February

Health System Academic & Research Employee Council Minutes on Thursday, February 15, 2001

Present: Jane Adair, Kanisha Adkins, John Aufill, Kelly Bell, Stephanie Bingler, Leigh Ann Bush, Daweslyn Butler-Carey, Kathleen Foster, Gigi Herold, Catherine Kirby-Smith, Nancy Kriigel, Della Marsh, Melinda Mason, Ally Mawyer, Lynn McCutcheon, Nancy Moore, Monte Parsons, Marjorie Pennington, Trish Reilly, Kathleen Sagarino, David Smith, Gina Steppe, Mary-Leigh Thacker, Bill Vining, Eleanore Wade, June Wade, Lisa Waterbury, Pat Williams and Mike Wilson

Lisa Waterbury, Director of Institutional Funding, Dean's Office, School of Medicine was the first speaker. She is coordinating UVA's integrated system project (ISP) for the School of Medicine. Several years ago, UVA made the decision to replace the many separate administrative systems with one integrated system that would pass data back and forth. The system would have a consistent look and feel. UVA formed teams to help develop the specifications, and then issued a Request for Proposals (RFP). After reviewing various vendors, UVA chose Oracle, which is used by other colleges and universities such as George Washington and Stanford. Oracle is internet-based with similar screens, menus, and icons. This means that someone learning a new task with Oracle will already be familiar with how to navigate throughout the system, so that learning the new task will be easier. Phase I, which includes purchasing and accounts payable, began in 12/99, and will be implemented in July 2001. There is also an accounts receivable module that will be used by university service providers and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to bill sponsors for the grant funds. Funds Management and General Ledger modules will replace FAS. Labor Distribution will also be used to determine funding sources for personnel. They will troubleshoot the system for the 1st 90 days of the new fiscal year. In Phase II, UVA will replace the Online Personnel Action System (OPAS) and property accounting with Oracle. ISP teams are now testing the system, and working on the conversion. They have run two conference room pilots. In October 2000, the first pilot tested the modules in isolation. The 2nd conference room pilot will be held in March 2001, and will test the functionality of the modules to be sure that they work with each other. All existing accounts will be converted to a PTAEO (project - task - award - expenditure - organization). The PTAEO will replace the current account number and object code structure. It will provide more flexibility in accounting and be very useful in management reporting. It will also be easier to search and manipulate data. Managers are currently assigning responsibilities to their faculty and staff. The portions of the program to which you have access are related to your position's responsibilities. The assigned responsibilities will be used to develop training on the modules and to set up IDs. Navigation training in the Oracle system began in January 2001. Approximately 3,000 employees have to be trained. Attendance at the navigation class is mandatory before any other training courses can be taken. The majority of the training will be held April through June 2001. This will be an extensive and serious undertaking. UVA has made a large commitment to ensure employees know how to use the system. Oracle also has online instructions that walk you through the task. There will also be a helpline to call. Between now and July 2nd, the new organizational structure replacing home department codes and financial codes must be completed. Employees have to be assigned to the new organizations, and their payroll needs to be assigned to the new PTAEO structure. Beginning July 2nd, there will be an approximately one week dark period. The old system will be down, and Oracle will not yet be up until July 9th. During this period, they will actually be converting all the data. This would be a good week to take vacation or catch up. ISP has a website at www.virginia.edu/isp/. It contains information on the conversion and training, and also, system requirements for desktop PCs. If you have questions, you can call Lisa at 243-2770 or e-mail her at law2e@virginia.edu. Lisa reminded everyone that, if you get an e-mail to attend a class, please go. You do need to confirm your registration. Attendance in the medical school has been low. Recently she proctored a class of 17, and only 4 people showed up. A suggestion was made to send reminder e-mails.

Jim Kennan had to go to Richmond with Dr. Cantrell. He sent his regrets, and asked Pat Williams to present his report.

