Emelda Pecha named Employee of the Month

Emelda Pecha, Environmental Services, has been named the August Employee of the Month

Teamwork: Pecha always has a smile on her face, no matter how much work she has ahead of her. She always has a cheerful greeting for patients and staff in the NICU, along with words of encouragement for the parents.

Quality/Excellence: Pecha takes great pride in her job. The babies' rooms are always spotless. Her attendance record is excellent. She is very reliable. If she says she will do something, you can rest assured she will complete it before the end of her shift.

Customer Focus: She takes the time to visit and talk to our long-term babies and their parents several times a day.

Learning & Innovation: The daily list of work for her is enormous, as it encompasses three large patient care areas, but she always manages to get the job done.

Stewardship: She often goes beyond the call of duty, stopping by infant rooms to clean and remove the trash after procedures and crisis. Not once have staff members heard a word of complaint from her.

Health System announces leaders for quality initiatives

Will Daniel, M.D.

Will Daniel, M.D., was named SLHS's chief quality officer in July. In this new role, Dr. Daniel will oversee SLHS's quality departments and work closely with physicians and clinicians in leading integrated quality initiatives across the organization.

A board-certified cardiologist, Dr. Daniel joined SLCC in 1998. In addition to his patient care responsibilities, he served as medical director of clinical practice, EMR, and the Vein Treatment Center. He also was SLCC's medical director for quality.

"Providing quality care has always been Saint Luke's highest priority. Dr. Daniel's appointment brings a renewed focus on gathering and analyzing quality data and ensuring we are always providing the safest, most effective care, which is critically important during this transformative time in the health care industry," said Melinda L. Estes, M.D., SLHS president and CEO.

Dennis Beers

In addition to Dr. Daniel's appointment, Dennis Beers was named system director of quality operations and patient safety in August.

In this new position, Beers will oversee quality and patient safety efforts across the health system, working closely with quality managers and risk managers at each SLHS entity.

Making a Difference

Thank you to Ranae Hampton, clinical pharmacist II, who went above and beyond to help a patient who was admitted to MAHI for an exercise stress test. During rounds with cardiology, the patient became very upset and started crying about having to have a stress test. The cardiologist kept telling her she needed closed-toe shoes in order to have the test. She didn't have closed-toe shoes and was very upset that given her social situation she didn't have anyone to bring shoes in for her. Hampton left rounds to obtain shoes for her since that was the only barrier to her care. She searched until she found several pairs she thought might fit her. However, none of the shoes fit. That is when Hampton gave the patient her very own shoes. They fit her well enough and she was able to take the stress test that day. The patient was very grateful and felt like someone cared for her personally. This seemingly small act of kindness made all the difference in the patient's hospital experience.

It's almost time to team up and Face Off!

The next Aetna Get Active Challenge is right around the corner. Face Off, a new team challenge, will take place from Aug. 19 - Oct. 13. Registration is now open. Face Off is similar to the other Get Active Challenges, except this time teams will compete together in leagues. Each league is made up of several SLHS entities. Who will become the league with the healthiest Saint Luke's employees? Competition categories include steps, exercise minutes, and weight loss.

Start recruiting team members for your league today:

• In Motion - Metros (SLEH, SLNH, SLSH, Crittenton)
• Recreation - Regionals (HMC, ACH, WMH, SLCH)
• Step It Up - Saint Luke's Hospital (SLH, SLCHS, MEI, SLHV)
• Challengers - Corporate/Home Care & Hospice (Corporate, Home Care & Hospice, VFSI)
• Motivation - Medical Groups (MPIA, SLPS, SLCC, SLNC, MG, SLMNS)

Sign up for Face Off on the Get Active platform at AetnaGetActive.com (use company code SLHS). Teams of five - 11 individuals are eligible to participate in the competition. All SLHS employees are eligible to participate. Spouses covered on the SLHS medical plan can also participate.

It's time for SLHS to take our physical activity and competition to the next level!

Courtyard Marketplace

The Elements of Well-being

The single best thing we can do for our overall health

Preventive medicine specialist Mike Evans, M.D., has dedicated his career to determining which treatments and strategies provide the biggest positive impact on overall health. After years of tireless research, he has discovered one simple treatment that he concludes is the single best thing a person can do for his or her health and well-being.

This treatment leads to:

• A 30 percent reduction in symptoms of depression
• A 48 percent reduction in symptoms of anxiety

And it is the No. 1 treatment for fatigue. Most surprising, it's something we can each easily incorporate into our daily lives. To learn more about the treatment shown to consistently improve quality of life, visit the EAP website.

Username: SLHS

Password: EAP

To learn more about the EAP, call 800-327-1223 or 816-931-3073.

SLHS launches Emergency Alert System (EAS)

SLHS has initiated a voluntary service to allow staff to sign up to receive timely, accurate, and useful information in the event of an emergency situation at our hospitals/campuses, on health system property, or in local areas that poses a risk to health and safety.

This service (TextCaster) uses text messaging and email alerts to broadcast pertinent information and, when appropriate, provide directions to those in the affected area(s).

Signing up is easy:

• Click here to go to the registration webpage (you can also find a link on the Employee eLink under Announcements).
• Enter your name, ZIP code, email address, and cell phone information. Select your campus or geographic location to receive notifications. A five-digit authorization code will be sent to the mobile phone/email address entered for verification.

Note: This service is FCC CAN-SPAM compliant, and users may update message preferences or unsubscribe at any time. Users should check their wireless provider for any message and data rates that may apply. Any messages sent will be from security@saint-lukes.org.

Sign up today! When an actual emergency occurs, it's too late.