Making a Difference

 

 

Each and every day our dedicated and passionate employees make a difference in the lives of our patients, visitors, and colleagues. We would like to highlight some of those stories. If you have a colleague you would like to recognize, please send the employee's name and how he or she made a difference to slhrounds@saint-lukes.org.

 

"The Clinical Nutrition Department and Tube Placement Team would like to thank Interventional Radiology for their help with post-pyloric tube placements during the holidays and when the Cortrak machine was recently being repaired. IR has always been more than willing to pick up the extra responsibility of tube placement to help the registered dietitians. Thanks again for all you do!"

 

- Hauna Slaughter, M.S., R.D., L.D.

 

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Former Saint Luke's patient featured in national CBS "48 Hours" report Feb. 2

 

Tune into CBS "48 Hours - Lived to Tell" this Saturday for a report about a Saint Luke's Hospital patient named Marti Hill who was violently attacked in her home by her handyman on Sept. 8, 2010, and left for dead. Hill's initial trauma care was provided at Saint Luke's Hospital and she was cared for in the NSICU and rehab units as well. Kim Poecker, D.O., and former Saint Luke's trauma surgeon Harry Wilkins, M.D., were interviewed for the report.

 

The program airs Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. on CBS. (Check local listings as program schedule is subject to change).

 

More about Marti's story is available in her personal blog.

 

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Senator Blunt and district director visit SLH

 

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri visited Saint Luke's Hospital on Oct. 9, 2012, to tour the Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute and to discuss public health care policy with SLHS staff leaders. Melinda Estes, SLHS president and CEO, hosted the visit and led the discussion of federal health care policy, legislation, regulations, and implications for the implementation of the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

 

During his visit, Sen. Blunt expressed an interest in learning more about the clinical research projects underway at MAHI. On Dec. 21, 2012, Sen. Blunt's district director, Matt Haase, returned for a more detailed discussion of our clinical research projects and heard a presentation by John Spertus, M.D., who outlined some of the innovative work being done at Saint Luke's to deliver personalized medicine to improve patients' experiences with care, improve outcomes, and lower costs.

 

Following the presentation and discussion of federal funding opportunities and problems with current Medicare approaches to challenging clinical decisions, Haase toured MAHI and the new Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute.

 

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Missouri Gov. Nixon visits WMH in Trenton

 

Gov. Jay Nixon discusses health care public policy with WMH CEO Gary Jordan and Paul Wardlaw, M.D., medical director of the Wright Memorial Hospital Emergency Department.

 

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon visited Wright Memorial Hospital in December. The visit highlighted the governor's efforts to persuade the Missouri legislature to expand Medicaid in compliance with provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the federal legislation - sometimes referred to as "Obamacare" - expansion of state-operated Medicaid programs was a major component to provide health coverage to lower wage workers and adults not currently eligible for Medicaid.

 

As other components of the law are implemented, hospitals will experience substantial annual reductions to "DSH" payments (federal payments for caring for disproportionate numbers of uninsured patients). The ACA assumes that large numbers of uninsured patients will become covered under the Medicaid expansion.

 

In his remarks at Wright, Gov. Nixon pointed to the economic importance of Missouri's hospitals - which employ more than 150,000 workers - and the negative impacts on those hospitals should Missouri choose to opt out of expanding Medicaid coverage. On hand for the governor's visit to Trenton were the CEOs of Wright Memorial Hospital and Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Gary Jordan and Matt Wenzel, along with members of the Boards of Directors, and elected officials.

 

SLHS, in cooperation with the Missouri Hospital Association and business leadership organizations across Missouri, is actively supporting the Medicaid expansion and the infusion of federal funds the program will generate.

