August
Minutes from the Health System Academic Research Employee Council meeting on August 17th, 2000Attendance: Deborah Riddell, Jean Snoddy, Bonnie Martin, Gina M. Steppe, Jane Adair, June Wade, Lynn McCutcheon, Pat Harlow, Pat Williams, Tammy Snow, Jill Tatum, Della Marsh, Nancy Kriigel, Jim Stork, Nancy Moore, Ginny Dean, Mary-Leigh Thacker, Leigh Ann Bush, Sharon Heyka, and Dawselyn Butler Dr. Levine was the first to address the council. He stated that paying for parking is not an option for employees. It is against state policy to use state funds for parking so it is an auxiliary enterprise that has to be self supporting. Structured parking (garages) cost $10,000 a spot. The building is financed with bond proceeds and a $1000 per spot per year is needed for the loan with an additional $200/year is needed for maintenance. Employees don't finance patient parking. A question was raised by a council member wondering if a sliding scale based on an employee's salary could be instituted. This has been looked at but nothing has been decided. Scott Stadium initiative: Other concerns: Dr. Levine addressed other council member concerns. He said that the waiting list is still not being utilized for parking assignments. A request has been made to offer service passes to employees who need to access their cars for work purposes. Many people need access to their cars during the day and it would be impossible to accommodate everyone. If you have a special circumstance for a day, contact Dr. Levine's office and they may be able to accommodate you. If you see a car taking up more than one space in a garage or parking lot, please get the license plate # and call his office. They will ticket the person. If you have a complaint about a bus driver, please note the bus number and the time and date and call the office. The south garage will be used for football games. The garage is underutilized over weekends and any employee who needs to work may park for free in the 2 patient garages. A complaint was made about the fence along the RR tracks. The fence was built to save lives and reduce accidents. The practice of crossing the tracks is illegal and dangerous. A question also arose about the U5 lot behind student health. A divider is going to be built to prevent traffic from crossing through the lot. Mr. Kennan was the next to address the council. The research funding for the school of medicine continues to increase. The funding is up 20% from last year. Federal funding accounts for $84.5 million, $35.6 million comes from non-federal sources, and another $29.9 million comes from private sources. The school of medicine is operating at maximum research space capacity. The construction of MR-5 is set to be completed by December 2001 while the planning for the funding for MR-6 has begun. The health affairs committee met on July 14th. The finances of the medical center are holding at 4%, a very good margin for a public medical center. The medical school curriculum is undergoing a major change. The format is going from a large auditorium style of teaching to more hands on teaching style in small groups. The nursing shortage is still a very serious problem facing the medical center. Mr. Bill Vining was the next to address the council. The implementation of the new pay plan is in the works. The manuals are now out for the trainers. The employee training sessions are ongoing and the manager training is going to begin soon. There are changes to the grievance procedure. The full list of changes and the entire policy can be viewed on the human resources web page or at: www.edr.state.va.us/ .There is also an employee number to seek help 1-888-23-ADVICE . Old Business: The July minutes were approved by Leigh Ann Bush and seconded by Bonnie Martin. The meeting was adjorned. |
