National Volunteer Week gave us many opportu-nities to celebrate during the week of April 16th. Several of us from Walnut Creek ventured to JMMC Concord to join with the volunteers there on the 17th. Beverly Riggs, Tralee Dobson and I arrived early to participate in the Robin Heinschel Memorial and Volunteer Leaders Dedication Service at 11 a.m. Robin came in as President of the Concord Volunteers at the same time I be-came Auxiliary President in early 2010. We had become good friends through CAHHS Confer-ence participation over several years and looked forward to serving together. Sadly, Robin was diagnosed with cancer in the early fall of 2010 and died in January of 2011.

There is now the Robin Heinschel Memorial Rest Corner, dedicated to the JMMC Concord Volun-teer Leaders, in the lovely and peaceful Healing Garden outside the lobby of the new Hofmann Tower. Robin’s husband, Bob, and daughter, Nan-cy, joined us as Al Malick, President of Concord Volunteers, welcomed everyone. Erica Macs, Staff Chaplain, gave a beautiful and moving Invocation and Blessing. She was followed by Mike Thomas, President and CAO JMCC and Tina Segrove, Director of Facilities Management. Volunteer lead-ers and guests were invited to share memories of Robin, and then we visited with her family and wandered over to view the plaque placed near the special corner of the garden.

From there we were joined by Dorothy Van De Poel, Maureen Bell, Karen Chantri and Yvonne Halvorson for a festive lunch and fashion show, in keeping with the Rock ‘n Roll theme. It was fun for us to catch up with the volunteer leaders from Concord, with whom we have spent many CAHHS Conference hours!

We paused on Wednesday before rocking into the Walnut Creek volunteer celebration on Thurs-day. Roxanne had planned a “rockin’ good time” for us, and it was certainly all of that! We missed her smiling face that day but sent greetings and healing thoughts her way! Many of us reported

Thoughts from your Auxiliary Presidentback to her, following the event, so that she could get the flavor of the fun and festive feeling that flowed through the Ball Auditorium.

Alice Villanueva welcomed us all and guided us through the fun! Jane Willemsen, our President and Chief Administrative Officer, spoke, as did Debra Pendergast, Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. Members of the JMH staff served the volunteers and manned the various tables. It was quite a 50’s feast--with popcorn, hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream sundaes and more.

VIP (Volunteer Incentive Program) Awards were announced by Alice Villanueva. The 2011 awardees received a CVS gift card for $30. If you have not yet signed up to participate in the VIP, do it now through the Volunteer Office. It is easy to earn an annual gift card. All you have to do is get your regular check-ups and take good care of yourself! It is definitely a win-win!

The star of the show was, of course, Elvis! He was sensational and played to the crowd with good humor and a wonderful voice. Louis Vanni made a perfect Elvis, with a flair for entertain-ing. Herman Eberitzch was also present to play Rock ‘n Roll Classics on the piano. Many, maybe most, were singing along and enjoying the moment. Everyone was smiling, tapping, swaying, swinging and—yes—rockin’!

There were many winners during the Oppor-tunity Drawing. Squeals from the winners and cheers from the crowd could be heard from all corners of the room. Everyone was clutch-ing our special gift, the bright red John Muir Health notebook, inscribed with “Our Volunteers ROCK!” And we do…and did that day, too!

With appreciation of your gifts of time and talent,

Sis

Sis Connolly:Auxiliary President

President ~ Sis Connolly Editor ~ P. I. Mende

Muir MissileJOHN MUIR MEDICAL CENTER AUXILIARY MAY 2012

For questions or concerns that you wish to address regarding Auxiliary issues, do come and visit me in the Auxiliary Office located on the 1st floor, on Wednesdays between 12:45 - 2:15 p.m. You may telephone me at...(925) 930-7837 or e-mail me anytime at... sisconnolly@sbcglobal.net

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to reflect Nurse’s Week, Mother’s Day, and Graduations. The spring season is celebrated here with beautiful flowers, colorful cards, interesting scarves, jewelry, adorable baby gifts, cuddly plush, and seasonal apparel. With the arrival of the warmer weather, we have had a lot of interest in fashions for cruises and warm weather activities. Did you see the ruffled skirts from Samuel Dong which normally retail for $119.00? Our price is only $36.75! Have you seen our musical toys? Two very charming ones are a bear who sings “Butterfly Kisses” while a butterfly flutters on his nose, and a bear in a baseball uniform who sings “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. Happy Pills are still a big seller…No one can resist giggling while operating one! Wonderfully scented, jewel toned gem soaps are also a popular item. They are not only beautiful, but gentle to your skin and long lasting. If you feel like living in a Zen moment, try the Buddha Board for sheer relaxation. You simply paint

