1. careers
2. nursing

March 16, 2015
Volume 24 – Number 12
Language of Caring to Impact Queen’s
MOTHER TERESA once said, “Kind words
can be short and easy to speak, but their
echoes are truly endless.” Queen’s has
launched a new initiative at the Honolulu
campus that will impart the “Language of
Caring®” to all employees. Language of
Caring workshops will cover much more
than words to include actions and skills
that will ensure not only that personal in-
teractions will be more collaborative and
effective, but will improve the patient experience and advance Queen’s caring mission. According to co-executive sponsors
Cindy Kamikawa, RN, CNO & Interim VP
of Operations, and Les Chun, MD, VP &
Chief Quality Officer, the Language of Caring initiative will have a profound impact on
patient care, as well as your personal life.
Physicians, managers, and other administrators have already been trained in
the Language of Caring, but the workshop
series will have its official kick-off in April
for early adopters, champions, and facilitators. General staff will benefit from the
workshops beginning in July, enjoying a
department-based rollout. That is, each of
(Continued on page 3.)
Ken Lo’s Passion for People Shines Through
Ken is surprised when he is named EOY.
CALLED TO BE in the limelight once again
since being named QMC Honolulu Employee of the Month for September 2014,
Kenneth Lo, PharmD, sat up on stage
with other EOMs at the Employee of the
Year ceremony and wondered who it
would be. He wasn’t at all expecting it
to be him. Rather, Ken’s best guess was
that it would be a nurse. Recently, he experienced firsthand the compassion and
quality of care Queen’s nurses gave while
his father was in the hospital and marveled at their dedication. “There are so
many people I work with who deserve it
more than me,” he later ruminated. “Even
being chosen as an EOM was more than
beyond me.” So when Ken’s name was
called and he was named EOY, it brought
shock—and tears to his eyes.
QHS/QMC President Art Ushijima and Chair
of the Board Eric Yeaman congratulate Ken.
Ken may think more highly of others
than himself, but they have equal admiration for him, as nurses and coworkers
alike enthusiastically praised his collaboration and commitment to good outcomes
for patients. He is also cited for his value
as a resource for nurses and doctors,
and for the way he treats patients with
respect, compassion, and his non-judgmental attitude toward anyone’s situation. Ken is guided by his Christian faith,
praying everyday that God will be in him
so he will have patience, and that people
will open up so they can be better helped.
Originally from Hong Kong, Ken came
to Hawai‘i after high school to attend the
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. His father
had found a college catalogue, and at the
time, UH Hilo was even more of a bargain
per semester than UH Manoa, being only
a quarter of the price. Ken’s family was
not well off, and UH Hilo looked to be
the best choice. His father encouraged
(Continued on page 2.)
EOY Kenneth Lo
(Continued from page 1.)
him to pursue a professional degree that
would allow him more opportunity than
he had. Beyond that, Ken wasn’t sure
what to pursue, but his roommate was in
pharmacy, and after following him for a
while, he decided it was the right career.
After two years at UH Hilo, Ken went
to pharmacy school at the University of
New Mexico in Albuquerque. He would
later earn his PharmD online from Creighton University while working at Queen’s,
as well as board certifications in Pharmacology and Oncology. He explains that
he felt the need to be more equipped
to work in a hospital setting and better
serve patients. “These involve highly specialized, challenging exams which are not
required for employment,” noted Pharmacy Services Manager Selma Yamamoto, PharmD, of Ken’s two board certifications. “One is hard enough, but two is
really incredible.” Ken continues to have a
passion for learning new things and then
sharing that knowledge with others. His
profession also requires constant reading
to keep up with the latest in treatments,
side effects, drug interactions, and more.
After graduating from the University
of New Mexico, Ken worked in California
for a while, then at Kuakini Medical Center for a year before coming to Queen’s in
1994. Ken’s interest in pharmacy is specific; he didn’t want to work where his interaction with people—especially patients—
would be limited, and he found the hospital setting to be best for him. Technically,
Ken’s priority is Native Hawaiian patients,
as he is currently sponsored by a grant to
that effect, but he actually sees all kinds
of patients. He wasn’t sure at first when
he took on the role of educational pharmacist, but realized that it’s exactly what
he wanted in terms of interacting with
people. “I especially like it when I work on
Saturdays,” he explains. “Then I take care
Ken and wife Anita.
Two successive EOYs from Pharmacy Services: Ken Lo and Kara Izumi .
Queen’s Pharmacy staff celebrate with Ken.
of discharges house-wide and I get to see
patients from all over the hospital.”
