RxTraA publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital

Recognizing Excellence: April 25-29 Is A Week of Weeks! There are more than 7,000 staff people at Hartford Hospital, and every one is important.

This week, April 25-29, has been set aside to especially recognize several depart-ments and professions: It is National Ad-ministrative Professionals Week, National Laundry and Linen Week, National Med-ical Laboratory Professionals Week, and National Housestaff Appreciation Week.

National Administrative Professionals WeekSince 1952, the International Associa-tion of Administrative Professionals has honored office workers by sponsoring Administrative Professionals Week.

Today, it is one of the largest workplace observances outside of employee birth-days and major holidays. The event is celebrated worldwide, bringing together millions of people for corporate activi-ties recognizing support staff.

In the year 2000, IAAP announced a name change for Professional Secretar-ies Week to Administrative Professionals Week to keep pace with changing job ti-tles and expanding responsibilities of to-day’s administrative workforce.

Today, there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assis-tants working in the United States, and 8.9 million people working in various ad-ministrative support roles.

The official “Administrative Profession-als Day” is this Wednesday. Please help celebrate the values and importance of the job of AAs here in the hospital.

April 25, 2011 Vol. 67 No. 13

Look inside for the three other groups being

recognized this week:

• National Laundry and Linen Week

• National Medical Laboratory

Professionals Week

• National Housestaff Week

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National Laundry and Linen Week

National Housestaff Appreciation Week

Nicholas Rodriguez (who has worked in the Laundry Department for 18 years) loads and inspects a Linen Exchange Cart. Laundry loads more than 110 carts daily.

Alberto Cruz has worked in the Laundry Sorting Department for 8 years.

Aleksandra Dabek feeds blankets into a folder. She has worked in the Laundry Department for 14 years.

Diane Zapala feeds underpads into the small piece folder. Diane has worked in the Laundry Department for 21 years.

Jorge Bustamante works in the Sorting Department He has worked in the Laundry for 16 years.

During this National Laundry and Linen Week, we recognize the contributions to patient care made by the Laundry team, who provides clean, fresh linens to all areas of Hartford Hospital. The Laundry Department sorts, washes, processes, and delivers over nine million pounds of laundry annually for Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, CCMC, Jefferson House, WHSC, ERN, IOL, and other locations in the HHC family.

Every day, the Laundry Department sorts, washes, processes, and delivers more than 14 tons of linens, including more than

5,000 sheets, 3,500 blankets and 4,000 underpads.

Please join us in thanking our Hartford Hospital and University of Connecticut Residents and Fellows

for the efforts, knowledge, expertise and compassion that they bring to the care of our patients at

Hartford Hospital. Their participation in our clinical activities is essential to the quality of our outcomes.

The clinical laboratory profession is a key member of today’s health care team.Laboratory professionals have the skills to unlock important medical in-formation that is pivotal to the diag-nosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

Everyday, nurses, physicians, and oth-er medical workers depend on labora-tory professionals to perform tests on body fluids, interpret the results, and help provide a complete picture of a pa-tient’s health.

Using modern biomedical equipment and complicated analysis, laboratori-ans can detect the presence of cancer; identify infectious viruses and bacteria, and measure glucose, cholesterol, or drug levels in blood. Without this pre-cise and valuable information, medi-cine would simply become guesswork.

The 2011 National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week theme, “Laboratory Professionals Get Results,” recognizes the vital contributions made to health care by medical laboratory profession-als in patient care. We are grateful for all the contributions our laboratorians make to health care.

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Anne Sheffield, the art teacher at the Webb Schools in Hartford and Cheshire, is one of only 32 art teachers selected from around the country to participate in a prestigious national art workshop sponsored by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

“The Power of Art: Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities” is a nation-al competition which celebrates excellence in art education and innovative teaching methods. The one day workshop for art teachers who work with stu-dents with learning disabilities will be held on May 20 at The Lab School in Washington DC.

The 18th annual Power of Art workshop will be presented by Christopher Rauschenberg, son of the late Robert Rauschenburg, the Master of Modern Art. The Lab School of Washington, founded in 1967, is recognized worldwide for its innovative programs for children and adults with learning disabilities. Arts play a central role in The Lab School Approach. The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to projects which will increase public awareness of subjects of vital interest to the artist, who was diagnosed in adulthood with dyslexia, including the importance and value of art edu-cation in the classroom, especially those students with learning disabilities.

Anne’s students at the Webb School create the artwork for the annual Hartford Hospital calendar.

Webb School Art Teacher Chosen to Study Teaching Art to Students With Disabilities

National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

Ethics or compliance concerns?If you have any business ethics or compliance concerns, please contact your supervisor

or call the Compliance Helpline, a confidential service, at 1-800-431-5572.

