April 2008

President: William Baird, CHE Randolph Hospital

wgb@ randolphhospital.org

President-Elect:

Mark Carland, CHE, CHFM

Mission St. Joseph's Health System

mcarland@msj.org

Secretary: Rob Boswell, CHFM

Wilson Medical Center rob.boswell

@wilmed.org

Treasurer: David Murray

High Point Regional Health System

dmurray@hprhs.com

Secretary Elect: Donald Bayse, CHE, CHFM Transylvania

Community Hospital dbayse@tchospital.org

Program Chairman: Robert Thompson,

CHE, CHFM FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital

Rthompson @firsthealth.org

Vendor Chairman:

Gene Pettit, CHE, CHFM

Sisters of Mercy gene@mercync.org

Correspondence

Secretary: James Best, III,

CHE, CHFM Carol Woods

Retirement Community jbest@carolwoods.org

Past President: Michael S. Elks,

CHE, CHFM Duke University Medical Center

michael.elks @duke.edu

Mark Your Calendar for the 56th NCHEA Annual Conference & Exhibition Vendors: Pre-register NOW for Booths and Sponsorships!

NCHEA President William Baird invites facility man-agers, family members, guests, and vendors to the 56th Annual Conference & Exhibition August 12-15, 2008 at Kingston Plantation, North Myrtle Beach, SC. Reserve rooms soon! These rates are good through July 12, 2008. Hotel reservations: 1-800-876-0010. Remember to tell them you are attending the NCHEA conference when you call. Room Rates: Ocean View Suite: $214.00 + tax 1 bedroom Plantation Villa: $190.00 + tax 2 bedroom Plantation Villa: $225.00 + tax. The Imitations Will Perform: The Imitations, a Wilmington, NC band primarily performing beach, Motown, 50's, 60's, and 70's

music, will play at the Tuesday night Conference Reception August 12 from 7-9 p.m. Learn more about the band at www.theimitations.com. Facility managers: Watch www.nchea.com for details on pre-registration, education sessions, conference sched-ule, and golf tournament. Brochures will be mailed later this year.

Vendors: Pre-register now at www.nchea.com for booths and sponsorships. Go to www.nchea.com and click on the link at the upper right side of the home page to link to the NCHEA Booth Invite Package and the NCHEA Sponsor Invite Package.

Pre-registration is online this year: no materials will be mailed unless you request them.

NCHEA has offered members the opportunity to pursue and earn the Association’s own professional designation, that of Certified Healthcare Engineer (CHE), ever since 1977. Each year, a Certification Committee examines applicants’ qualifications and job experience, and recommends members for cer-tification to the NCHEA Board of Directors at the Annual Conference and Business Meeting in Au-gust. More than 25% of NCHEA’s active members have earned the CHE designation. There are no fees to apply for certification and no qualifying exam is re-quired. The certification process is so important to NCHEA that the program's objectives are even set forth in the Association's Bylaws: •To encourage members to gain additional knowl-edge by providing a means for recognizing con-tinuing education; •To improve professional standards; •To promote the importance and prestige of the healthcare engineering professional; •To give facility managers and directors an addi-tional means to gauge the depth of education and background of a potential new employee or the advancement of an engineer working in the

healthcare field.

To view a short slide show about the CHE pro-gram, Go to:www.nchea.com Click on Members at the left Click on Certified Healthcare Engineer Presenta-tion. To download and print the CHE application, Click on Certified Healthcare Engineer Application. Successful applicants must score required mini-mum point totals in three of the four major sections of the CHE application. The score is based on edu-cation, years of service, educational programs at-tended, and involvement in NCHEA or another state chapter of ASHE. To be successful, applicants should have: Five total years of healthcare engineering and

maintenance management experience, and Five total years as a full member of a state asso-

ciation such as NCHEA. If you have questions about the CHE program, con-tact Mike Elks, CHFM, CHE, NCHEA’s Immediate Past President and Certification Committee Chair, michael.elks@duke.edu or (919)681-4192.

