November 11, 2005

Employees bonus program highlights leadership meeting

Updates on the hospital's clinical growth strategy and the status of the quality and safety initiatives were presented at the quarterly leadership meeting Nov. 2, with a much-anticipated announcement saved for last — the introduction of an employee bonus program.

"We've had a remarkable year financially and otherwise," said Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH. "Just nine months ago, we were behind budget, but with your dramatic response to find ways to get us back on track, we finished the fiscal year $14 million ahead of budget. Some of this will go to reserves for other programs, but I am pleased to announce that a significant portion will go directly to our employees to recognize the incredible work they do every day."

Jeff Davis, senior vice president for Human Resources, outlined the bonus program. On Nov. 17, full-time, weekly paid employees who have worked at the MGH since March 31 or before and are still active as of Nov. 12 will receive a $500 bonus. For full-time employees who began work after April 1, the bonus will be $250. Part-time employees will receive $250 if employed before March 31, and $125 if after April 1. For Bulfinch temporary staff, employees who work per diem or less than 20 standard hours but more than 400 hours annually will receive $125.

Also at the leadership meeting, Ann Prestipino, senior vice president for Surgical and Anesthesia Services and Clinical Business Development, reported about the important progress the Clinical Business Development Committee has made in managing the hospital's multiple plans for clinical growth and business development. A number of plans are under way to expand ambulatory care outside of the main campus. The MGH is partnering with North Shore Medical Center to develop a multidisciplinary ambulatory care center; and additional ambulatory care space is planned for Mass General West.

In addition, business planning activities have intensified with several multi-disciplinary programs — including Cancer, Cardiac Services, Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, Vascular Services, Neurosurgery, Primary Care and MassGeneral Hospital for Children — following a detailed roadmap designed to guide the planning process in a strategic direction toward final implementation. Some common themes have arisen during the planning process that will need to be considered for some departments to achieve their growth targets — such as recruiting more physicians, using advanced technology, creating integrated centers of care, addressing capacity issues, leveraging use of sites in the community and increasing outreach and marketing.

Joan Fitzmaurice, RN, PhD, co-director of the MGH Office of Quality and Safety, gave an update about the hospital's ongoing quality and safety improvement projects. Incident reporting to outside regulatory agencies has improved during the last two years particularly with the Board of Registration in Medicine, which has new reporting requirements.

Significant strides have been made in a number of important quality areas — such as reducing the use of unaccepted abbreviations, signing verbal orders within 24 hours, establishing a pneumococcal vaccine program and decreasing the number of hospital-acquired infections with improved hand hygiene compliance. She also outlined some current safety improvement projects that will have a positive effect on hospital operations — such as the medication safety initiative to improve narcotic use education, decreasing patient falls by installing bed alarms and instituting a universal protocol policy to monitor procedure safety.