A REMINDER: Help us keep our email system running smoothly! If emailing to a large group, please use the ‘bcc’ line for email addresses. When you don’t, it clogs up the email system.
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.