Apply for Certified Healthcare Engineer Certification by July 1

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The annual NCHEA Spring Seminar March 5-7 in Southern Pines set another new attendance record, attracting close to 150 attendees and leaving very few vacant seats in the conference rooms. Speakers were: Bill Warren, Chief, Construction Section, North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation, “DHSR Updates;” Chuck Robbins, P.E., CEM, Account Manager, Progress Energy Carolinas, “Energy Conservation;” Aubrey Hilliard, President, Texican Hori-zon Energy Marketing, LLC, “Natural Gas Pricing in a Changing Supply Market;” Dan Chisholm, Principal, MGI Systems, “Web-based Electrical Systems Training;” Steven Spaanbroek, “The Joint Commis-sion in 2008 and Beyond;” John Kramer, P.E., Staff Engineer at Duke University Medical Center, “Water Conser-vation.” Congratulations to the Organizers Program Chair – Robert Thompson, CHE, CHFM; Vendor Chair – Gene Pettit, CHE, CHFM; Brochure, Website, Registration, etc. – Dona Noblett; Vendor Assistance—Bonnie Daniel; Registration—Rob Boswell, David Murray. Thanks to the Seminar Sponsors Reception Sponsor – Texican-Horizon Energy Lunch Sponsor – BJAC/Partners for Chal-lenging Design Breakfast and Break Sponsors – BE & K Building Group, Peterson Associates, pa Break Sponsors – B&D Boilers, IES Engi-neers – Dewberry, Otis Elevator, Spring Stoops McCullen Engineering, TAC (formerly YAMAS) Donation – Lewis Boiler IES Engineers – Dewberry 6th Annual Golf Tournament Results Co-sponsors – Alpha & Omega Group, BBH Design, Ferguson/Sullivan, Inc., TRANE Closest to the pin #2 – Jeff Shaver Closest to the pin #6 – Glen Blalock Closest to the pin #8 – Bob Lanzi Closest to the pin #11 – Mike Kuhlman Longest drive: 13 – Monnie Wood Longest putt: 4 – Tom Davis First place team: Tony Powell Bob Lanzi Tim Spence Dwayne Tranbarger

Spring Seminar Sets New Attendance Record At left, Louis Hud-son, WakeMed, and Michael Thompson, Johnston Memorial Hospital; at right, Theresa Leahey, Affiliated Engineers. Bottom left, NCHEA President William Baird, Randolph Hospital, and George White, G.J. White Consulting.

At right, NCHEA Secretary Rob Bos-well, Wilson Medical Center, and NCHEA Treasurer David Murray, High Point Regional Medical Center.

Clockwise from top left, Tom Cook, Praxair, and Charles Wade, Wayne Memorial; Chuck LaPrade, ACL Consulting, and Clifton Wells, Wilson Medical Center; Glen Blalock, Person Memorial Hospital, and Lionel Bryson, P.E.; Heidi Curette, Manning Design Group; Roger Wilkerson, Wilkerson Associates Architects; Lynne Manning, Manning Design Group; Rod-ney Holland and Rick Sidebotham, Robins & Morton.

From left to right, Danny Woods and Jon Woods, Morehead Memorial Hospital, and Jeff Brotherton, Mechanical Systems & Services.

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Pandemic Flu Preparedness: A Practice Run for Mass Vaccination and Influx of Infectious Patients

By Jayne Lee, BSN, MPH, CIC Director, Infection Control/Patient Safety, FirstHealth of the Carolinas Moore Regional Hospital Pinehurst, NC FirstHealth of the Carolinas, Inc. (FHC) is a private not-for-profit health care system based in Pinehurst, NC. FirstHealth is an integrated health care system that pro-vides services to patients in a 15-county service area in North Carolina and South Carolina. Moore Regional Hospital is the flagship of FHC with 385 licensed beds. There are two other hospitals in the sys-tem: Richmond Memorial Hospital in Rockingham, NC, licensed for 99 acute care beds and 51 long-term care beds, and Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy, NC, a Critical Access Hospital li-censed for 37 acute care beds. Other services provided by FHC are home health, hospice and palliative care, health and fitness, rehabilitative services, occu-pational health services, physician prac-tices, emergency medical transport, den-tal, and pharmacy. Pandemic Flu Preparedness Plan In 2006, FHC completed a Pandemic Flu Preparedness Plan and updated the dis-aster plan. During the process of devel-oping these plans, it was determined that as one of the required disaster drills for 2006, the combination of these two plans should be tested. A committee was formed that included all entities within FHC to devise a drill for pandemic flu preparation. At that time, several of the members on this planning committee were discussing ways to improve flu vaccination compli-ance, especially in light of the new Joint Commission requirement for providing vaccine to all employees. It was deter-mined that as part of the preparation for a pandemic flu event we would need to have a plan to mass vaccine employees and staff. The drill was developed to practice a mass vaccination using the current flu vaccine to see if compliance rates with the vaccination could be im-proved. Drill to Practice Mass Vaccination The goal for the drill was: In the event of a disaster (pandemic flu), the hospital will be able to provide continuous patient care and provide protection to staff through a mass influenza vaccination. The expecta-tions were:

