December 9, 2024

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Table of Contents:

• Quality Achievements: Inpatient & Outpatient Lab

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• Incentive Point Opportunity: 2024 AGH/AGHS Educational Needs Assessment

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• Incentive Point Opportunity: Volunteers Needed for the 2025 Penguin Swim

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• Della's Closet Donation Drive

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• Show Off Your Holiday Spirit!

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• Welcome, New Associates!

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• It's Time to Break Out the Ugly Sweaters/Scrubs!

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• Masking Reminder

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• Join Us at the Winterfest of Lights

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• Attention All HealthStream Users: Mandatory Education

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• Annual OC Ravens Roost #44 Penguin Swim Raffle

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• Infinite Legacy Tissue Donor Remembrance

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• 2025 AGH Penguin Swim Basket of Cheer Raffle

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• Wellness/Wellbeing Update

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• Weekly Reflection

> Organizational Quality Achievements - Inpatient & Outpatient Lab

STAT Read Time Compliance

The Laboratory associates work diligently to process testing and get results to patient care providers in the shortest amount of time possible. Lab orders that need to be resulted immediately during critical situations are ordered by providers as STAT and require results to be sent to the ordering provider within one hour. A quality element that is measured in the lab is STAT read time compliance. The lab has shown great improvements in meeting their 95% goal by steadily improving the compliance of STAT lab turnaround times over the last 3 quarters.

C-diff ordering

Laboratory leadership and associates have worked with Patient Care leadership, Infection Prevention, and Medical Staff to reduce the number of inpatients diagnosed with C-diff while being cared for at AGH. One strategy employed to reduce C-diff was to educate providers and other members of the patient care team about appropriate C-diff testing. Many patients may test positive for C-diff even though they did not acquire the condition while in the hospital and do not suffer from an active infection. The lab tracks provider C-diff test ordering trends as a measure of quality. Over the past two calendar years the number of C-diff orders has steadily decreased, allowing for only those patients who truly need intervention to be identified.

Incentive Point Opportunity: 2024 AGH/AGHS Educational Needs Assessment

The Education Work Environment Council would like to provide a reminder that their Annual AGH/AGHS Educational Needs Assessment survey is still ongoing. The purpose of the survey is to determine associate requests for additional educational support or training on a variety of self-selected topics.

The survey will be live through December 15, 2024.

Participation in the survey can be used as 4 points towards the Associate Incentive Tool, and all associates are eligible to participate (Please print or screenshot the confirmation screen at the end of the survey for documentation of completion).

Incentive Point Opportunity: Volunteers Needed for the 2025 Penguin Swim!

Della's Closet Donation Drive

Dear Associates,

As part of our commitment to giving back to the community, we are excited to be supporting Della’s Closet with a donation drive.

Della’s Closet is a non-profit organization located in Pocomoke, Maryland. Their goal is to provide a variety of services to children in foster care and families in need in our community, including:

• New or gently used clothing, shoes, accessories, or other essential items for children and young people of all ages.
• Offering toys, games and other gifts for foster kids for the holidays.
•  Luggage and backpacks for children in foster care to help give dignity & assistance to those forced to move to new homes.
• “First night bags” containing food, snacks, clothing, personal items, and other necessities to children moving to new foster homes.

How to Donate:

Please gather your donations and place in gently used back packs or suitcases. Deliver them to Employee Health, the Chapel, or contact Gail Mansell or Tracey Mullineaux and we will pick up your items.

REMINDER: The donation drive ends on December 15

We would like to say THANK YOU to all who have donated so far. We are so proud of the amazing support shown by Atlantic General associates!

Supportive Care & Pastoral Care Services

Phone: 410-641-9725

Email: gmansell@atlanticgeneral.org

Associate Health & Wellness

Phone: 410-629-6442

Email:tmullineaux@atlanticgeneral.org

Show Off Your Holiday Spirit!

(Click here to view Decorations & Displays policy)

Welcome, New Associates!

HUGGS in Action Welcomes New Associates!

