Employee groups at University of Colorado Hospital earn kudos
University of Colorado Hospital President and CEO Bruce Schroffel, second from left, and Chief Operating Officer John Harney, far right, with Rock Solid Economics award winners, from left, Michael MacLauchlan, Chad Chenoweth and Steve Nordstrom.
Two groups of employees received President's Awards for their contributions to the University of Colorado Hospital recently. The awards are for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 (July 1 to September 30, 2009).
Chad Chenoweth, Steve Nordstrom(both of the information services e-business group) and Michael MacLauchlan of finance shared the Rock Solid Economics award for their development of Web-based "scorecards" that display the hospital's performance on its critical success factors and other measures set by the operations and performance improvement team.
The trio's work enables staff to view up-to-date performance metrics online, thus freeing PCs from the need to store space-consuming data. MacLauchlan also developed training programs to assist staff who input the data.
"It is my belief that their project ... has had a significant impact upon the organization's focus on metrics, outcomes and efficiency," wrote Chief Operating Officer John Harney in his nomination.
The 17-member Tobacco Policy Task Force Committee earned the Working Together award. The group, composed of staff from throughout the hospital and a representative from University of Colorado Denver, drafted and secured support for the tobacco-free policy the hospital implemented in July 2008.
"This decision is in keeping with our ethical responsibility as stewards of good health, and is consistent with policy changes both in the Denver area and the national health care delivery market," wrote Bruce Evans, emergency department medical director, in his nomination.
Besides Evans, task force members include Richard Beougher, security program manager; Shaun Carter, lead groundskeeper, engineering services, support services; Cheryl Chessick, associate professor, UCD Psychiatry, Depression Center; Diann Eason, manager, Employee Health and Wellness; Sandra Godcharles, charge nurse/clinical nurse IV, perioperative patient Services; Joseph Hart, manager, engineering services, support services; Monica Jensen-Frimet, purchasing agent, materials management; Julie McLaughlin, clinical pharmacist, pharmacy; Mark Merritt, supervisor, respiratory therapy; Scott Michel, transplant financial case coordinator, transplant financial services; Jeanette Moss, admissions supervisor, CeDAR; Laurie Schirger, program support assistant, case/utilization management; Tyler Smith, writer/editor, development and marketing; Ryan Stone, inpatient supervisor, food and nutrition services; Dave Turnquist, assistant vice chancellor, UCD Facilities Operations; and Andrea VanderMolen, administrative assistant, emergency department.