•FHC Staff will receive flu vaccination enabling the continuation of patient care; •Continue to provide essen-tial care to incoming and existing patients while providing vaccina-tions to staff. A scenario was written that included an influx of patients with flu into the Emer-gency Departments at all three hospitals. Also, the scenario included a pandemic strain of flu vaccine that had been devel-oped and was available to hospitals for staff immunizations throughout the state. The county health departments in Moore, Richmond, and Montgomery Counties were included in the drill preparation and evaluation. They played a role in distribut-ing the vaccine and determining who should receive the vaccine as if a pan-demic flu strain was being given. 1,483 Vaccinations Given at First Drill The drill in 2006 was very successful and by the end of December and flu vaccina-tion season, 1,483 flu vaccinations had been given to Moore Regional Hospital (MRH) employees. This represents 54% of the MRH employees. A total of 86% of MRH staff completed the declination form or received the vaccine. Overall for FHC, 1,993 employees or 50% received the vaccine and 81% completed the forms. The most common reason for declining the vaccine was, “Just didn’t want it.” The pandemic preparedness committee and Infection Control Committee discussed further education needed in 2007 on the vaccine and the acceptability of the side effects. Drill Repeated to Correct Areas Needing Improvement In October 2007 the drill was repeated in order to correct areas needing improve-ment from the 2006 drill. The scenario for the drill focused on an influx of patients needing admission including critical care beds and our ability to place these pa-tients in a timely manner. The mass vac-cines were also administered the same day during a 4-hour period at each hospi-tal. At Moore Regional Hospital, the confer-ence center was converted to a mass vaccination center and 1,020 flu vaccina-tions were administered during the drill. The areas needing improvement from the 2006 drill were corrected and the drill was evaluated on Communication, Resource Mobilization and Patient Management.

The command center was opened to co-ordinate the placement of patients and assure staff availability in all areas. The evaluation of the vaccination center was very positive with the following com-ments made by the observers evaluating the drill: • Good supply of vaccination forms and information sheets; • Vaccine readily available at the opening of the vaccine center; • Registration process for employees very quick with ability to swipe badges to reg-ister their attendance, also easy to track number of participants. Spreadsheet created from initial registration process to monitor overall compliance with vaccina-tion and declination forms for 2007. • Process moved quickly, 2-4 minutes average per person; • All individuals getting vaccinated were screened and staff available to answer questions. • Vaccination center staff supportive and caring; • Supplies readily available at all stations; • Water and breaks were available for those running the center. • Paperwork process much smoother this year. Forms sorted by each nurse in folders – staff coordinated time to com-plete paperwork. How can you make this happen at your facility? Planning a mass vaccination scenario is an excellent drill for hospitals in prepara-tion for a possible pandemic influenza outbreak. Testing the surge capacity of the Emergency Department and Patient Placement and flow in the hospital is also important but can be done at a separate time if more appropriate to your facility. Several key issues are important in plan-ning a mass vaccination scenario: •Location and area large enough to ac-commodate a large group of employees with enough privacy for vaccinations and screening; (To Page 4)

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Pandemic Flu Preparedness (From Page 3) •Staff to provide the vaccinations. We utilized nurses in non-patient care roles including clinical educators, quality de-partment, information systems analysts, risk managers, compliance officers, as well as infection control and employee health. A training session was held prior to the mass vaccination to practice IM injections and review the vaccination process. For 1,000 employees we had 5 stations with two RNs at each station to assist with drawing up the vaccine and administering. We had two RNs at the beginning of the center to ask about con-traindications, answer questions, and assure all forms were complete. Two pharmacy technicians were available to help keep supplies available to the nurses and to assist with drawing up the vaccines. Two support personnel com-pleted the registration process and had forms available if the employees did not bring the forms with them. The Director of Infection Control/Employee Health coordi-nated the center and assisted as needed at different locations. It was important to have this type of float person that was not tied up at one station or another to keep employees flowing through the center. •Communication of the event and times –

