Issue #712, August 4, 2009

Topics at a glance: Fall 2009 Schedule of Classes ... Team CommQuest ... iPhone Support Coming Soon ... AT&T Employee Discount Offer ... Employee Self Service ... UT Physicians Online Patient Survey ... SPH Continuing Education ... Internal Medicine Blackboard Site ... Rec Sports ... Academic Technology Classes ... Family & Community Medicine Grand Rounds ... Printing Services & Quick Copy ... Holocaust Survivor to Speak at HAM-TMC ... Living Well Health Manager ... Clinical Research Budgeting and Billing Compliance Program ... Burroughs Wellcome Fund Grant Programs ... HAM-TMC Library Updates ... Traffic Alert ... TMC Parking System Conversion Update ... HOOP Updates

Fall 2009 Schedule of Classes

The Fall 2009 Schedule of Classes is currently available at the Registrar’s Office.

• Open registration is through Aug. 28. Payment is due Aug. 28.
• Open registration for DBPG is through Aug. 21. Payment is due Aug. 28.
• DHYG students have been registered by the Office of the Registrar. Payment is due Aug. 14.
• Late registration for GSBS, CLRS, NURS, SHIS and SPH students is Aug. 31 – Sept. 4. ($15 late fee).
• Late registration for DBPG is Aug. 24 – 28. ($15 late fee).

For more information, visit the Registrar’s Office.

Team CommQuest: Week 4

Join the Communications Team as they plunge into health, feet first, kicking and screaming the whole way. Each week, members of Public Affairs’ Team CommQuest will inspire you to get fit or at least get out of the way as they try. This week, Wendy Mohon finds her motivation through a difficult situation.

iPhone Support Coming Soon

iPhone support is coming soon for UT faculty and staff. If you would like to take a look at comparisons between BlackBerrys and iPhones with regard to UT connectivity, please visit: iPhone Support.

AT&T Employee Discount Offer

AT&T is now offering all UT Health Science Center employees a 20 percent discount off wireless monthly rates for existing or new customers. Unfortunately, students are not eligible unless employed by the university in some capacity. The Foundation Account Number (FAN) is 02551866.

For more information, visit the AT&T personalized UTHSC-H Web site or contact your AT&T sales representative, Erica Benedict, eb7082@att.com.

Employee Self Service

Employee Self Service allows employees with an active UTHSC-H user ID and password to view and update personal information such as home address, W-4, direct deposit and more. It is accessible from any computer that has Internet access. Look for the ‘Employee Self Service’ icon at the top of the UTHSC-H home page.

Please log into Employee Self Service and verify your personal information. Correct home addresses are important for Benefits coverage and mailings, especially for new ID cards that may be mailed for Sept. 1, 2009. Effective Sept. 1, personnel who have been employed by UTHSC-H longer than 60 days, may no longer list a university address as their current home address.

REMINDER: Direct deposit statements are now available online only through Employee Self Service.

Online training is available:

• Log in to the Training and Resource Center
• Click ‘Training Center’ on the left
• Click on ‘Course Catalog’
• Type ‘Self Service’ in the ‘Keywords’ search box

You will find interesting tips for a mid-year personal data checkup on the Payroll home page.

For more information, contact Payroll@uth.tmc.edu.

UT Physicians Online Patient Survey

Share your experience with UT Physicians Clinics using the online patient survey. In order to help better serve patients, UT Physicians invites its patients to participate in an online survey. Using the survey, patients can let UT Physicians know about its performance on various aspects of their medical care experience in UT Physicians clinics.

The survey takes about five minutes to complete and also provides patients the opportunity to offer comments and suggestions. Share your medical care experience by participating in the UT Physicians Online Patient Survey.

For more information, contact Donald.E.Meade@uth.tmc.edu, 832-325-7314.

SPH Continuing Education

The Southwest Center for Occupational & Environmental Health presents its 2009 continuing education schedule:

• When Disaster Strikes: Planning for and responding to disasters, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Aug. 4 – 5.
• Industrial Hygiene Air Sampling, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Aug. 10 – 13.
• Comprehensive Industrial Hygiene Review, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Aug. 10 – 14.

For more information, contact Vickie.L.Mason@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-9451.

Internal Medicine Blackboard Site

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston Internal Medicine Residency Program announces a newly customized Blackboard Web site that offers one stop for locating medical education goals and objectives, announcements, rotation schedules and residency program details, plus links to key medical articles and Web sites.

The newly customized site will continue to expand features and functions throughout the academic year to help IM residents quickly access information. Users may offer anonymous feedback to help improve processes, procedures and overall operations. The Internal Medicine Blackboard Web site may be accessed at Internal Medicine Blackboard.

For more information, contact Harbes.A.Charity@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-6536.

Rec Sports

Softball League

UT/TMC Fall Co-Ed Softball League registration is now open. Games will be played from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday nights beginning Aug. 17. Cost is $225 for UTHSC-H students and $275 for all others. Registration and payment are due before Aug. 11.

For more information, contact Kelly.McNamara@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-8422.

Academic Technology Classes

Academic Technology will present classes in Adobe Flash in August. The schedule includes:

Flash Intro – 8 – 11:30 a.m., Aug. 14
Flash I – 8 – 11:30 a.m., Aug. 17

Both classes will be held in the HAM-TMC Library's street-level classroom. Attendance in Flash Intro is required for admittance to Flash I. Seating is limited.

