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EAC council members met with Executive Leadership on April 8, 2013, recognized new officers and outgoing members, and discussed goals for the coming year. Goals for 2013 remain the same as in 2012.

• Continue to improve communication between EAC and stakeholders.

• EAC facilitated questions asked of leadership at Town Hall and Mondays in March sessions.
• Ad hoc committee established to develop a log-in system for questions posted to EAC blog to track and assess follow-up.

– Logged 39 concerns from February 11, 2013 to March 20, 2013.

• EAC supports as many UTMB functions and initiatives as possible.
• EAC plans to host a survey in Fall 2013 to generate data to compare to our prior 2010 survey and set the course for 2014.
• New Employee packet from EAC includes letter from Dr. Callender and Amineh welcoming new employees and making them aware of EAC.

• Increase accessibility of EAC representatives to be utilized institutionally for focus groups, beta testing, and process improvements.

• EAC initiated “Engage and Chat’’ sessions with employees at several UTMB sites, including:

– Access Center triage nurses in Clear Lake Center

– Access Center Call Center staff in Clear Lake.

– Primary Care Pavilion staff.

– Dominguez State Jail in San Antonio

• “Open Access’’ sessions with Dr. Callender were initiated after communication from EAC members; EAC representatives attend most sessions.

• Develop and implement programs and/or initiatives to improve employee morale.

• UTMB will host its first UT System EAC Meeting on the Galveston campus on Sept. 26, 2013. Dr. Callender will address the EAC representatives from the UT System institutions.
• On December 6, 2012, UT System designated the second Friday in November as UT System Recognition Day. EAC plans to work with Leadership and HR, as well as UT System EAC, to celebrate this event.

• Collaborate with Leadership to define the process and procedure for triage and resolution of issues.

• Human Resources used EAC help to recruit focus group participants for You Count.
• EAC representatives participated in Focus Groups on several issues, including campus signage, You Count, and new compensation structure.

 • Unite with other UTMB groups and departments to work together to work wonders.

• EAC popped popcorn to give out at each Monday in March session.
• EAC will assist with upcoming events including Earth Day and Employee Service Awards.
• EAC council members sponsored a holiday/birthday party for the Pedi unit at John Sealy Hospital on Dec. 13, 2012.

Continue reading »]]> EAC representatives including Gerald Cleveland, Janet Gonzalez, Denee’ Robison and EAC advisor Doug Stark visited the Dominguez State Jail in San Antonio on March 6, 2013.  Attendees included nursing, laboratory, dental, and administrative staff from Dominguez and nearby facilities – Dolph Briscoe, Cotulla, Kyle, Lockhart, Travis, Torres & Ney.  There was discussion on the purpose of the Engage and Chat initiative, EAC membership and role, communication with EAC, how to get involved with the EAC, and the Living Well health portal.  The EAC would like to thank all the attendees for their time and we hope that the event encourages staff to communicate with their EAC representatives!

Back Row, Left to Right: Gerald Cleveland (EAC), Sara Medellin, Denise Sauceda, Velma Cuevas, Curt Tribble, Doug Stark (EAC), Scott Reinecke, Craig Claire. Front Row, Left to Right: Denee’ Robison (EAC), Janet Gonzalez (EAC), Stella Huron, Adelaida Casas, JoGayle Dupre, Nedra Davis, Melissa Adkinson.

Continue reading »]]> Throughout March, Executive Leadership will host Mondays in March presentations to provide a vision for where UTMB will be in five years and what it will take to get us there.

The EAC encourages you to submit questions that are on your mind before the event on the EAC blog by using the Contact Us form. Questions will be forwarded to leadership, and some will be addressed during the meetings as time permits. You are welcome to submit anonymously if you prefer. Although you are welcome to submit questions to the EAC blog at any time, please contact us via the blog by the applicable deadline listed below, if you’d like your question considered for that leader’s Monday in March event.  Visit the Mondays in March web site (http://www.utmb.edu/mondays-in-march/) for more details. 

•  March 4   – Donna Sollenberger, Health System Vision. Please submit questions by February 25.  
• March 11 – Dr. Danny Jacobs, Academic Enterprise Vision. Please submit questions by March 4.
• March 18 – Mr. William Elger, Business and Finance Vision. Please submit questions by March 11.
• March 25 – Dr. David Callender, Institutional Vision. Please submit questions by March 18.

Continue reading »]]> The Employee Advisory Council (EAC) has started a new employee outreach program called Engage and Chat.  These sessions will take place across the university with the intent to reach out to as many employee groups as possible.

The purpose of Engage and Chat (E and C) is to: introduce employees to the EAC, familiarize employees with the role of the EAC, and advise employees how to become engaged and communicate with the group.

