Pulse

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER PULSE March 15, 1991 Cost- utting Measures Continue at UH Snack Shop to Close University Hospital's latest round of budget- cutting measures has been put into place this week, resulting in the permanent closure of the Snack Shop, creation of a separate Hospital payroll office, and lay- offs of some hourly staff. The Snack Shop will close at 2 a. m., Saturday, March 16. According to Laura Rackley, director of Nutrition Care Services, the shop had been losing money in recent months, since its hours were extended. Hospital administrators indicate that the Snack Shop is located in prime patient- care space. To accommodate night- shift personnel, the cafeteria will extend its operating hours starting Monday, March 18, to 10 p. m. on weekdays. Wasatch Spectrum currently closes at 6: 30 p. m. The cafeteria is open 8 a. m.- 8 p. m. on Saturdays and Sun-days. In another budget- tightening move, administrators will create a Hospital payroll office to streamline and monitor the pay system. The new office will be headed by Dave Jex and will be staffed by specialists from existing Hospital personnel. The office's first objective will be to ensure that employees working less than 75 percent time do not draw benefits and that staff members are not paid sick or vacation time above their FTE ( full- time equivalency) level. The new office also will institute an audit process to check for payroll abuses. According to Sylva Staab, person-nel director, most departments are decreasing staff sizes through attrition. Though the Snack Shop closure affects employees, Rackley says she has been able to find other positions in her department for the full- time people. Within the past three weeks, several services have laid off hourly staff and some services have cut back hours. Nursing Practice is looking to cut costs by trimming its use of agency personnel, which Staab says costs the Hospital more than using in-house staff. " We realize that this budgetary review process and subsequent cost-containment measures are tough on everyone. But I want to thank everyone for their cooperation in this effort," said Dale Gunnell, associate administrator for finance. " We are making headway." The Fit Finish First! University Hospital's annual Classic 5K Run/ Leisure Walk is just a month away. Last year more than 400 runners and walkers went the distance on the course, which starts at the State Department of Health complex ( just west of the Medical Center) and winds through Research Park. This year's race is slated for Saturday, April 13,9 a. m. T- shirts and registration forms will be available in Medical Illustrations and Community Relations next week. Cost is 59. A Taste of Easter The Hospital Auxiliary will be celebrating Easter and raising a little money for patient care by selling tempting personalized chocolate Easter eggs, Friday, March 29, 9 a. m.- 1 p. m, on the first floor bridge. The 4- ounce eggs are $ 2.50. The Auxil-iary also will sell Easter lilies and other flowering plants, ranging from $ 1.25-$ 8. For more information, contact Vicki Todd, 277- 4631 or 272- 8888. Clinical Alert The National Institutes of Health has issued its second clinical alert, titled " Benefit of Carotid Endar-terectomy for Patients with High-grade Stenosis of the Internal Carotid Artery." Copies of the alerts are available at the reference desk at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library and the Hope Fox Eccles Clinical Library. Questions? Call Kathleen M. McCloskey, xl- 4686. Labor of Love In my two years of employment at the Health Sciences Center, " quality care" has become a phrase that my keyboard routinely inserts into stories about University Hospital. Last weekend, however, those two words came to mean something more than a cliche. My wife gave birth to our first child at UH on Saturday at 1: 31 p. m. It was an 18- hour ordeal that went incredibly smoothly thanks to a competent and compassionate nursing and medical staff. Case in point: Karen Passey was our primary care nurse for the final seven hours of labor. Her clinical skills and technical knowledge were impeccable and, equally important to two nervous first- time parents- to- be, in between all the procedures and paperwork, she took the time to talk with us, sharing a little of herself and adding some much- appreciated reassurance. I expect that Howard C. Sharp, M. D., has delivered more babies than I have hairs on my head. Still, during the past nine months, he always made Sheri and me feel special; we were comforted knowing we were in the care of such a seasoned and dedicated doctor. These were two of the stars in this high theater called birth, but I acknowledge and applaud the roles of the supporting cast in this miracle now known at our house as Megan. ( I hope you'll understand this proud father is using his editorial prerogative to extend a genuine thanks!) - Bryant Larsen Editor U InfoFair to Explore Connectivity META- l- a new computer resource that will address the Tower of Babel phenomenon of medical terminology, will be featured at this year's InfoFair, sponsored by the University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. The theme of this year's ninth annual InfoFair, slated for April 4 on the health sciences campus, is connectivity. The keynote speaker will be Mark S. Tuttle, vice president of Lexical Technology, Inc., Alameda, Calif. Tuttle's company has contracted with the National Library of Medicine to develop the metathesaurus, known as META- l. Tuttle will demonstrate the program, which may prove a major breakthrough in biomedical informa-tion access. Currently, unique sets of terminol-ogy are used in different medical databases. So while a physician may do computer searches for information on " electrocardiography," his or her colleagues in medical records have coded the same information under the classification " 85.92," and on other Mark Tuttle databases, it may be found under yet different names. META- l's job is to link those synonymous headings in such a way that they can be accessed no matter what word is entered. Tuttle is a graduate of Dartmouth College and did graduate work in computer science at Harvard Univer-sity. From 1973- 87 he was an instructor at the University of California- Berkeley and collabo-rated with researchers at the Section on Medical Information Science at the University of California- San Francisco. Art Committee Sponsors Saturday Concert The Modern Mandolin Quartet, a classical mandolin ensemble, will be " in concert" for UH patients, their families and employees who can briefly leave their duties Saturday, March 16, at 1: 30 p. m., in the Hope Chapel and adjoining waiting area. The group will be in Salt Lake City for a concert that evening in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts auditorium. Casey Jarman, UH Arts Committee member, arranged for the group to perform at the Hospital. This is the Magic of the Lens at Hallside Gallery March's Hallside Gallery high-lights the landscape photography of Bob Gallagher. " My interest in photography began in the 1960s while I was in the Army in Korea. The beautiful colors and scenic countryside were breathtaking. I needed to share this beauty," Gallagher says. Wildlife and scenic vistas in the Mountain West have continued to catch Gallagher's eye. An accounting supervisor for the University Book-store, Gallagher won the Heber Valley photography contest. His work will be on display through March 31 in AC113. Arts Committee's third performing arts presentation, following the hugely successful appearance by Ballet West and a Saint Patrick's Day concert by an Irish soprano last year. The quartet is from San Francisco, where they record for Windham Recording Studios. The concert will last approximately 45 minutes. " We are very appreciative of the Arts Committee's efforts to create a more aesthetically pleasing atmos-phere within the Hospital. Patients, families and employees alike need to be reminded often that there is more to life than the sickness, disease and accompanying social and financial problems we share each day. I urge everyone to support the committee and thank the members for their efforts," said George W. Belsey, UH executive director.