GO LIVE

NUR will go live in Mother/Baby, Antepartal, and Labor & Delivery on March 13^th!

HOSPITAL OF THE YEAR

We are so proud of being named Hospital of the Year by the Louisiana State Nurses Association, we decided to toot our own horn about it.

You may have noticed an ad in the Sunday Advocate. Now you'll see a PINK billboard telling all who pass by on I-12 how proud we are of our latest achievement.

Road to Retirement Redesign
By Therese Bourgoyne

Once upon a time, we started a project named retirement redesign.  The goal was to determine whether the retirement plan was meeting the needs of our employees.  After much involvement from employees, attorneys, actuaries and consultants, we presented a recommendation to the Woman’s Hospital Board.  The Board approved the recommendation to freeze, and later terminate the Woman’s Hospital cash balance retirement plan, and form a new, improved retirement plan.

Two and a half years later, the project is nearing the final act.  Communications regarding this project have gone out in many different stages.  A few of them included:

• A description of what changes would take place

• What those changes meant to YOU

• A request for personal information needed to calculate your benefit

• A request to verify the information used to calculate your benefit

• Estimates of your benefit payment choices

• Real numbers and descriptions of the choices you’re going to have to make.

Now, the last communication is coming, and you have to make a decision!  It’s time to distribute your accrued benefit from the cash balance retirement plan.

The “decision packet” will be mailed to participants by March 12, 2007.  It is very important that you take the time to carefully read the materials.  Share it with your spouse, significant other, or financial advisor -- to assist you with your decision-making process.

The decision packet will have much of the information you’ve already seen, but it will include much, much more.  (A number of trees lost their lives in the preparation of this mailing, so be respectful!)   The packets are customized, so the longer you’ve been employed, the more complicated your calculations are, therefore your packet will include more information.

The deadline to return paperwork to human resources is April 16^th. 

Benefits will be distributed as of May 1, 2007.  Many of you will have questions, and I will be around to urge you to roll your benefit into another retirement plan.  Representatives from Diversified will be in the house from March 21^st – March 24^th to answer questions and assist you in completing paperwork.  Brian Watkins and I will be available to meet with you every third Tuesday between the hours of 3 and 5. (Just kidding…..all vacation is on hold until May, so we’re available to answer questions too.)  To make an appointment to meet with one of the reps, Brian or Therese, please call extension 4655.  

Moving Up

Accounting
Accounting will soon welcome two new financial analysts:  Anita Howard and Kathryn Trick.  Both Anita and Kathryn are current employees.  Anita has served as capital equipment coordinator and contract assistant in Materials Management for the last 3 years and Kathryn has served as technical editor for Maternal-Fetal Health Informatics and Outreach Program in Department of Defense for the last year in a half. 

The financial analysts will be responsible for assisting managers, directors and vice presidents with their budgets, variance explanations and any other accounting related issues a department may encounter.

Labor and Delivery
Monica Frederic, RNC, has accepted the Nurse Manager position for Labor and Delivery. Amye Reeves and Monica will be sharing responsibilities of the Nurse Manager position in Labor and Delivery.

Mother/Baby
Karrie Delise, RNC, has been named nurse manager for Mother/Baby. Delise has worked in Mother/Baby since her graduation from Southeastern in 1998 with her bachelor's degree in nursing. She received her certification from the National Certification Corporation in maternal/newborn nursing in 2000. She has had multiple roles in Mother/Baby including transition, preceptor, and relief charge nurse. She has been an active member in AWHONN, hospital committees, and community projects.

Nursing Informatics
Lori Denstel is the nursing informatics manager.  Tanya Johnson and Inga Henagan have accepted positions as nursing informatics specialists.  They will be responsible for developing and implementing Meditech NUR, Meditech EDM, E-MAR and other nursing informatics programs.

Sharon Odenwald has accepted the position as nurse manager of the Assessment Center. 

Jann Fried will remain clinical educator for obstetrical services.

Hurricane Katrina Nursing Research Project

Kazumi Adachi, a doctoral student at the University of Hyogo, Japan, interviewed nurses from Woman's Hospital who worked during Hurricane Katrina.  A few of our nurses hosted Kazumi while she was in Louisiana and gave her insights into life before, during and after the hurricane.

Kazumi's objective was to visit the site of the hurricane's landfall and listen to nurses' experiences. She is currently compiling the information she gathered for her doctoral research project.

Kazumi sent the following email in response to our nurses' hospitality.

"I can not find the words to say [thank you] for your help.  If you were not in Baton Rouge, I could not [have] received the [many] treasured resources related to disaster nursing and could not [have] met so many great nurses...Please say thank you to your family, executive director nurse, head nurse and nurses of Woman's Hospital for me."

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