The first Engage and Chat was held at the Clear Lake Access Center on February 6, 2013.  Thanks to all the participants, the event was a huge success!

EAC representatives Craig Kovacevich (black jacket) and Michele Lockwood (red jacket) met with nursing triage staff at the Clear Lake Access Center office February 6th for an “Engage and Chat”

Continue reading »]]> Congratulations to the newly-elected officers for the Employee Advisory Council (EAC):

Amineh Baradar, Chair
Michele Lockwood, Vice Chair
Julie Cantini, Vice Chair of Operations
Janet Gonzalez, Vice Chair of Communications

On behalf of the current EAC, we would like to thank outgoing officers – Vice Chair Tonya Campbell, Vice Chair for Operations Susanne Johnston, and Vice Chair for Communications Jennifer Anderson – for their service as officers. A special thanks to Amineh Baradar for serving a second term as Chair.

Continue reading »]]> Congratulations to newly-elected Employee Advisory Council members. They are:

• Jerri Robison, representing Correctional Managed Care employees
• Samantha McBroom, representing Hospital and Clinic staff
• Neal Cooper, representing Institutional Support, and
• Amineh Baradar, representing the Academic Enterprise

Also, a big thank you to the nominees and voters –  there were an unprecedented 22 people running for election, and more than 1,500 employees voting in the election.

Continue reading »]]>  The UTMB Employee Advisory Council (EAC) exists to foster bi-directional communication and dialog for all Classified staff, Administrative & Professional (A&P) positions, and new for this year, Non-Teaching staff (excluding residents). The Council, which is sponsored and endorsed by the Office of the President, works to promote a positive and collaborative work environment that is committed to assessing, prioritizing and communicating employee needs. It also serves as a focus group/advisory panel by providing a feedback loop on broad issues and potential new programs that can impact Classified staff, A&P positions, and Non-Teaching staff (excluding residents). For the purposes of representation on the council, the university is grouped in four large segments: Academic Enterprise, Correctional Managed Care, Hospitals and Clinics, and Institutional Support.

 An election to replace four EAC members who have completed their commitment to the council will begin Nov. 19, 2012, and conclude Dec. 7, 2012. Our thanks go to the following members who have completed their commitment: Amineh Baradar (Academic Enterprise), Jason Chavers (Correctional Managed Care), Veronica Pleasant (Institutional Support), and Michele Stout (Hospital and Clinics).

Nominations will be accepted from Oct. 29, 2012 – Nov. 16, 2012. To be placed on the ballot as a nominee for the 2012 elections, complete the following steps:

 1. Visit the EAC website at http://blog.utmb.edu/EAC and review the EAC guidelines. 

 2. Provide a brief biography that describes your role at UTMB (less than 300 words) and a statement about why you want to serve on the EAC. Include all your contact information (phone numbers, email and your department).

 3. Provide an up-to-date digital photo of yourself to be placed on the site for review by your peers.

 4. Supply a statement of support from your supervisor/manager indicating your ability to devote 3-5 hours each month for the three-year commitment period to the council. The Academic Enterprise requires Administrator approval as well.

 Email your biographical information, statement of why you want to be elected, supervisor endorsement and your digital photo to both Tonya Campbell at tccampbe@utmb.edu and Julie Cantini at jucantin@utmb.edu.

Continue reading »]]> UTMB has registered with the manufacturer of Sharpie markers to receive money for its old pens, said Neal Cooper, utility operations and sustainability manager for Business Operations and Facilities. UTMB receives 2 cents for each recycled pen.

The agreement covers any brand of unusable pen, marker, utility pencil, dry-erase marker or correction tape gun, Cooper said. Products may be delivered for recycling at the Office of Sustainability, 715 Harborside Drive, or by sending them by internal mail to Route 1113. “We will take care of sending them in,” he said.

Proceeds go to offset the expense of UTMB waste management services.

Continue reading »]]> Do you have recyclables we can transform into creative costumes? Or ideas on imaginative recyclable outfits?

Your Employee Advisory Council (EAC) will be designing and creating an original outfit for a “surprise celebrity leadership model,” for the upcoming Recycle Style Show. The event will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2012 on the Moody Medical Library Plaza, and is part of the 20^th annual UTMB Earth Day celebration.

The EAC team is asking all UTMB Health employees to consider submitting outfit suggestions for both a male and female model.  Additionally, we are looking for assistance in gathering materials that are normally thrown away or recycled to be used to create the outfit  anything from plastic bags to chip bags, gum wrappers, pen tops, soda cartons, buttons, old CD’s – you get the idea.

Please contact Amineh Baradar at (409) 772-0504 or ambarada@utmb.edu to submit your recycle-inspired design ideas or to coordinate pick-up of materials to be used by your EAC representatives to create a wearable piece of art.