Pulse

Volume5/1993_June28June 28,1993 PULSE V UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER College Of Nursing RN/ MS Program Receives Intermountain Health Care Support The University of Utah College of Nursing's RN to MS Program has been awarded $ 45,000 by the Intermountain Health Care Foundation. The program, which began in the fall of 1992, provides an opportunity for nurses with associate degrees in nursing to earn their bacca-laureate and master's degrees which will qualify them to teach, serve in administrative roles, or work as specialty nurses. " Nurses with master's degrees are essential in providing leadership. Master's- prepared nurses also fulfill an important role as case managers who coordinate the delivery of services to patients. Case managers serve as a link between patients and their families and the multiple physicians who often treat the same patient. Everyone benefits from improved commu-nication and personal attention to each patient's unique needs," said Linda K. Amos, Ed. D„ dean and professor of the nursing college. The Intermountain Health Care gift will support salaries of clinical faculty who teach in the U's program, Amos said. Because the RN/ MS classes are intensive, a greater number of instructors is necessary to maintain a low student- teacher ratio. Twenty students are admitted to the program each year. • Mini Open Champs Shoot Six Under Congratulations to the winners of last week's Univer-sity Hospital Mini Utah Open. The team of Tim Branigan, Karen Diepietro, Lisa Wagner and Kent Brown captured first place with a score of 6- under- par and received $ 20 gift certificates. Three teams tied for second place with 3- under- par. Each player received $ 10.90 in gift certificates. Team one consisted of Ed Nakashima, Janice Nakashima, Tiffany Powell and A! Tokunaga. Karolyn Braden, Jim Braden and Wally Roller were on team two, and the third team included Jim Behnke, Gary Emery, Georgine Bills and Karen Hillier. Kevin McCusker was the long- drive winner on hole No. 4, and Robyn Riley was the long- driver for the. women. On hole No. 6, Allen Bush and Lesa Nelson were closest to the hole, and Wally Koller and Jan Arendtsen were the closest on No. 9. Each winner of the long drive and closest to the hole received six golf balls. Pulse would like to thank AI Tokunaga, Larry Will-iams and Brigid Mclntyre for organizing this year's event. • McCandless Named Interim Dean Of U College Of Health Compton To Resume Teaching After Sabbatical Geary A. McCandless, Ph. D., has been named interim dean of the University of Utah College of Health, effective July 1,1993. David M. Compton, Ed. D., has retired as dean and will return to teaching after a six- month sabbatical as a Visiting Scholar at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. A specialist in communi-cation disorders, McCandless has been professor and head of audiology in the College of Health since 1969. A graduate of Brigham Young and Wayne State universities, McCandless has served as editor or reviewer of most of the academic journals dealing with speech and hearing disorders. Recipient of the College of Health's Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award, he also has been involved in the University's cochlear implant or artificial hearing project. " We are fortunate to have an individual of Dr. McCandless' experience ready to step in as interim dean while we conduct a national search for a permanent replacement," said John M. Matsen, M. D., vice president for health sciences. " I'm certain the work of the college will continue apace, without skipping a beat." • New Location For University Hospital Picnic Mark your calendar. The 1993 University Hospital Picnic is sched-uled for Wednesday, July 28, at its new location- Murray Park. This year's picnic could be the best ever. With more than 20 games ( for children as well as adults), magicians, ponies, a kids' train, sky divers, hot air balloon rides and lots of free food, there's fun for the entire family. The picnic will begin at 11 a. m. and continue until 10 p. m. Watch Pulse for more details! w Printed on Recycled Paper ' Dirty Laundry' Means Big Business For U Hospital's Linen Services Very soon, the Linen Services Department at University Hospital will become one of the survivors among Salt Lake Valley hospitals. In today's fast- paced world of " get things done now," most hospitals have eliminated their on- site linen service departments and use outside commercial service. Currently, University Hospital and Veterans Administration Medical Center are the only hospitals with linen facilities. But even with the break- up of other hospital linen departments, the UH facility remains stronger and more efficient than ever. What makes this department so successful? Hard work, great managing skills and the pride employees have in their work, according to John Zastowney, director of Linen Services. " People say we're only doing laundry. I say we're running a business," explained Zastowney. " We clean approximately 10,000 pounds of laundry a day. To do that efficiently, you have to use good business sense. Our managers are good, and our employees are very efficient. That's why we are still here and will remain here." Zastowney noted Teri Hill, trainer in Linen Services, folds one of that his employees the many blankets used by UH patients. work little, if any, overtime. The 35 employees service all areas of the hospital in a 40- hour workweek. Also, the department is proud of its very low turnover rate. DRESSING CASUAL FOR A CAUSE Employees in University Hospital's Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation dressed causally last Friday, June 18, while participating in National Casual Day. By donating $ 5 or $ 10 to benefit victims of cerebral palsy, each employee received a T- shirt and dressed in casual clothing all day. Cecile Christiansen, R. N., BSN, and Lainie Smith organized the event. Daniel Sanchez, washroom operator, reaches through the thousands of pounds of dirty linen the department is responsible for cleaning every day. " We went from cleaning 1.9 million pounds of linen in 1985, to the 3 million pounds we anticipate this year," added Zastowney. " Our employees are proud of the work they do, and they are very good at it. We provide the hospital with a service that is very competitive with outside sources." The department recently celebrated National Institutional Laundry/ Linen Week. Employees designed and decorated the display case next to the Wasatch Spectrum Cafeteria and wore T-shirts with this year's theme, " We Take Pride In Our Work." " At University Hospital we have one of the outstanding hospital linen services in the country," said Evelyn Hartigan, R. N., Ed. D., associate administrator, Patient Care Services. " Linen Services is especially important to nurses. We count on them to meet our needs, and our department does that. I have tried using outside laundry services while working at other hospitals, and there is absolutely no question in my mind which option is better~ a system like we have here at University Hospital." • Former Medical Student Elected To AMA Post Mark N. Bair, M. D., a 1991 graduate of the University of Utah School of Medicine, was elected National Vice Chair of the Resident Physician Section of the American Medical Association at the June AMA meeting in Chicago. Dr. Bair is currently a second- year resident in emer-gency medicine at the Mercy Hospital/ University of Illinois program in Chicago. He also is a 1987 graduate of the U of U's ^ College of Pharmacy, and is the son of Jan Bair, interim associate administrator. Profes-sional Services at University Hospital.