When not at Queen’s, Ken enjoys reading, going on walks with Anita, and serving at his church. He drives a shuttle for
First Presbyterian Church and picks up
people from retirement homes for church
on Sundays. He as two grown children—
a son who is a lawyer in New York and a
daughter in nursing at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
QHS Builds Finance
& Supply Chain
Superhighway
FIVE FINANCE SYSTEMS to channel the
funds, 12 supply chain systems to deliver
the goods, but soon—one system to rule
them all. That, in a nutshell, summarizes
the current state of QHS’s many aging
finance and supply chain systems—and
the newly launched Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) project that will soon replace them with a standardized, unifying
system. (See box to find out how you can
enter the ERP Name Game contest to win
a $100 gift card.) Like a superhighway
that replaces outdated and roundabout
roadways, the new ERP system will:
• Bring efficiency to finance and supply
chain processes
• Improve internal customer service by
making things faster and easier
• Increase productivity
• Reduce costs
• Allow better and faster decisions
In the coming months, an ERP Project
Team will study the limitations of our current financial and supply chain systems,
then begin designing standardized busi(Continued on page 3.)
Language of Caring
(Continued from page 1.)
the 10 Language of Caring modules will be
introduced in 30- to 45-minute sessions to
be conducted at department meetings by
a facilitator who belongs to your department. The department-based rollout will
allow staff to learn the modules over a period of months without having to commit
to lengthy whole- or half-day seminars.
The problem identified in Language
of Caring is that in today’s hectic, high
pressure health care environment, caring
employees have become very busy and
task-oriented to the point where their
caring may not come across to the people they serve. The workshops will help
staff communicate the Language of Caring more fluently and consistently so that
the patients, families, and coworkers they
serve feel their caring and become less
anxious to become more trusting, confident, and cooperative. In short, they feel
safe and supported in your caring hands.
The Language of Caring is a dynamic,
evidence-based strategy that not only
shows others how much you care, but
in the process also improves patient outcomes, CAHPS (Consumer Assessment
of Healthcare Providers and Systems)
QHS Superhighway
(Continued from page 2.)
ness processes and Oracle PeopleSoft
software that will become the finance and
supply chain superhighway of QHS that
will reach across the entire organization.
The transformative project will take approximately two years from assessment
to complete launch. Most of it, however,
will be up and running somewhere in
the middle of 2016, with the balance
completed in 2017. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a firm with expertise in health
care and best practices in such processes
and software, has been contracted as the
business transformation and implementation partner for the project.
The ERP project will directly affect the
way people order supplies, pay vendors,
process accounting information, and provide financial information. In the end, all of
this will lead to replacing outdated systems with one that will bring unity, efficiency, and modern best practices to QHS’s
finance and supply chain systems.
Managers at a recent Language of Caring training session.
scores, financial health, the effectiveness of initiatives, and patient safety—all
of which will advance Queen’s mission. It
is also itended to build staff engagement,
professional pride, and a sense of contribution by transforming organizations into
cultures of caring.
The Language of Caring initiative creates alignment by developing a common language for caring communication, clearly defining and standardizing
best-practice communication skills without scripting. It mobilizes all employees
as engaged contributors who together
create a culture and community of caring
ERP
Name
Game
C O N T E S T
without adding time to already crammed
schedules. The Language of Caring also
builds the communication skills necessary
for the implementation of best-practice
tactics, such as hourly rounding, greeting
protocols, discharge phone calls, whiteboard conversations, and more.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the
smallest act of caring, all of which have
the potential to turn a life around,” said
late author and motivational speaker Leo
Buscaglia. Queen’s opens the door to the
power of caring in 2015.
The Queen’s Health Systems has
launched a project to build a finance and supply chain superhighway that will transform finance and
supply chain processes. Right now,
the project is simply called “the ERP
Project,” you are invited to invent a
catchy title —something simple, inspiring, and descriptive. The winning
entry will be used to brand all ERP
project materials, including communications, activities, and training materials. The winner will receive a $100
gift certificate and be invited to the
official project kick-off later in April.
Deadline: Friday, April 3, 2015, by 5:00 pm. Please submit your contest
entry to: Cori Chang at [email protected], OR Via interoffice mail to
Cori Chang, Manamana 310, Honolulu campus. For employees only.
ERP Project Name:
Your Name:
Department:
Email:
Phone:
FOR SALE TO HIGHEST BIDDER: QMC
transport vehicle, 2009 Matrix, 71,173
miles. Needs water pump and thermostat, and work on front end suspension.