Our IS department worked closely with the planning process to determine ways to notify staff of the vaccination centers. We sent out blitz email messages on Monday before the vaccinations began on Wednesday. Also, there were pop-up screens with the dates and times of the vaccination cen-ters. Managers were all sent information and the consent/declination form was available on the intranet and by email. Staff were encouraged to read the infor-mation on the vaccine and sign the form prior to arrival at the vaccination center. •Education was provided on the influenza vaccine in hospital newsletters and other communication tools to encourage staff to take the vaccine and to answer any questions about the vaccine. The outcomes of our second drill in 2007 were im-provement in the quick implemen-tation of the vaccination center, im-provements in the disas-ter planning areas iden-tified as

issues in the previous drill, and practice for the command center in patient place-ment and coordination of staffing. To date, FHC has given 1,874 influenza vac-cines in 2007 and have completed forms or vaccines from 62% of the employees. We will continue to monitor until the end of 2007. The final number of vaccines adminis-tered was 1,914 for FirstHealth. This represents about 50% compliance rate. The drill was successful but we continue to look for ways to increase employee participation with taking the vaccine. This is a struggle that many hospitals have experienced. Editor’s note: Thanks to Robert Thomp-son, CHE, CHFM of FirstHealth of the Carolinas, Moore Regional Hospital (shown below), for contributing this story.

Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville (shown below), has received the Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award from Hos-pitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E). The prestigious national award com-mends PCMH for outstanding efforts to eliminate mercury from the healthcare system. PCMH took several steps to work toward a mercury-free campus: 1. Eliminated use of mercury in diag-

nostic devices used in gastroenterol-ogy procedures;

2. Eliminated use of mercury in cleaning chemicals and medical products;

3. Replaced mercury-containing ther-mostats, switches, gauges, and blood pressure devices with new electronic devices that are mercury-free;

4. Replaced fluorescent light bulbs with bulbs that are mercury-free and that deliver more light;

5. Recycled batteries to eliminate use of those with mercury.

“The hospital's safety staff continues to monitor the use of mercury-containing devices. We are still looking at reduction opportunities in the hospital, but fortu-nately, we are finding that few exist,” said Jim Riggs, MS, MPA, CSP, Administrator, Safety and Infection Control, University Health Systems. “We have now turned

much of our activities out to the commu-nity, advocating for mercury reduction. For example, next month we are partici-pating in a New Mother Fair at a local mall and will be exchanging mercury-containing thermometers for mercury-free devices.” Jointly founded by the American Hospital Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm, and the American Nurses Association, H2E is an independent not-for-profit organization focused on improving healthcare's envi-ronmental performance. To learn more, visit www.h2e-online.org.

PCMH Wins National Award for Steps to Eliminate Toxic Mercury

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“I’m a Kool Kid” Treasure Chest Each holiday season, Engineering & Op-erations employees at Duke University Medical Center have the opportunity to participate in a community service project when they “adopt” a hospital department or a family for its annual Share a Christ-mas project. The E&O “I’m a Kool Kid” Treasure Chest is a recent project and a big hit with all the patients and staff at the Children’s Hospi-tal & Health Center. PWI Engineering in Durham was among several contributors to the Treasure Chest. Dona Noblett, E&O Program Coordinator (in photo, at left) and Nancy Padgett of PWI Engineer-ing show off the toys PWI Engineering contributed to the Treasure Chest. E&O has kept the chest full of toys for more than a year. Nello Raynor, CHC’s zone mechanic, has moved the chest (which was built by E&O employees) monthly to different departments to make sure all of CHC and Duke Hospital benefit. Anyone can make a donation to the chest any time during the year. Contact Dona Noblett for more information, 684-4004 or dona.noblett@duke.edu. Habitat House Duke Engineering & Operations also sponsored and built a Habitat for Human-ity house. Being a full sponsor of a Habi-tat house requires a $50,000 commit-ment, which E&O fulfilled by obtaining in-kind donations of services and materials from vendors and by partnering with the Duke Hospital Addition for Surgery Team of Skanska Building USA, Inc. “The house was built with in-kind dona-tions of labor and supplies from vendors and contractors that we and Skanska both use,” Dona said. “Quite a few of them are members of NCHEA.” Dona kept the project on track with weekly meetings with Skanska employees and numerous phone calls and e-mails. E&O and Skanska co-managed the house building. “This was the first in-kind house built by the Durham Habitat,” Dona said. “We wrote down every single item needed in the house and put the dollar value on each thing. Then we got donations of materials and labor for everything. Some of our vendors gave us money and we used that for framing materials and roof trusses.” More than 200 people -- from E&O de-partments, other DUMC employees, rela-