Sitting, left to right: Christine Gabriel, ICU; Nancy Cogliano, Population Health; Tacoa Johnson, Physician Billing

Standing, left to right: Christine Cook, Imaging; Kelly Jarman, Patient Accounting; Desiree Horton, Patient Accounting

It's Time to Break Out the Ugly Sweaters/Scrubs!

Masking Reminder

REMINDER: As of December 1, 2024, Associates who have an approved medical/religious flu vaccine exemption are required to wear a surgical mask in all inpatient and outpatient areas during the designated flu season. 

Join Us at the Winterfest of Lights

Attention All HealthStream Users: Mandatory Education

23 days remaining to be in compliance!

• Please check under your “To Do” list.
• Due date: December 31, 2024.
• Contact the Education Department with any questions.

Reminders...

• Physicians, NPs and PAs are not required to complete HealthStream assignments.
•  Associates attending hospital orientation in November or December of 2024 will receive a modified version of the assignment.
•  Always log in through Edge or Chrome to access HealthStream
•  If you are asked to change your password, please follow the prompts.

Thank you,

Education Department

Call: 410-641-9538, 410-629-6883, 410-641-9973 or 410-641-9275 

Annual OC Ravens Roost #44 Penguin Swim Raffle

Infinite Legacy Tissue Donor Remembrance

2025 AGH Penguin Swim Basket of Cheer Raffle

Associates Getting Healthy Wellbeing Program

Our goal is to focus on your overall wellbeing. We want to encourage and support ALL associates to take action on the 8 Dimensions of Wellness in order to build everyday habits, which improve quality of life. We invite all program participants to think of wellbeing as being healthy in many dimensions of our lives. This includes the emotional, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, environmental and spiritual parts.

Program Requirements:

1. Complete an annual physical within the wellness cycle (January 1 - November 1). Physicals completed in November or December of prior year will be accepted.
2. Self-report on how you completed 5 of the 8 dimensions of wellness (not including the annual physical).

Medical Plan Participants will earn/maintain a $25.00 per pay insurance premium differential beginning Jan.1, 2026. Non-Medical Participants will be entered into a raffle for a $250 gift card. The gift card will be awarded at the end of the wellness cycle. 

Questions? Email: associatewellness@atlanticgeneral.org OR stop by the cafeteria to learn more about our new wellbeing program on the following days:

Tuesday, December 10 | 11:30am - 12:30pm

Wednesday, December 11 | 11:30am - 12:30pm

Tuesday, Dec 17 | 11:30am - 12:30pm

Thursday, December 19 | 11:30am - 12:30pm

Wellness/Wellbeing brochures are located on the Intranet’s home page under the Wellbeing Program tab.

December Wellbeing Topic: Spiritual Wellbeing (Week 2)

This week we delve into Compassion Fatigue and Spiritual Wellbeing. Spirituality and religious identity can be protective factors against compassion fatigue.

We encourage you to join our Zoom discussions and chat about the month’s wellbeing topic or any other thoughts on your mind on the 3rd Wednesday each month from 1:00 to 1:30 PM. It’s a great time to connect, reflect, and recharge.

Zoom: https://atlanticgeneral.zoom.us/j/3388475274

Meeting ID: 338 847 5274

We also invite you to stop by The Well in the Chapel, where you can relax and pick up printed copies of the weekly articles. Take a few moments to recharge your batteries in a peaceful setting.

Please click the button below to view this week's articles

[also found on the associate intranet - Associate Services>Wellbeing (Wellness) & Code Lavender>Wellbeing (Wellness)]

Join us as we celebrate YOU & the upcoming holidays! We look forward to hearing from you.

Supportive Care & Pastoral Care Services

Phone: 410-641-9725

Email: gmansell@atlanticgeneral.org

Associate Health & Wellness

Phone: 410-629-6442

Email:tmullineaux@atlanticgeneral.org

Chaplains Gail, Wendy, Bruce, Eric & Lora are available to offer you support and words of encouragement. You may call us at 410-641-9725 or 410-629-6848 or send an email:

gmansell@atlanticgeneral.org

wmindte@atlanticgeneral.org

bpurpura@atlanticgeneral.org

lspangratz@atlanticgeneral.org



Stay Strong & Power On!