Volume 24 Issue No. 49 - November 30 2015

Vol. 24 • No. 49 • Nov. 30, 2015
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QMC Employee of the Month
Making Queen’s Special
TEARS OF JOY flowed with abandon
when Virginia Fernandez was announced
as QMC’s November Employee of the
Month. Virgie is a 28-year veteran of Food
& Nutritional Services. Now working at
Café Aloha, Virgie previously worked in the
POB’s original coffee shop. Before that, she
prepared and delivered patient meal trays.
“I loved that interaction with the patients,” Virgie recalls. She held her Food
& Nutrition Aid position for 15 years until her manager, Amy Murai, urged her
to give retail a shot. “I think you will be
good at this,” Amy encouraged. Hesitant at first, Virgie grew more confident.
Now her regular customers look for her
at Café Aloha. Her nomination comments
include: “She is the hardest worker and
never sits idle. She is very genuine and always has a smile. She knows everyone by
name and knows their usual order, too!”
Her current manager, April Light, calls
Virgie a true example of what makes
Queen’s a special place to work. “She
has built a great rapport with customers,
is warm and happy, and her personality
is infectious,” April says. “The staff at the
café are well trained and responsive to
the needs of the consumer and that’s due
to the guidance Virgie provides.”
“It’s fun work and this is such a great
place to work at,” says Virgie. She calls
Vangie Caraang her pilot, “She runs the
register and makes my job easier. I’m her
co-pilot.” She also gives a shout out to
April: “She played a big role in where I am
today. I didn’t want the lead position, but
she believed in me and pushed me. April
always sees what I do and appreciates it.
I thank her from the bottom of my heart.”
Virgie confessed that she had just
been looking at the EOM display and
jokingly commented, “When do I get to
Virginia Fernandez
Title: Lead Food Service Worker, Dining Room
Department: Food & Nutrition Services
Location: Café Aloha
Years at Queen’s: 28
Free Time: Revolves around family—shopping with daughter Jaylene, cooking, eating,
movies, poker.
be the EOM?” A coworker casually responded, “Oh, maybe tomorrow….” But
they didn’t spill the beans and Virgie was
surprised to tears when she received her
award. “You’re all here…hey, why aren’t
you in school?” she asked, spying her
high school age daughter Jaylene (below,
left) amongst family and friends.
Mother and daughter are very close;
Virgie isn’t looking forward to next year
when Jaylene will attend a mainland college. “She can’t wait to go; her brothers
both went and they live in Nevada now,”
Virgie explained. Her husband Nestor is a
carpenter and works off-island, but there
are lots of family members to fill in. Virgie
is one of seven siblings and her big sister
Shirley Vergara also works in Queen’s Food
Services as does Shirley’s husband Dante.
Award of Excellence
QHS Managers • First Quarter FY 15/6
Patients First is our credo, and managers and
directors are charged with finding ways to
make it happen. The Queen’s Health Systems
acknowledges their efforts with quarterly
Awards of Excellence. The System Leadership
Council selects honorees based on:
• Quality and Performance
• Creativity and Innovation
• Organizational/Departmental
Accomplishments & Positive Returns
• Outstanding Customer Service.
Annalyn Ogata
Heidi Roxburgh-Edstrom
AnnaLyn Ogata, Director,
Oncology, Administration
Years of Service: 4
Commendations:
• Integral in improving patient satisfaction
scores in Radiation Oncology and at the
Queen’s Cancer Center (QCC)
• Developed multidisciplinary care clinics
within QCC
• A leader in the MD Anderson Cancer
Network® initiative.
Heidi Roxburgh-Edstrom, Director, North
Hawai‘i Community Hospital, Surgical and
Critical Care Unit
Years of Service: 4
Commendations:
• Assumed additional role of Director of
Oncology, a new service line for NHCH
and a much needed service on Hawai‘i
Island.
• Worked closely with QMC VP Darlena
Chadwick to develop the NHCH Cancer
Center from the ground up.
Sasha Kimura, Nurse Manager, PACU/
Kinau 3/AP, Surgical Services
Sasha Kimura
Rebecca Ohta
Years of Service: 8
Commendations:
• Consistently focuses on what is best for
our patients
• Helpful in managing patients in PACU and
Kinau 3 when beds are tight
• Always assures that patients have a
positive experience.
Rebecca Ohta, Manager, Research Integrity &
Quality Assurance, Research Regulatory Office.
Years of Service: 21.
Commendations:
• Put together a task force to ensure clinical
research compliance.
• Due to her diligence, Queen’s is well-prepared with the right infrastructure, software,
team work, and procedures in place to meet
future changes in Medicare requirements.
Behind Every Good Therapist…
“Behind every good therapist is a good Rehab Assistant,” reports the Queen’s Rehab
staff. Every November the Rehab Department holds a mahalo luncheon to show their
assistants their appreciation for all they do. There are seven assistants at Punchbowl
and one at QMC-West O’ahu and they are well worth celebrating.