tives, and friends; vendors, contractors, and sub-contractors -- built Habitat’s 185th Durham house in just three months, start-ing with the September 15, 2007 kickoff luncheon at the home site (when there was just a concrete slab on the ground) to closing day three months later on Decem-ber 17. A family of six moved into the 1,725-square-foot home, which is one of 32 energy-efficient, eco-friendly homes in

Hope Crossing, East Durham -- the first affordable green Habitat community in North Carolina. NCHEA vendor members who contributed to the project included: •Duke University Medical Center Engi-neering & Operations •Skanska USA Building, Inc. •James M. Pleasants Company, Inc. •Brady Services •Environmental Air Systems, Inc. •Engineering Specialties •Starr Electric Company •Gregory Poole/Carolina CAT •Perkins & Will •Roughton Nickelson De Luca Architects, PA •CFE, Inc./Raleigh. To read more about the Habitat house project: Go to http://eo.duhs.duke.edu and click on Newsletter, then click on January/February 2008 Issue. To see more Habitat house photos: Go to http://eo.duhs.duke.edu and click on the house picture at the bottom left of the home page. Below: Volunteers gather at the house before the second story was built. The completed home is shown at right.

Community Service is Important at Duke University Medical Center E&O

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Return to: NCHEA

PMB 203 2910 Selwyn Avenue Charlotte, NC 28209

First-Class Mail US Postage

PAID Permit No 287 Durham NC

NCHEA Hats Now for Sale

NCHEA merchan-dise now includes blue or

cream hats and blue

golf shirts.

Order now by downloading the order form at www.nchea.com. Shirts, with shipping, are $24; hats, with shipping, are $15.

Questions? Contact David

NCHEA and ASHE Dates

NCHEA District Meetings District I June 13 at 8:40 a.m. The Annual Golf Outing and District Meeting will be held at the Boone Golf Club, Boone. We will start front and back. Food will be served at the course at 1:30 p.m. All District 1 mem-bers, officers from all districts, state offi-cers, and all vendors who serve our Asso-ciation are encouraged to attend. All ven-dors are also encouraged to supply door prizes, pay for engineers to play, or donate gift certificates. For further information contact B.L. Brown, bbrown@apprhs.org, or the District I Chair, Gary Thompson,

gthompson@angelmed.org. District II May 15 at 10:30 a.m. at Asheboro County Club. The Spring NCHEA District II quar-terly meeting will be held at the Asheboro Country Club, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 1:15 p.m. Golf will follow, with the first tee time at 1:30 p.m. For further information contact the District II Chair, Phil Stephens, MHA, CHFM, SASHE, CPE, pstephens@northeastmedical.org. District III May 15 at 3 p.m. at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital. For further information contact the District II Chair, Jerry Thompson, P.E., jerry.thompson@duke.edu. District IV April 23 at 10 a.m. at Southeastern Re-gional Medical Center, Lumberton; August 13 at Annual Conference at Myrtle Beach, SC; September 24 at 10 a.m. at Pender Memorial Hospital, Burgaw. For further information contact the District IV Chair, Coy Overton, coyoverton@dosher.org.

45th ASHE Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition July 20-23, 2008 Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center, Washington, DC 56th NCHEA Annual Conference & Exhibition August 12-15, 2008 Kingston Plantation, North Myrtle Beach, SC Reserve rooms soon! Hotel reservations: 1-800-876-0010 These rates are good through July 12, 2008. Remember to tell them you are attending the NCHEA conference. Room Rates: Ocean View Suite: $214.00 + tax 1 bedroom Plantation Villa: $190.00 + tax 2 bedroom Plantation Villa: $225.00 + tax Future NCHEA Dates: Go to www.nchea.com and click on Calen-dar. Future ASHE Dates: Go to www.ashe.org.