Su usted habla Espanol, favor llamar 1-800-297-8592.

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Happening at Hartford HospitalYom Hashoah ServiceStaff is cordially invited to a service for Yom Hashoah - Holocaust Memorial Day, on Monday, May 2 at noon in the Chapel. Speaker will be Rabbi Philip Lazowski.

Volunteers NeededThis Thursday, April 28, we will be host-ing Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day for children of our staff. We’re looking for dynamic volunteers to help chaperone from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. To volunteer, you will need your manag-er’s approval. The first 10 staff members to sign up will not need to use Choice Time. Contact Michaela Donnelly, 860-545-4658 or mdonnelly@harthosp.org.

Arthritis Walk May 7Join the Hartford Hospital Joint Center, Eastern Rehabilitation Network, VNA HealthCare and Hartford Medical Group and walk to support the Arthritis Foun-dation and their work to make life better for arthritis sufferers in our community. The Let’s Move Together Arthritis Walk will be held Saturday, May 7 at Saint Jo-seph College in West Hartford. Registra-tion is at 9 a.m., and the walk starts at 10. Entertainment will be provided by WTIC-FM’s Damon Scott and Mark the Shark, and there will be music, refresh-ments, and a chance to win prizes with every lap you take around the track. To register for your team, go to lets-movetogether.org, select Connecticut and sign up. All walkers receive a free T-shirt. For more information contact one of the following HHC team captains: Ben Stralka: bstralka@harthosp.orgEvi Shafefer-Shekhman: Es-c h a f f e r @ h a r t h o s p . o r g Marge Julian: Mjulian@harthosp.orgAmy Brown: abrown@vnahealthcare.org.

Library Is Here For YouNeed knowledge? Looking for evidence for your practice? Need information to answer a concern in your life? Find what you are looking for at Robinson Health Sciences Library, third floor, ERC.

Workplace Violence Prevention WorkshopsThe Hartford Hospital Safety Action Group is sponsoring one-hour presenta-tions on workplace violence prevention, provided by Len Walker, security support service manager, and his team. The ses-sions will cover a review of the violence prevention policy and the armed intrud-er/active shooter policy. A representa-tive of the Hartford Police Department will speak on their response to a pos-sible armed intruder, and give tips for handling an onsite crisis. Someone from EAP will speak on the services they offer for workplace stress reduction and other EAP services; and Heidi McKlowski from the IOL will address handling pre- and post-violent events. Sessions are open to all staff. Please enroll via HealthStream. The sessions will be repeated in the fall.

• Newington, Curtis Ampitheater, Tuesday, May 3, 1 p.m.

• HH Gilman Auditorium, Wednesday, May 18, 4 p.m.

May 1 Cut-a-Thon to Benefit Cancer CenterThe Matthew Phillips Cut-a-Thon will take place on Sunday, May 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Matthew Phillips Salon at 68 LaSalle Road in West Hartford. Haircuts will be offered at a reduced rate and all proceeds from the haircuts and raffle tickets will be donated to the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center for breast cancer research. The event will also fea-ture a silent auction, raffle prizes, food and music. To schedule an appointment please call the salon at 860-523-5261.

Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium May 18The 10th Annual Henry Low Heart Cen-ter Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium will be held Wednesday, May 18, 8 a.m.–3 p.m., in the ERC. For more information or to register online visit www.harthosp.org/CVNursingSymposium.

Join the YES Community Service Project May 14Staff members are invited to participate in a community service project on Sat-urday, May 14 with students from our Y.E.S. program (Your Educational Suc-cess), which helps HH staff members who want to begin or return to college. Y.E.S. students are coordinating a clean-up project at the Milner Core Knowledge Academy at 104 Vine Street in Hartford from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Volunteers will clean up trash, rake, plant shrubs and flowers, and paint the outdoor play area. Donate funds or donate time on May 14. For more information, contact Leticia Colon at llcolon@harthosp.org.

New Evis Medical Equipment Store in MOBEvis Medical Equipment and Respirato-ry Services is now located in the Medical Office Building in Suite 217, above Ar-row Pharmacy. Evis provides a full line of durable medical equipment, supplies, and respiratory equipment and services. They are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and free delivery is available.

Mammograms for Moms, May 7In honor of Mother’s Day, the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center is offering mammograms Saturday, May 7, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the HH Imaging Department. Cosmetic samples and free continental breakfast will be provided. Your health insurance will be billed for this service. If you do not have insurance, the cost will be covered by donated funds. Call 860-696-3000 to make an appointment.

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