News on the Go #633, January 15, 2008

News on the Go is a service of the Office of Institutional Advancement, providing timely news and information to faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students on the go. Deadline: 10 a.m. Thursday before Tuesday publication. Submit all events and deadlines to the Web Calendar. Submit other items for consideration using the News on the Go submission form.

Topics at a glance: Leader Update ... MLK Day celebration ... UT Wellness Fair ... Free student workshops ... HOOP update ... HR Compensation requests update ... IT security ... Preventive Cardiology Forum ... Health informatics summit ... WorkLife tip of the week ... Safety Liaisons sought ... Faxing fact ... Attention study ... Doctors Orchestra

The Leader Update

• Main stories: Spit for a Cure? and The Brain's Touch/Sound Connections
• News Clip: Gulf Coast Consortia Awards First Discovery Project Pilot Grants
• Getting Around: Check out the combined UTHSC and UTMDACC shuttles schedules for use between "drive" time.

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

The UT School of Public Health Global Health Concentration presents a celebratory remembrance of the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., noon, Tuesday, Jan. 15, School of Public Health Auditorium. A light reception immediately follows the presentation.

To Your Health Wellness Fair

The fourth annual UT Wellness Fair takes place, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the IMM Sarofim Research Building. Visit more than 30 Health and Wellness exhibitors providing a variety of information plus blood pressure, bone density, asthma and vision screenings. This event is open to all health science center students, faculty and staff with UT ID.

For more information about wellness fair activities, visit http://ae.uth.tmc.edu and click on Recreation Center. To volunteer for the wellness fair, contact Pauline.M.Habetz@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-8425.

Free student workshops

The Office of Cultural and Institutional Diversity will offer several free workshops to all UT Health Science Center at Houston first-year and second-year students this year.

• Technical Writing Workshop (APA Documentation Style & Methodologies)—5-8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 6. RSVP by Friday, Feb. 1, to MKJohnsonPhD@sbcglobal.net. Limit: 25.
• Intensive two-day Study Skills Workshop—8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday Jan. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 2. RSVP by Wednesday, Jan. 16, tostudywith@aol.com. Limit: 20.

HOOP update

• The Classroom and Research Use of Copyrighted Material Policy (No. 4.15, hyperlink http://legal.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/04/4_15.html) in the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOOP), has been edited for readability and a link has been added to a notice which department heads are required to post in specified areas. Direct questions about this policy to Arlene Staller, vice president, Legal Affairs & Institutional Compliance, 713-500-3268.
• The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Policy (No. 2.17D, hyperlink http://legal.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/02/2_17D.html) has been edited to clarify the responsibilities of supervisors. Supervisors must offer to contact an appropriate health care facility for an injured worker. An injured employee has the right to refuse medical treatment. Direct questions about this policy to Sondra Faul, Claims & Insurance Analyst, 713-500-8127.
• The Employment Testing Policy (No. 2.22, hyperlink http://legal.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/02/2_22.html) has been edited for readability. Direct questions about this policy to Paul Kattapong, director, Recruitment & Retention, 713-500-3147.
• The Handling Communications with the Media Policy (Policy No. 1.13, hyperlink http://legal.uth.tmc.edu/hoop/01/1_13.html) has been edited for readability and the contact links have been updated. Direct questions about this policy to the Media Relations team, 713-500-3307

HR Compensation Requests update

To improve service delivery, organization and turn-around time related to Classified Staff and MAP compensation and classification requests, the Office of Human Resources has established the HRComprequest@uthouston.edu e-mailbox. Please use it to submit:

• New Job Descriptions or JIG Reviews
• Classification Reviews (aka “Reclassification Requests”)
• Promotional Reviews
• Temporary Administrative Supplements
• External Market and Internal Equity Analyses
• General Compensation Inquiries

Evaluation of the tool’s use over the next few months will ensure achievement of increased effectiveness, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Please direct questions about HRComprequest@uthouston.edu to the Compensation Team: Hina Naik, manager of Compensation Services, 713-500-3128; Michael McBride, compensation analyst, 713-500-3133; or Sonia Estrada, senior Human Resources assistant, 713-500-3152.

