Parkland

Stories and information for the employees of Parkland

Aug. 31 Sept. 6, 2015

626 patients
36 hours
1 new Parkland

know your
bins

P.2

parkland leader
on apna board

P.3

CELEBRATE US
SEPT. 8-12

P.3

NOMINATE A PA
OF THE YEAR

P.4

On the cover

The patient move to the new Parkland is complete!

At 4:26 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, the final patient was transported across the Mike A. Myers Sky Bridge to the new Parkland hospital,
marking the completion of a historic 626-patient move in less than 36 hours. Finishing the move a full day earlier than originally
estimated is a testament to the extensive planning, training and dedication of thousands of Parkland staff, providers and
volunteers. Your teamwork allowed us to transport our patients safely, efficiently and faster than we thought possible. Thank
you to everyone for the hard work you put forth to make this a reality.
But the success of this transition is not just about the logistics of moving patients or the square footage of a building. The
measure of our success is in the lives that will be impacted with care and comfort that wasnt possible in our previous facility.
This incredible, yet grueling process was nearly a decade in the making. Countless hours by thousands of employees made
this move possible, and now the real work begins caring for our patients in a truly world class facility.

q New campus receives sustainability award

q Know your bins

Parklands new campus was selected as the Distinguished Greenscape Project of the
Year at the North Texas Recycling Awards on Friday, Aug. 21. These annual awards
recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals, communities and businesses
for developing or maintaining programs involving recycling and other sustainability
efforts in North Texas.
One of the priorities for the campus was sustainable landscaping, highlighted
by the Moody Foundation Wellness Park, located directly outside the cafeteria. In
addition to the wellness garden, there is a large garden area covered in native prairie
landscape.
Previously used for industrial and commercial purposes, the landscaping of the
new Parkland site was created to bring nature back through greenscaping across
the entire new campus. The plants specified and installed are drought tolerant and
appropriately located for their tolerance for sun and shade. Throughout the campus,
shrubs and groundcover are not intended to be clipped or shaped, but instead
allowed to grow as they would in nature.
The landscaping throughout the entire campus was designed to reduce water
usage by approximately 60 percent over a typical landscape project of the same size.
An astounding 100 percent of plants are native or adaptive species that reduce water
usage. The irrigation system uses rain sensors, a weather station, drip irrigation and
very few spray heads and/or rotors to reduce water use campus-wide.

Employees working at the new

hospital have likely noticed the
prevalence of blue recycling
bins throughout the facility. The
Sustainability team would like to
remind you that these are not for
materials containing confidential
information or protected health
information (PHI). Materials that
contain PHI must be placed into the
gray shred bins.
Only non-confidential paper,
plastic, cardboard and aluminum
can be placed into the blue
recycling bins, and all bins must
use a green liner provided by
environmental services. For more
information about recycling at
Parkland or to receive recycling
training for your area, email
Sustainability@phhs.org.

2 ParklandNow Aug. 31 Sept. 6, 2015

q Parkland NP shines
in national spotlight
Robert Metzger, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, is
among a select group of individuals from
across the U.S. selected to participate in
the the American Association of Nurse
Practitioners (AANP) Leadership Program.
Only 12 out of 205,000 applicants were
selected for this extraordinary opportunity.
This 12-month program was developed for
nurse practitioner leaders currently serving
in clinical, administrative or educational
roles and who demonstrate the potential
to assume roles of increasing national
leadership both within the AANP and
throughout the nation.
The goal of this program is to provide
leadership training through engagement
in Association activities. This includes an
Action Learning Project which focuses on
and directly supports AANP's Strategic Plan.
Participants share their experiences through
AANP publications and presentations.
Congratulations, Dr. Metzger!

Parkland leader named to APNA board

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) has elected Celeste
Johnson, DNP, APRN, PMH CNS, Director of Nursing, Psychiatric Services, to
the 2016 APNA Board of Directors. Celeste will serve as Member-at-Large.
Celeste has more than 35 years of experience as a psychiatric mental
health clinician, advanced practice nurse, educator, administrator,
consultant and translator of evidence into practice. She has held her
current position at Parkland since August 2014, where she provides
clinical and operational leadership for psychiatric emergency, inpatient,
outpatient and consult/liaison services. Before joining Parkland, she held
nursing leadership positions at HCA Green Oaks Hospital, Childrens
Medical Center and Baylor University Medical Center.
Celeste is a leader in her profession and a great asset to Parkland,
said Fred Cerise, MD, MPH, Parklands President and CEO. We are proud
of her accomplishments and appreciate the work she does every day at
Parkland to ensure that our patients receive safe, quality care.
Celeste was APNA Texas chapter president from 2010 to 2013 and has
been on the state chapter board for the past five years. She has served as
Chair, Mental Health Node Expert Reference Group, The Joanna Briggs
Institute, Adelaide, S. Australia, an international research group, from
2013 to present. She is a member of Dallas Countys Behavioral Health
Leadership Team, past board member of Texas Nurses Association and
past member of Dallas County Youth Services Advisory Board.

