Marilyn Chancellor Recognized for Outstanding Customer Service

Marilyn Chancellor, secretary for the Sickle Cell Center, was recently presented an Employee Recognition Award for her outstanding customer service skills.

"Marilyn goes above and beyond for not only the office staff, but also for patients both sickle cell and pulmonary. Patients constantly thank her for being kind and helpful even when they do not see her supervisor as a physician. She runs errands without complaints, makes travel arrangements at the drop of a hat, and does all this with a smile on her face. She anticipates office needs and usually has all tasks competed prior to office staff request. She is compassionate about her job and it shows."

     - Excerpt taken from co-workers' nomination form

To learn more about the USA Physicians Group Customer Service Performance Recognition Program and to print a nomination form, click here.

Email Transition - Important Next Steps

For those directly involved in clinical care activities, you have recently received instructions about the transition from your GroupWise or JagMail account to our new Microsoft Outlook platform. We wanted to underscore the importance of these instructions:

• All email accounts for the USA Health System will be unavailable from 5 p.m. on Sept. 20th to 7 a.m. on Sept. 23rd, so our Information Services Department can complete necessary work.

• When you arrive to work on Monday, Sept. 23rd, you will access the new email and calendar platform by visiting https://mobile.health.southalabama.edu with your computer’s web browser, such as Internet Explorer. Your username will be the same as for your previous email account. (For example, if your address was tsmith@usouthal.edu, your new username will be tsmith.) Your initial password will be your J Number, with a capital J. (For example, J12345678). After completing logon, your new email address will be yourusername@health.southalabama.edu. After logging in on Monday, you will be prompted to change your password.

• If you are using GroupWise (email accounts ending in @usouthal.edu) and if you would like your archive moved to the new Health System email platform, you will need to follow the instructions available at www.usahealthsystem.com/workfiles/email/groupwise_archive.pdf

• Following the transition, you will be able to access your email and calendar on mobile devices and tablets by visiting https://mobile.health.southalabama.edu using your mobile web browser, such as Safari on iPhones or Chrome on Android devices.

• If you use GroupWise or JagMail for scheduling conference rooms or patient appointments, please contact 445-9123 for instructions.

To assist in this transition we encourage you to take part in the web-based training sessions on Sept. 19th and 20th or the group-based training sessions on Sept. 23rd through 25th.

• Information about these training sessions is available at
www.usahealthsystem.com/workfiles/email/
email_education_flyer_v3.doc

• Answers to frequently asked questions about the email transition are available at
www.usahealthsystem.com/workfiles/email/
email_migration_faq_v3.doc

• You can download an overview of the new calendar in Outlook at
www.usahealthsystem.com/workfiles/email/
owa_calendar_v3.doc

• You also can download an overview of how to use your email at
www.usahealthsystem.com/workfiles/email/
owa_email_v3.doc

If you have any questions, please contact the Information Services HELPLINE at 445-9123.

USA Children's & Women's Hospital Dedicates Expansion, Holds Open House

The University of South Alabama Children’s & Women’s Hospital dedicated its 195,000-square-foot expansion Sept. 12, 2013. Former patients and officials cut the ribbon during the ceremony.

Mandy Young holds her daughter Alli, 1, as she scribbles on a sign called the Light House Panel during the Community Open House at USA Children's & Women's Hospital Sept. 15, 2013. The panel will be installed in theLight House in the new wing of the hospital. Mandy's other daughter Jaidyn Graff, 8, watches her sister at far left.

The University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital dedicated a new, 195,000-square-foot expansion Sept. 12, 2013. The event featured a children's choir of patients and former patients and testimonials from those who have been helped by the hospital. Tours of the hospital were available after the event.

The $72.6 million expansion, funded by the USA Health System and the USA Foundation and private gifts, features more space for the hospital's neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, additional operating rooms, and larger patient rooms to better accommodate visitors and families. Vital support services such as an enlarged cafeteria and kitchen, and professional teaching and community education space are also included in the five-level expansion. Two "family rooms" have been created by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile Inc.

USA Children's & Women's Hospital also hosted a Community Open House on Sept. 15, 2013, sponsored by Hancock Bank. This event included tours, refreshments, face-painting, music, and arts and crafts.

To view photos from the dedication ceremony, click here.

To view photos from the Community Open House, click here.

For local news coverage of the events, click the following links:
FOX10
Local 15
al.com/Press-Register
Gulf Coast Newspapers

USA Welcomes Bill Starling

Bill Starling was recently named photographer for the University of South Alabama Health System.

Starling is a national award winning photographer/photojournalist and videographer with more than 20 years of experience in producing photographic images and video.

“We are excited to welcome Bill to our communications team,” said Becky S. Tate, chief executive officer of the USA Health Services Foundation. “His ability to share compelling stories with images will enhance our efforts in promoting the Health System.”

Prior to his appointment at USA, Starling served as a photographer and videographer for Alabama Media Group in Mobile. Previously, Starling served as chief of the photography department at the Mobile Press-Register, as well as a staff photographer for both the Mobile Press-Register and The Mississippi Press in Pascagoula, Miss.

Starling has received numerous awards for his photographic images, including first place for Best Sports Photo from the 2011 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest; first place for Best Spot News Photo from the 2005 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest; first place for Best Feature Photo from the 2003 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest; and first place for Best Photography Portfolio from the 2001 National Headliners Awards.

Starling studied at the University of Maryland in Zwiebruken, Germany, and at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He can be reached at bstarling@usouthal.edu and his office is located in Mastin 201.

September Med School Café - “Deep Brain Stimulation, a Surgical Treatment Option for Parkinson’s Disease, Essential Tremor and Dystonia”

The September Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. Daniel Dees, assistant professor of neurology at the USA College of Medicine.

His lecture, titled “Deep Brain Stimulation, a Surgical Treatment Option for Parkinson’s Disease, Essential Tremor and Dystonia,” will take place Sept. 24, 2013, at the USA Faculty Club on USA’s main campus. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation begins at noon.

Dr. Dees, who specializes in movement disorders, will discuss how deep brain stimulation works, who is a good candidate for the surgery, and what patients and their families can expect while going through the process. He will also provide important information on other treatment options for Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia, including how interested patients can sign up for ongoing research studies both in Mobile and throughout the country.

Dr. Dees earned his medical degree from the USA College of Medicine in 2007. He conducted his internship in internal medicine at USA and conducted his residency in neurology at USA. From 2010-2011, Dr. Dees served as chief resident of neurology at USA. Following residency, he completed a one-year fellowship in movement disorders at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Ga.

The Med School Café lecture and lunch are provided free of charge, but reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, call Kim Partridge at (251) 460-7770 or e-mail kepartridge@usouthal.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by the USA Physicians Group. Each month, faculty from the USA College of Medicine share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available.