• The Health Affairs Committee of the Board of Visitors met on January 18th. Larry Fitzgerald reported that the medical center's finances continue to be satisfactory. There are sicker patients with longer lengths of stay. Mr. Sandridge reported that some beds had been taken off line because of the nursing shortage and renovations. Dean Lancaster reported that the School of Nursing is expanding in order to enroll more students needed to respond to the nursing shortage, noting that more space was needed. The Board of Visitors is very concerned about the nation-wide nursing shortage and its impact upon the Health System. The next meeting of the Health Affairs Committee is March 22.
• The School of Nursing and the Hospital will be celebrating their Centennial (100th birthday) all year. The School of Nursing kicked off its celebration in January. A planning committee is working on the Hospital's centennial events, which will soon be starting. Jim Kennan is on the committee and would greatly appreciate any ideas or suggestions.
• The School of Medicine will be conducting another Mini-Medical School open to everyone from high school students to senior citizens who want to know what it is like to train for the medical profession. Classes will run from March 29 through May 10. Each class is from 7 PM to 9 PM on Thursdays in Jordan Hall. Call 924-5839 or 924-2563 by Wednesday, Feb. 28 to sign up. The slots fill up quickly, so sign up now if you are interested.
• Researchers at Solucient Leadership Institute have named the UVA Health System as a Top 100 Hospital for Intensive Care Units. This is the first nation-wide evaluation of ICUs, and is a special honor. Numerous departments have worked closely together for some years to create and operate such a tremendous resource.
• Dr. William J. Catalona, one of the nation's foremost prostate cancer surgeons and researchers, has been named director of the Mellon Prostate Cancer Research Institute at the University of Virginia. He is known for having determined that a simple blood test that measures levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most accurate method for detecting prostate cancer.
• Linda Watson, director of the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, has been chosen as the President-elect of the Medical Library Association for the year 2001 and president in 2002. This is a tremendous honor as the organization covers the entire US!
• Dr. Cantrell and Dean Lancaster are working in conjunction with members of Virginia's congressional delegation to develop legislation and funding to overcome the nation-wide nursing shortage. You will soon be hearing about national initiatives concerning this issue. UVA is taking a leadership role. Stay tuned.

Bill Vining said the annual service awards for employees with 10,15 and 20 years of service will be held on 5/22/01, probably around 1:30 p.m. This year, it will be centrally located in old Cabell Hall, which is back online after repairs have been completed. On 6/6, the service awards banquet for those with 25 years of service or more will be held at 5:30 p.m. The time has been moved up to get people out of there earlier and accommodate those who need to be at work at 7 a.m. the next morning. UVA will also recognize outstanding contributors. This is the highest honor that UVA bestows on its employees. Families are invited, and President Casteen or Leonard Sandridge speak. Outstanding contribution nomination forms will be mailed out in 2/01. Please give some thought to those with whom you work who deserve this award, and think about nominating them. Forms are available on the HR website under the Employee Relations division. The next new employee orientation and resource fair will be held 3/29 in Newcomb Hall. Leonard Sandridge will welcome the new employees, and a short video will be shown in the Newcomb Hall Theatre at 1:30 p.m. A resource fair with information booths will be held at 2:30 in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom. Past booths have included VRS, TIAA-CREF, Vanguard, Fidelity, Athletics, UVACU, Employee Councils, etc. This is a good opportunity to find out what services are available. Please feel free to come; there will be plenty of food available.

Other news:

• HR has been waiting on the performance evaluation policies and forms from the state. Now that they have come out, a lot of questions have been raised. UVA HR is trying to get the state's interpretations. For the current year, employees will be evaluated on the standards that were established last fall. This fall, supervisors will develop new standards for the next year. 2002 will be the first year with an entire cycle in the new system. Bill Vining will go over the new performance planning at the April 2001 employee council meeting.
• HR continues to track a number of legislative bills. One of the bills may provide a second opportunity for employees hired before 1999 to convert to the Virginia Sickness and Disability Plan (VSDP). If the bill passes, there will be another open enrollment this fall. Unlike the last time, when an employee had to fill out a form to convert, everyone would be automatically converted, unless they opt out. An employee in the old sick leave plan would have to complete a form to keep their existing plan (10 hours of sick leave earned per month with no limit). UVA HR has objected to the proposal, because they are worried that people won't send their forms back. This bill would also apply to faculty who are in VRS. If you currently pay for disability, you could convert to the VSDP, and no longer pay for the coverage. Existing sick leave could be converted to retirement credit. This bill is expected to pass in one form or another. The HR website has more information on the VSDP.
• A question was raised about leave being 2 months behind. Bill thinks that this occurred on the medical center (209) side, when they converted to PeopleSoft. The next statement should be correct.
• A question was raised about the publication of a new benefits handbook. Bill advised checking with Linda Way-Smith, the director of benefits.
• Currently, 110 people have signed up to go to Prague in March 2001. The next two overseas trips should be announced in June 2001. A suggestion was made to consider Egypt and the pyramids.
• To sign up for the UVA tax-deferred 403(b) plan, employees need to first establish an account with Fidelity, TIAA-CREF or Vanguard. After a year, the state matches 50% up to $40 per month. The state's matching money must go in TIAA-CREF or Fidelity. Example: If you save $80 pretax, it probably only reduces your paycheck by ~$60. Your account is credited with the $60 you gave up from your paycheck, plus $20 that would have paid federal and Virginia taxes, plus the $40 match for a total of $120, or double the $60 cost to you. The money grows tax-deferred until you withdraw it; you do have to be at least 59 ½ to avoid paying an early withdrawal penalty. This is a really good deal for employees! Please contact the benefits office for more information and to request sign-up forms.
• Two corrections were suggested for the by-laws. A finalized copy will be presented for approval at the March 2001 meeting. Since the minutes for the January meeting were not received until 2/15/01, they were deferred for approval until the March 2001 meeting. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.