u Celebrate US begins Sept. 8

Celebrate US," begins Tuesday, Sept. 8, through
Saturday, Sept. 12. This year's theme is Parkland
Cares! Lets Connect! Additional events will be held
at off-campus locations in September. Look for more
details in future issues of Parkland Now.
Tuesday, Sept. 8
Kickoff: Welcome and thank employees as they
enter the new Parkland Memorial Hospital and
OPC campus with a breakfast bar and water. Third and first shift employees will be
served from 6 9 a.m. Second shift employees will enjoy energizing snacks from 2
4 p.m.
Barbecue Lunch: Served from 11 a.m. 3 p.m. at new Parkland and in the MacGregor
W. Day Auditorium. Second and third shifts served from 12:30 2:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
5/10 Years of Service: Employees recognized for their five and 10 years of service
reached in 2014 will enjoy a reception in the MacGregor W. Day Auditorium. The
receptions will take place throughout the day from 8 a.m. 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 10
Other Years of Service: Employees with remaining milestone anniversaries (15, 20,
25, 30, 35, 40+ years) reached in 2014 will enjoy receptions in the MacGregor W. Day
Auditorium. Receptions occur throughout the day from 8 a.m. 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 11
Giveaway: Employees will receive a special commemorative Parkland gift from their
department leader.
Parkland Party: Play fun games and win prizes from 11 a.m. 4 p.m. This event will
be hosted at new Parkland.
Saturday, Sept. 12
Weekend Staff Celebration: For those unable to enjoy the festivities during the
week, barbecue will be served in the private dining area at new Parkland from
11 a.m. 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. midnight.

q Make a
difference
in the future
of nursing
Do you want to make a
difference in the future of
nursing? Consider becoming
a facilitator in the UHC Nurse
Residency Program. A UHC Nurse
Residency facilitator at Parkland
has the opportunity to become
a mentor to new nurse residents
who have less than one year of
experience in nursing. They meet
once per month for four hours,
during which time the facilitators
have the opportunity to work
with small groups of residents
in activities that will help these
new nurses build confidence and
pride in their profession.
All activities are provided for
you. The only component we are
missing in this worthy program is
you. For more information please
contact Jill Sommerhauser, Nurse
Educator, at ext. 23899 or
Jill.Sommerhauser@phhs.org.

Aug. 31 Sept. 6, 2015 ParklandNow 3

Onward & Upward

14 General Surgery (formerly 2 West): Sherly Richardson to
Unit Technician
Bed Access Management: Achamma Sujan to Care
Coordinator Bed Access Management
Chronic Disease Management: Carmon Dailey to
Administrative Coordinator Diabetes
Clinical Education & Academic Partnerships: Amanda
Balderas to Departmental Systems Specialist; Adam Eddy and
Randell Hendley to Nurse Intern
Dietary Nutrition Services: Tyese Duff-Locke to General
Clerk II
Enviromental Services Parkland Memorial Hospital: Debbie
Lewis-Washington and Yamit Mata to Support Services Call
Representative
Health Information Management/Release of Information:
Corey Jones to HIM Clinical Documentation Specialist I
IT Telecommunication: Tyrus Ramsire to Audio Visual
Specialist
Infection Prevention: Calvin White to Infection Prevention
Manager
Institutional Risk Management: Marisela Zuniga to Risk
Claims Coordinator
Legal Affairs: Andrew Devine to Senior Attorney Contracts
& Procurement

Linen Services: Deekay Rai to Linen Distribution Technician;

Janga Subedi to Order Filler Linen Services
Managed Care Contracting: Marianne Espinosa to
Collector III
Medical Homes COPC: L'Darrius Gray to Senior Medical
Assistant COPC Optometry
Midwives: Lindsay Mouser to Nurse Midwife
Mother/Baby B: Amanda Aaron to Associate Unit Manager
Mother/Baby Maternal Fetal Medicine: Amy Larson to
Associate Unit Manager
Patient Financial Services Registration: Gerald Bell to PFS
Registration Specialist
Periprocedural Prep/Recovery: Xucia Brown to Patient Care
Assistant II
Purchasing: Brandie Bizor to Procurement Specialist
Radiology CT Scan: Stanley George to CT Scan Technologist
Rapid Assessment Team: Brittany Findley to Rapid
Assessment Team Registered Nurse I
Record Integrity & Customer Service: Monte Agliam to HIM
Clinical Documentation Specialist I
WISH Administration: Niccole McKinley to Director, WISH
Ambulatory Practice

q Nominations open for PA of the Year

2014 Winner: Richard Benson, PA-C

Nominations are being accepted

for the 2015 Parkland Physician
Assistant of the Year. Recognize
physician assistants that show
exemplary patient care, customer
service and dedication to the
mission of Parkland.
If you know a Parkland physician
assistant who has gone above and
beyond please consider submitting
a nomination on their behalf.
Nomination forms can be found
by clicking the intranet homepage
banner, and should be returned to
Barbara Poole by Friday, Sept. 11,
at Barbara.Poole@phhs.org.

Privacy Awareness Tip

Retirements
Geneva Aguilar, Customer Access
Representative II, Patient Access Center
Jacqueline Allison, Phlebotomy Technician
III, Pathology COPC
Maria Cisneros, Ambulatory Clinical Staff
Pharmacist, Southeast Dallas Health Center
Pharmacy
Pamela Evans, Unit Technician, 5 East
Neurology/Surgical Specialty
Ruby Martin, Medical Practice Assistant,
Ophthalmology Clinic
Argenis Prieto, Senior Radiologic
Technologist, Adult Clinical
Mercey Titus, Registered Nurse II, Newborn
Nursery

Be sure you properly verify identity before you use PHI. Use two
or more identifiers to make sure you have matched the right
patient with the right chart and the right documents and the right
medications.

Jerry Van Pelt, Physician Assistant II,

Surgical Services Clinicians
Kimberly Wes, PFS Registration Specialist,
PFS Registration
Richard Williams, HVAC Mechanic I,
Engineering Services

Parkland Now is published by the Corporate Communications department at Parkland Health & Hospital System.
Please note the submission deadline for each issue of Parkland Now is by the end of day each Monday.
To publicize your news in Parkland Now, please send all submissions to employees@phhs.org or call ext. 28048.