To reserve a seat, contact William.C.Daffin@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-3540.

Family & Community Medicine Grand Rounds

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston presents the Family & Community Medicine Grand Rounds, 1 – 2 p.m., Wednesdays throughout August, in MSB 2.135. The schedule includes:

• Aug. 12 – “Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery,” presented by George Letsou, M.D., professor, Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, UT Medical School at Houston.
• Aug. 19 – “Biliary Tract Disease,” presented by John Potts, M.D., professor, director, Department of Surgery, UT Medical School at Houston.

Printing Services & Quick Copy

The final date for submitting printing service requests to UT-Printing Services for fiscal year 2009 funds will be Aug. 20. The final date for submitting quick copy requests for 2009 funds will be Aug. 24.

For more information, contact Printing & Media Services, 713-500-4888.

Holocaust Survivor to Speak at HAM-TMC

Walter Kase, Holocaust survivor, will speak at 6 p.m., Aug. 18, at the HAM-TMC library, 1133 John Freeman Blvd. Kase spends much of his time speaking to high school students, college students, businesses and organizations about the harrowing experiences suffered under Nazi tyranny. During his experiences he endured forced labor camps and five concentration camps. When he was liberated at age 15, he weighed 65 pounds and learned that most of his family had been exterminated.

This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race, currently on display at the library through Aug. 24. This unique exhibition is on loan from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Seating is limited. To RSVP, contact Caroline.Schuster@exch.library.tmc.edu.

Living Well Health Manager - Get a Free Stainless Steel Water Bottle

The UT System has teamed up with WebMD, one of the nation’s most trusted consumer health information Web sites, to create a new online resource available to all UT SELECT members.

This Web site, called the Living Well Health Manager, helps you take charge of your health so you can start feeling and living well using a variety of personalized and powerful tools including the WebMD HealthQuotient (HQ). This health risk assessment helps identify your personal risk factors and provides a plan to reduce them. Complete your HQ by Aug. 14, and receive a free eco-friendly stainless steel water bottle.

Learn how UT staff members are ‘Living Well’ with ‘Up & At ’Em,’ a wellness program. Follow the Team CommQuest blog, only available on the intranet.

For more information, contact Sam.Hester@uth.tmc.edu , 713-500-3013.

Clinical Research Budgeting and Billing Compliance Program

The Clinical Trials Resource Center will host a course in clinical research budgeting and billing from 9 a.m. – noon, Aug. 11, in the UT Professional Building, Room 1100.55, for clinical research investigators, research nurses, coordinators and clinical research administrative and support staff.

The goals of the Clinical Research Budgeting and Billing Compliance program are to simplify and clarify the clinical research billing processes, ensure full cost recovery of clinical research studies and reduce the risks of inappropriately billing patients and/or third parties. Topics will include budget development, utilization of clinical research budget worksheet template, identification of all clinical trials costs and UT research billing account set up.

Participants must register to attend. For more information, contact Kimberly.Wilson@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-7911.

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Grant Programs

Burroughs Wellcome Fund has announced they will not be accepting grant applications for the following programs during the 2009 – 2010 cycle:

• Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research
• Clinical Scientist Awards in Infectious Diseases
• Clinical Scientist Awards in Interfaces in Science
• Career Awards in Biomedical Sciences
• Career Awards for Medical Scientists

The Office of Research will continue to monitor the BWF Web site and will provide additional information regarding future cycles as it becomes available.

For more information, contact Deanne.M.Hernandez@uth.tmc.edu, 713-500-3192.

HAM-TMC Library Updates

Classes

The HAM-TMC Library offers these upcoming classes:

• Providing Consumer Health Information – 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Aug. 11
• PubMed – 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., Aug. 18
• PubMed – 3 – 4 p.m., Aug. 20
• Finding Electronic Resources – 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Aug. 21

All classes are free and offered in the library classroom. View the complete class schedule and register.

Traffic Alert

Texas-Sterling Construction will be closing northbound traffic access to E. Cullen Street between John Freeman Boulevard and Ross Sterling Avenue through Aug. 16. During this time, traffic will be open to southbound traffic only. All northbound traffic on E. Cullen Street will be directed to turn west on John Freeman Boulevard toward Fannin Street and then north to Ross Sterling Avenue. All accesses and driveways on E. Cullen Street will remain open via Ross Sterling Avenue. The contractor will provide all traffic control during the closure.

For more information, contact Texas Medical Center Security, 713-795-0000.

TMC Parking System Conversion Update

TMC is continuing their parking equipment conversion. Over the next several weeks and months, those of you who park in a TMC lot or garage will receive a new access card. Some of you have already received your new card. Your access card will arrive via interoffice mail. Please see the list below for conversion dates.

Please remember to keep your old parking card during the transition of the entire campus as it will be needed when parking on campus at nights and on weekends. This has been one of the biggest issues the conversion process has faced.

If your parking area is scheduled for conversion within the next week and you have not received your new parking card, please contact parking@uth.tmc.edu or call the Texas Medical Center at 713-747-7275.

If you have any questions regarding this schedule or the conversion process, contact Eve Grubb at 713-791-6149.

HOOP Updates

Several policies in the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOOP) have been revised and updated. Please check out HOOP What's New for specifics on new policy changes or the HOOP 2009 What’s New Archive for all 2009 policy changes.

For general HOOP information, visit HOOP online.