 

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2012 W-2 forms

 

2012 W-2 forms have recently been mailed to employees' home addresses. The following informational items may apply to you:

 

• If you worked for more than one Saint Luke's Health System entity during 2012, you will receive separate W-2 forms from each entity.
• If you lived and worked in the same state all year, boxes 15-17 will be populated for that specific state only.
• You may or may not receive a second W-2 with additional information in Box 14.
• If you lived in one state and worked in another for any part of the year, you will receive two W-2s. For Kansas, boxes 15-17 will print with all the federal information above the Kansas information, as Kansas falls alphabetically before Missouri.
• The Missouri W-2 will only contain tax information for Missouri in boxes 15-17. Box 14 may or may not contain information.
• If you lived in one state and worked in another during any part of the year, the appropriate portion of your 2012 earnings will be reported to your state of residence.
• As a reminder, boxes 12a-d are used to provide coded amounts that may or may not influence your tax filing. Check the index on the back of the W-2 form to understand which codes apply to you. Starting with this year's W-2 form, code DD will be used to disclose the cost of employee-sponsored health coverage.  This amount is presented for informational purposes only and should not be considered taxable.

 

Requests for duplicate W-2s will not be accepted until Feb. 15. If the W-2 has not been received by Feb. 15 or has been lost, the W-2 Replacement Request form can be accessed on Employee Self Service  - Forms - Benefits, Human Resources and Payroll - Payroll Forms. Submit the form using one of the following methods:

 

1. Interoffice mail.
2. Fax to Central Payroll Processing at 816-932-9679.
3. Scan the document and attach it to an email addressed to payroll@saint-lukes.org.

 

Upon receipt of the request, replacement W-2s will be mailed to the employee address on file within five business days.

 

If you claimed exempt status for Federal Income Tax withholding purposes for 2012, you must complete a 2013 Federal W-4 form by Feb. 8 to continue with exempt status for 2013. If a valid W-4 form is not received by Feb. 8, withholding will be calculated as single with zero withholding allowances starting with the March 1 pay day.

 

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Celebrate healthy hearts

 

February is American Heart Health Month and it will begin with a big splash of RED! Each year, the first Friday of February is a day when we call attention to the No. 1 killer of women - heart disease. This day is designated as National Wear Red Day® - a day when Americans nationwide will take women's health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness.

 

The Red Dress®, the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, was created by The Heart Truth® in 2002 to deliver an urgent wake-up call to women. Join The Heart Truth on National Wear Red Day to help spread the critical message that "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear - It's the No. 1 Killer of Women.®"

 

Everyone can participate in the national movement by wearing their favorite red dress, shirt, or tie on Friday, Feb. 1.

 

Stay tuned for healthy tips throughout the month of February so we can all help prevent heart disease by reducing risks and following a heart-healthy lifestyle.

 

Click here to view Celebrate Healthy Hearts events brought to you by Saint Luke's Muriel I. Kauffman Women's Heart Center.

 

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Cardio Wellness Weight Loss Competition

 

Back by popular demand... The Fifth Annual Cardio Wellness Weight Loss Competition is just around the corner! Was one of your New Year's resolutions to improve your overall health? Let the Cardio Wellness team inspire and motivate you to achieve your goal! The competition starts Feb. 21.

 

The weight loss competition includes both women's and men's individual categories. The person in each category who has the greatest percent reduction in weight will win 75 percent of the prize money; second place in each category will get 15 percent; and third place will win 10 percent. Each individual will contribute $35 to register. If you choose to register with a partner, the fee is $50 for two. The money will go toward the prize winnings, so the more people who register, the bigger the prize amount. $5 will go toward administrative costs. Last year's winner in the women's category won more than $3,900! This year, you can even earn a chance to win a consultation with a dietitian, time with a personal trainer, a massage, and more!

 

Initial weigh-ins: Feb. 21-28 or March 1.

Final weigh-ins: May 5 -9.

 

There are dates for monthly weigh-ins on the flyer on the website. Monthly weigh-ins are encouraged but not mandatory to participate.

 

For more information visit cardiowellnesscenter.org, call Vicki at 816-751-8388, or email vcarson@saint-lukes.org.

 

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