IT SecuritySense

"Beware Wi-Fi's Evil Twin" is a focus of the January 2008 issue of the SecuritySense newsletter available at http://its.uth.tmc.edu/restricted/SecuritySense/Jan2008/index.html.

Preventive Cardiology Forum XVIII

The 18th Preventive Cardiology Forum, a free conference in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Memorial Hermann Hospital, the American Heart Association, Texas Tech University Health Science Center at El Paso, UT School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus, Memorial Health System of East Texas and Baylor College of Medicine, will focus on prevention, reduction and regression of cardiovascular disease. It will take place at the UT Medical School Building, Room 3.001, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 2.

Organized by Francisco Fuentes, M.D., speakers include L. Maximilian Buja, M.D., K. Lance Gould, M.D., Susan T. Laing, M.D., and Gurur Biliciler-Denktas, M.D. Questions? Please call Sandra Vick, 713-500-6576, or e-mail ms.pcfreg@uth.tmc.edu.

SHIS organizing National Health Information Technology Summit

Federal and state health care officials are coming to Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15–16, to discuss an initiative to build a National Health Information Network, which could go a long way toward improving the quality of patient care and ultimately reducing cost. The School of Health Information Sciences at Houston is organizing the program at the George R. Brown Convention Center, titled “The National Health Information Technology Summit: A Washington/Texas Dialogue.” The summit is open to the public and online registration is available at http://www.nhit-shis.org.

WorkLife tip of the week

Have you heard about the upcoming Senior Tsunami? Well, it seems like 60 is the new 40 and many of us are going to be in the workforce longer than our parents were. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2012, more than 29 percent of men 65-74, almost 20 percent of women and more than 8 percent of men over 75 still will be in the labor force.

To help get the most out of your life’s later years, visit the Health & Wellness Section of the WorkLife resources Web site (password UTH), for a wealth of useful and practical information.
If the WorkLife program can help you or anyone in your immediate family with senior issues, please call 713-500– 3327 or visit http://www.uthouston.edu/worklife/.

Area Safety Liaisons sought

Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) will hold its annual Area Safety Liaison (ASL) refresher training and luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 23, and Thursday, Jan. 24. Lunch will be provided to attendees. This training is an excellent time to welcome new recruits and introduce them to the responsibilities of ASLs, which include taking part in fire alarms and drills and reporting safety-related concerns. Guest speakers from EH&S, UT Houston Police Department, and the Office of Institutional Advancement also will provide information on maintaining a safe campus.

If you’re interested in being an ASL, please call 713-500-8114 on or before Jan. 21, or e-mail cyndi.barnett@uth.tmc.edu.

Phone fact

Do you fax to long distance numbers? The School of Public Health requests that you double check that you are using the proper outside line dialing code when faxing or calling outside of the UT campus (500 extension). If you fail to do so, important faxes/calls meant for the 713 area code go to an SPH fax machine; important faxes meant for the Austin area go to an office telephone at SPH in the Stallones Building.

Eye Movements & Attention study

Qualifying volunteers will be asked to watch a computer screen and make an eye movement to a particular target. Participation will last two hours and volunteers will be compensated for their time. Results will be compared to patient populations. For more information, visit the healthy volunteers link at http://www.uthouston.edu/clinicaltrials/forms/DisplayStudiesAvail.asp?ID=404 and scroll down to the study information. Contact: Ashley Hood, 713-500-5551; Ashley.Jagar@uth.tmc.edu.

Doctors Orchestra concert

The Doctors Orchestra of Houston, Libi Lebel conductor, will give its winter concert, “East Meets West,” 5 p.m., Feb. 10, Wortham Center’s Cullen Hall. The orchestra consists of medical students, residents, researchers, faculty and others members of health professions.

The program will include: Islamey by Balakirev, the world premiers of Manghal Dhwani by Hasu Patel, and Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony. Manghal Dhwani, based on the Raga Bagaswari, is written for full western orchestra with sitar and Indian percussion.

Doctors Orchestra concerts are listener friendly and suited for families. Tickets ($10 and $20) can be purchased online at http://www.doctorsorchestrahouston.org.

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