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Continue Meatless
Monday for
Better Health
By Alana Busekrus, RN, CDE
Queen’s Diabetes Education Center
Although this is the last Monday in Diabetes Month, consider continuing with the
Meatless Mondays movement. Here are
some tips for reducing your meat intake
and realizing the health benefits of eating
well by eating more plant-based proteins.
Challenge yourself to: Skip the meat
at breakfast. It’s important to include protein at breakfast, but that doesn’t have to
be meat. In fact, sausage and bacon tend
to be high in unhealthy fats and sodium.
Try an egg or yogurt, or spread some nut
butter on whole grain toast. You can also
make a smoothie with low-fat milk, soy
milk, or silken tofu.
Make meat a side dish. Many of us
think of meat as our main course when
it really should be the size of a side dish.
Plan for the meat portion of your meal to
take up no more than a quarter of your
plate. Use this as a chance to treat yourself to a great (but smaller) cut of meat
or try some tasty roasted chicken or fish.
Choose recipes you can alter. Try
adding less meat or more veggies to
meals like casseroles, quesadillas, salads,
stuffed peppers, pastas, or omelets. If
you have a recipe that calls for meat, try
cutting back and replacing it with lowercalorie, lower-carbohydrate vegetables
like bok choy, watercress, bittermelon,
carrots, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, kale,
seaweed, eggplant, or cabbage. To learn
more about eating well browse: http://
www.nutrition.gov/smart-nutrition-101.
Physicians Giving More Than Patient Care
DOCTORS DO MORE than make patients well. Many are partners in Queen’s
Mission through their generous giving. So
far, they have donated over $550,000. To
recognize their generosity, a Physicians’
Legacy of Giving donor wall (above) has
been installed in Nalani 1 next to Admissions. Along with the many physician
donors, the wall features highlights of
Queen’s 157-year history.
Above & left: Physicians were honored at a
dinner and donor wall unveiling.
Solving Nursing Practice Issues
IF YOU HAVE A NURSING ISSUE at
Queen’s, there’s a place you can go
to get it resolved: the Nursing Practice Council (NPC). An extension of the
Shared Governance structure at QMC,
the NPC’s main purpose is to “address
nursing practice issues that enhance
quality patient care” through evidenced
based practice. Issues are identified,
addressed, and resolved through open
communication and collaboration in a
timely and professional manner. NPC also
serves as a liaison between nursing staff
and the organization, helping to maintain
“accountability for actions and setting
standards for nursing practice at QMC”.
The NPC is comprised of QMC’s Chief
Nursing Officer, registered nurses from
various service lines/departments, nurse
managers, Pharmacy staff, APRNs, and
director-level guidance.
For those unfamiliar with the process,
nursing issues/concerns and changes in
practice can be relayed to NPC via two
methods. 1) A practice referral may be
completed to highlight specific concern(s)
throughout the organization; or 2) an
agenda request can be submitted to ensure a presentation time slot at NPC’s
monthly meeting. To start the process
for either method, staff should visit the
Queen’s Intranet>Nursing at Queens>
Governance Structure>Nursing Practice
Council. The practice Referral Form and
Agenda Request tabs are on the left hand
side of the screen. Practice referrals are
updated and posted quarterly on NPC’s
webpage. In addition to practice issues,
members receive reports from representatives addressing CAUTI, CLABSI, Pressure ulcer prevalence, Falls, Medication
errors, Mosby’s, Nursing Peer Review
trends/educational highlights, and the
Clinical Ladder program.
Nursing Practice Council
Meetings: Every 4th Wednesday of the
month, 12:30 – 2:00 pm, QET 10 patient
education/conference room.
CURRENT MEMBERS
Chair: Clivette “Kehau” Won
Co-chair: Stacey Onaga
CNO: Cindy Kamikawa
Director & Evidenced Based Practice:
Renee Latimer
Administrative Support: Gwen Isherwood
Behavioral Health: Vanessa Louis and
Carolyn Hanakahi
Critical Care: Jane Yee
Med/Surg: Margaret Pascual, Brenda Ana
Nursing Products: Cheryl Fallon
Periop and Perianesthesia:
Evelyn Berghell
Pharmacy: Chelsea Suzuki
Women’s Health & Maternity:
Kari Delude, Deb Trankel
Pediatrics: Cyndi Kitkowski
APRN: Patricia Slachta, Claire Yoshida
Clinical Education: Bucky Bogaev
Nursing Peer Review Triad: Liane Fujita,
Jill Slade, Deb Trankel
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A BED FAIR will be held at Queen’s
Punchbowl to assess possible bed selections. All interested staff are invited to
check them out and offer feedback. The
bed display will be located next to the
Wound Care Center/Queen Emma Outpatient Center on QET Ground. Viewing
hours are Monday, November 30, 10:00
am - 8:00 pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday, December 1 - 3, 7:30 am - 6:00
pm; and Friday, December 4, 7:30 am 2:00 pm. There will be examples of three
bed frames and their support systems.
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VOLUNTEER TO HELP North Hawai‘i
Community Hospital at the 54th Annual
Waimea Christmas Twilight Parade on
Saturday, December 5. Keiki at least five
years old ride on the float, while adult
volunteers walk alongside and hand out
goodies to the crowd. Parade festivities usually last from 5:00 – 8:00 pm.