Submit bid to [email protected] by
Friday, March 20, 2015.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FREE PREDIABETES EDUCATION classes for the community begin this week
at North Hawai‘i Community Hospital
(NHCH). The classes will be held from
5:00 – 6:30 pm in three, 90-minute group
sessions on March 17, 24, and 31; April
6, 13, and 20; May 6, 13, and 20; June 9,
23, and 30; and July 15, 22, and 29. Jennifer Rabideau, certified diabetes nurse
educator at the NHCH Diabetes Wellness
Center, will lead the sessions. Self and
physician referrals are welcome. Pre-registration is required. Call 808-881-4832.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TAMARA PAPPAS, MBA, is the new Di-
3rd Floor Corridors
Restricted By Regulation
THE CORRIDORS IN ‘Iolani 3, Kinau 3, and
QET 3 will be restricted to staff and physicians only beginning Monday, March 23,
2015. QMC is required to follow the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities, which places certain restrictions on general public
rector of Medical Staff Services, Clinical Quality Improvement and the Center of Outcomes Research & Evaluation
(CORE) at QMC in Honolulu. She previously held leadership positions at Hawai‘i
Pacific Health and the Hawai‘i State Department of Health. Tamara is a member
of the Hawai‘i Statewide Stroke Taskforce, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
START YOUR DAY WITH a healthy breakfast! QMC registered dietitians will hand
out acai bowl recipes and answer nutrition questions in the Harkness dining
room at QMC in Honolulu on Wednesday,
March 18, from 7:00 to 9:00 am. Receive
a free 16.9 oz. bottle of water with acai
purchase from 6:15 -9:00 am that day.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“MY ACHING JOINTS,” a free Speaking of
Health community lecture, will be held on
Thursday, March 19, at QMC-West O‘ahu
from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in the main lobby.
Orthopedic surgeons Alexander Garber,
access to recovery and surgical areas. Access will be via card readers only. Please
see map (right) for the doors (marked in
solid black) that will restrict access to the
corridors mentioned above. There will be
intercoms near the card readers which
patients and visitors can use for staff assistance. If you have any questions, please
call Cynthia Sakamoto at 691-4808. For
questions on card reader access, please
call Alex Nuesca of Security at 691-4508.
PACU
CCCU
Card Reader &
Intercom to CCCU
OR
CCU
Waiting
Area
QET 3 Corridor
QET 3
Patient
Elevator
Lobby
Card Reader & Intercom
to OR, PACU &
Cardiac Recovery Unit
QET 3
Public
Elevator
Lobby
Nalani 3
Cardiac
Recovery
Unit
QHS/QMC Pres. . . . . . . .Art Ushijima
Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Keala Peters
Editor/Writer . . . . . . . . . .Jason Kimura
Kamehameha 3
Assist. Ed./Writer . . . . . Glee Stormont
NHCH Contributor . . .Krista Anderson
Kinau 3
Card Reader & Intercom
Iolani 3
Elevator Lobby
The Queen’s Print Connection is published by Creative Services. If you have
news or wish to opine, call 691-7532 or
email [email protected]. The news
deadline is Monday prior to publication.
Card Reader
Card Reader
Card Reader & Intercom
to OR, PACU &
Cardiac Recovery Unit
MD, PhD, Jason Kaneshige, MD, and
Lorrin Lee, MD, will discuss: Osteoarthritis…why do I ache so much; What can be
done about it; and Should I consider joint
replacement? Reserve a seat by calling
691-3620 or go online to queenswestoahu.org/classes-and-events.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“TOGETHER WE CAN STOP DIABETES! Help
make a positive impact in the lives of
our families and community,” encourages QMC diabetes educator, nurse, and
mother, Grace Schonhardt. Join Grace
and the QHS team at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Step Out Walk
to be held on Saturday, March 21 at
Kapi‘olani Park. QMC – West O‘ahu will
hold on-campus registration for the Step
Out Walk in the cafeteria at lunchtime
on Thursday, March 19. The annual fundraiser supports research to find a cure
for this all too common disease. Register
or make a donation online at http://main.
diabetes.org/goto/QueensTeam. Queen’s
is a Premier Sponsor of the event and your
registered participation, with at least $50
in pledges, is a qualifying WOW activity.
Phone
Restricted Access Door
The Queen’s Health Systems consists of The
Queen’s Medical Center, The Queen’s Medical
Center – West O’ahu, The Queen’s Health Care
Centers, Queen Emma Land Company, Queen’s
Development Corporation, Queen’s Insurance
Exchange, Inc., Moloka‘i General Hospital and
North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, and has
ownership interests in CareResource Hawai‘i,
Hamamatsu/Queen’s PET Imaging Center, and
Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc.
Phone to OR,
PACU & CCCU
Iolani 3
www.queens.org
Card Reader &
Intercom to OR
The Queen’s Health Systems is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation