Pulse

Volume5/1990_August15PULSE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER August 15, 1990 Yoshie Okimoto No. 1 Staffer in August! You'd never guess she works with Medicaid forms all day. Yoshie Okimoto, August's employee of the month, is fun- loving, warm and energetic. Behind Okimoto's genteel manner, softened by a charming Japanese accent, is a rugged individualist who knows when and where to speak her mind. " I express my feelings- come out and say what I feel," she says. This straightforward approach, she feels, works well in the office, where she says, too often, people complain or gripe rather than talking things over with co- workers or supervisors. Okimoto- or Yoyo as friends call her- believes in individual responsi-bility. " You can't ask somebody else to make this a great place to work," she explains. This do- it- yourself attitude has served her well during her two- decade tenure at U Hospital, where she has worked nearly every position in the billing office. She first joined the hospital family as a volunteer, visiting patients on the various units. However, seeing extremely ill patients was hard for her and when a job opened up in the billing office, she took it. Okimoto's supervisor, Deb Steinberg, says she is an inspiration to everyone in the office. " Her work is excellent. She's very upbeat, always has input and she's willing to take on extra work," Steinberg says. And now, after all her hard work, Okimoto is ready to play. She will retire from the hospital Oct. 1. The first item on her retirement agenda: travel. Her itinerary includes Califor-nia, Japan and Brazil in the next year. Next, she wants to see the United States. She is especially anxious to visit Washington, D. C. Says Okimoto, who became a U. S. citizen in 1956, " I'd like to see my capital." Although she frequents all the local Japanese restaurants and plays Japanese music at home, Okimoto fashions herself very much an American. When she shops, she says she looks for the " Made in the USA" label. " This is really a great country." Next to food, sports is one of her greatest interests- as both spectator and participant. She is a big fan of the Ute basketball and football teams. She Former Medical School Dean Dies Franklin G. Ebaugh Jr., M. D., a former dean of the U School of Medicine, died Aug. 7,1990, at his home in Palo Alto, Calif., of cancer. He had been affiliated with the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center since 1971 and was chief of staff there at the time of his death. Dr. Ebaugh assumed the deanship of the U's medical school in 1969, at a time when the medical school's clinical arm, the new University Hospital, was experiencing severe financial problems. His astute recruitment of professional hospital administrators and faculty contributed to the facility's fiscal recovery and to the development of strong clinical and academic programs. Before coming to Utah, Dr. Ebaugh was dean of the Boston University School of Medicine and was recog-nized for his clinical investigations in hematology. He previously had been on the staff of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. Yoshie " Yoyo" Okimoto swims and hopes to do more bowling after her retirement. Okimoto also loves the outdoors and camping, but adds, " I don't like fishing because I don't like to touch the worm." Says Okimoto of her working life, " If you try your best, there is always a reward." Working at the hospital has been " a happy experience," she adds. " This is nice way to go out." Cancer Service Moves The Cancer Information Service, located at University Hospital for two years, recently has relocated to Research Park. The office, now in the Associated Regional and University Pathologists ( ARUP) building, 500 Chipeta Way, is one of 20 centers nationwide funded by the National Cancer Institute. According to program coordinator Kathryn Manning, the service is " a link between the Na-tional Cancer Institute and the public." The Service's number is 1- 800- 4CANCER. U Neonatal R. N. Gets National Award A staff nurse in University Hospi-tal's Newborn Intensive Care Unit ( NBICU) has received the 1990 Robyn Main Excellence in Clinical Practice Award from the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. Kristina M. Plaas, R. N., a four-year veteran at UH, was selected from a field of national nominees for the award. She is the second- ever recipient of the honor. Nominees were judged on their ability to care for the families of their patients, their skills with premature infants, their professionalism and their ability to work with other members of the health- care team. " Kristina Plaas is a superb neonatal nurse and has been instrumental in developing standards of care for the very low- birth- weight infants. She is a role model for our staff nurses and as such sets a standard of excellence in nursing care," said Sandra McAtee, R. N., NBICU head nurse. Plaas, who will complete her master's degree in nursing this December, says she spends a lot of time working with nursing students, orienting them and consulting with them on patient cases. She also sits on the hospital's nursing practice task force and wrote most of the nursing practice standards for her unit. Nursing is every bit as much an art as it is a science, Plaas says. She also says families can easily tell when a nurse goes beyond the minimum in caring for the patient. Once Friends, Always Friends Theirs is a story of a friendship come full- circle. In the early 1950s, two Red Cross Gray Ladies at Salt Lake County General Hospital became good friends while volunteer-ing in the psychiatric ward there. They decided that their two daughters needed to meet. Elaine Athens and Dorothy Webster were introduced as they began volunteering at the hospital, alongside their mothers, and soon became good friends. Not long after, though, they went their separate ways: Athens to raise her family and Webster to teach school. Though they've kept in touch all those years, the two renewed their friendship three years ago as they became volunteers at University Hospital. Athens is a " friendly visitor" where she works her way through the hospital units, visiting patients who wish to talk. Webster is a lobby hostess and delivers flowers to patients' rooms. " Now we're really close again," Athens said. The two, who live in Holladay, often carpool on Wednes-day afternoons for their weekly shift at the hospital. Both also are members of the UH Auxiliary. If you are interested in joining a medical center bowling league, contact Game Healey, xl- 2088. Play starts soon. UUMC Briefs • Beat Beethoven, Utah Sym-phony's 5K race/ fund raiser is Sept. 1. The U Medical Center has won the corporate award several years for having the most entrants. Let's do it again! Watch for a registration table in the cafeteria soon. You also can register in Medical Illustrations or Community Relations. For more information, call Julian Maack, xl- 6886. Catering: Plates that Please the Palate Nutrition Care Services has been in the catering business for a long time, but this summer, with the addition of a full- time coordinator, it is beefing up its services. Carol Elliot joined the hospital several months ago to direct the catering arm of NCS. Her first objective has been to " improve customer service," she says. In addition to making sure your food arrives on time and is pleasingly presented, Elliot is available to help you plan your menus. Elliot is proud of the NCS catering staff. " We can compete with any hotel in town," she says. If you could use some help in customizing your catering needs, call Elliot, x 1- 2201. Carol Elliot • Wet ' n' Wild! Don't forget the hospital picnic next week, Aug. 23 at Raging Waters, 1200 West 1700 South. It's sure to be a great time for swimmers and landlubbers alike. • For a soothing visual experience, stop by the Hallside Gallery to enjoy the watercolors and oil paintings of artist Judy Calhoun. Her exhibit, on display through Aug. 31, is in Medical Illustrations, AC 113. Kristina Plaa