Call Laurie Edmondson, Special Events
Coordinator, at 881-4425 to volunteer.
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IT HELP DESK HAS EXPANDED service
hours at North Hawai‘i Community Hospital to 24/7 coverage. The QHS support
number is 808-691-HELP, or 1-HELP if
dialed within the NHCH building.
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IS IT MY THYROID?, a free Speaking of Health lecture, will be presented
on Wednesday, December 9, from 5:30
- 7:00 pm at the Queen’s Conference
Center. Join QMC Surgical Oncology
Program Director Shane Morita, MD, to
learn about the thyroid and its associated conditions. Patients will also be on
hand to share their personal experiences.
Call the Queen’s Referral Line at 691-7117
to make a reservation.
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PRESIDENTS’ 100 CLUB DEADLINE for
the Great Aloha Run (GAR) is 12:00 pm,
Friday December 4. Club members get
special perks, so register today to take full
advantage of the benefits. Join the Queen’s
Team Presidents’ 100 Club by entering Club
Code 53 on your entry. GAR will be held on
Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 15.
Participation qualifies as one of the Work
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on Wellness (WOW) requirements for the
2017 medical insurance premium discount.
Family, friends and keiki are welcome. Regular registration continues through January
online at www.greataloharun.com. Entries
may also be mailed in, dropped off, or sent
by in-house mail to Lisa Sekiya in Corporate Communications. Be sure to allow
time for entries to be received before the
deadline. Contact Lisa at 691-4010 or at
[email protected] for more information.
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“GO BEYOND” the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
Hawai‘i Chapter Annual Conference, will
be held on Thursday and Friday, April 21
- 22, 2016 at the Ala Moana Hotel. HFMA
National’s President and CEO, Joe Fifer,
will be the keynote speaker, kicking off two
days of sessions on topics such as hospital/physician/payer partnerships, physician integration, value-based contracting,
population health management, coding/
regulatory updates, and the current status of health care reform in Hawai‘i. These
presentations will be enhanced by professional development talks on career development for those new and seasoned in
the health care finance field, as well as an
invigorating talk by Pam Chambers on the
importance of teamwork. Registration discount available before January 1. For online
registration via credit card or Paypal, visit
www.hfma.org/Content.aspx?id=30967.
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“NONINVASIVE POSITIVE PRESSURE
Ventilation in the Sick Neonate,” a continuing medical education course, will be
held at NHCH on Monday, December 7
from 12:30 - 2:00 pm in the Mauna Kea/
Mauna Loa conference rooms. RSVP to
[email protected] or Wikiwiki
Education Tab - NRT section. Call Cindy
at x4873 with any questions.
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ACUPUNCTURE for pain and side effects
from cancer treatment or other non-cancer concerns is available at the Women’s
Health Center, Queen’s Punchbowl, on
Tuesdays and Fridays from 8:00 am - 12:30
pm by appointment. Call 691-8777 for
more information or to schedule a session.
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“HANDS ON HEALING: Draw What You
See,” is a free class for cancer patients that
offers techniques from a professional artist. The class takes place on Wednesday,
December 9 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm on QET
10. Call 691-8984 for more information.
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KICKBOXING FITNESS, the original sports-specific workout, will start
a new session of classes on Thursday, December 24, and run on consecutive Thursdays through January 28.
Class is held from 6:00 - 7:00 pm in
the Women’s Health Center classroom
at Queen’s Punchbowl. The fee for all
six sessions is $66. Register by calling
the Queen’s Referral Line at 691-7117.
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FREE MATERNITY TOURS will show
you that Queen’s has the best to offer
when it comes to the birth of your baby.
Queen’s offers leading edge medicine
and personalized care for you and your
family. Tours will be held on Sunday, December 6 and 13 at 11:00 am, 12:30, 2:00,
or 3:00 pm. Registration is required. Call
the Queen’s Referral Line at 691-7117.
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Keith Wallace, Fidelity Workplace Planning and Guidance Consultant, would
love to help you with your individual planning needs. Call: 1-800-642-7131 or visit
www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations.
The Queen’s Print Connection is published by Creative Services. If you have
news or wish to opine, call 691-7532 or
email [email protected]. The news
deadline is Monday prior to publication.
QHS/QMC Pres. . . . . . . . Art Ushijima
Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keala Peters
Editor/Writer. . . . . . . . . . Jason Kimura
Assist. Ed./Writer. . . . . Glee Stormont
The Queen’s Health Systems consists of The
Queen’s Medical Center, The Queen’s Medical
Center – West O‘ahu, The Queen’s Health Care
Centers, Queen Emma Land Company, Queen’s
Development Corporation, Queen’s Insurance
Exchange, Inc., Molokai General Hospital and
North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, and has
ownership interests in CareResource Hawai‘i,
Hamamatsu/Queen’s PET Imaging Center, and
Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc.
www.queens.org
The Queen’s Health Systems is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit health care provider