Karen Chantri: Manager Muir Galleria Gift Shop

Our Volunteers “Rocked” as we welcomed them to the Rock and Roll themed Volunteer Apprecia-tion event commemorating their wonderful dedica-tion and service! Many special thanks go to our Muir Galleria staff for keeping our shop running so smoothly…THANK YOU! THANK YOU!It’s worth repeating again and again, Muir Galleria would be non-existent without its amazing volun-teers. Our staff not only takes full responsibility for buying and stocking the interesting merchan-dise available to our customers, but they do their very best to graciously serve our customers. Many thanks, too, to the Volunteer Office staff, in-cluding Rose, Katie, Patti, and Yvonne, who work so diligently to support and provide staffing for the shop. And also thanks to Roxanne for planning our fun event, which included delicious 50’s era diner foods and an entertaining visit from “Elvis”.We have quickly rearranged our “Easter” shop

The Galleria

Patti Sparks: Coordinatorfor Volunteers and Docents

In late March we had Student Orientation for 47 new high school student volunteers. They are now in the middle of their four-week training program with Supervisors and established Student Volun-teers. They will be starting their new assignments in mid-May. Please join me in welcoming the following new student volunteers:

Madison Aberer, Mikaella Alegre, Kaushik Amancherla, Sara Amaral, Kelsey Angus, Ryen Bani-Hashemi, Silvia Bastea, Sophie Belinn-Arnone, Meshi Bhatia, Aethan Bollozos, Dylan Brodsky, Destiny Carter, Arnold Chan, Eulove De Los Reyes, Angeline De Los Reyes, Ayana Dixon, Caroline Dooley, Jessica Elson, John Gonser, Teresa Halsey, Greg Hefner, John Jankowski, Maya Konstantino, Harrison Lam, Jade Leung, Vincent Ly, Jennifer Ly, Stephanie Martinez, Laya Mutte, Nicholas Nguyen, Isabella Orantes, Salvatore Pasquino-Greco, Alisa Pokrovsky, Karthik Prasad, Zuhal Rahmani, Verma Ravina, Becca Rubsaman, Sophie Schick, Jayne Skinner, Sanjna Tandon, Annelise Tappe, Cara Van Uden, Raechel Wagner, Stacy Wu, Michelle Wu, Sophie Zhang.

Also included the program was Pat Mayfield, an international speaker, professional trainer and highly accomplished business consultant. Her presentation was on the importance of professional-ism and authenticity in the workplace, and the attitudes and behaviors that shape our professional imprint. It was a dynamic one hour session that engaged students in various exercises as part of the learning process.

A large part of the success of this training is due to teamwork. Thanks to the staff who gave presen-tations and helped out with this Orientation as well as all of the volunteers who helped to pull all the details together. They are: JMH/WC staff: Yvonne Halvorson, Dept. Secretary/Administrative Assistant,/Volunteer Services, Dan Zoellner, Director of Safety, Susan Blain, Employee Health and Marge Johnson, RN-Immu-nization Clinic Nurse, Peggy Sutter, RN-Endocrine Renal, Nick Parish, Weekend Supervisor, Lift Team/Transport, and Tony Sponzilli, Media Services Coordinator.Student Volunteers: Almela Lapitan, Haley Harmon, Chrissa Karagiannis, Sharanth Kumarasi-van, Nicole Hohenstein, Elizabeth Ivy, Brynne Ichiuji, Nicole Bannon, Patricia Miraflor, Nicole Santos, Sindjuja Ramini, Joe Li, Kelsey Kriech, Maddie Mendes, Katherine Hsu, Kathleen Wong, Katey De Santi and Henry ValdezAdult Volunteers: Maureen Bell, Bob Gangi and Eileen Roberto

Patti

Student Orientation

continued on page 3

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What’s not to love about May?! The grass is greener than green, rainbows arch high over-head, the flowers are ablaze with color, and summer is on the horizon! The Anglo-Saxon name for May was Tri-Milchi, in recognition of the fact that with the lush new grass, cows could be milked three times a day! There is an old tale that says the dew of May has magic powers, and that anyone who washes their face in it will have a beauti-ful complexion all through the year. May’s dew is also supposed to be able to remove freckles, spots, and pimples. (I wonder if I can get a dew col-lector at the Garret?!)

We are absolutely delighted with our beautifully “improved” Garret truck, which has undergone some minor adjustments along with a bit of cos-metic work. The logistics of having such a job done proved complicated! Finding an establish-ment with an EPA-approved paint spray booth that could handle the 10-foot 4-inch height of our truck was a tall order, and Bob Hoffmann, our Supervisor of Property, called it “serendipity” when they found just such a spot which dis-pensed “Quality service with a capital “Q!” The truck was purchased for us by the Auxiliary in 2000, and has logged close to 9000 miles travel-ing around to pick up donations for the shop. This is a unique and special service we provide our donors...the luxury of a pick up for their large volume or large sized pieces. Our Pick-Up Crew includes Bea Freeman, who staffs at the Gar-ret, but also coordinates the pick-up schedule, plus Bob Hoffmann, and Don Granberg, also a staffer at the shop, who drive out to the homes to fetch offerings. Bob likes being able to talk to our patrons about who the Garret benefits and

why. He says the job does require some PR tact when trying to explain “sale-able” versus “non-sale-able” items, as well as team work when figuring the best plan for loading heavy items into the truck...”lift with the strength of the legs, not the back, so as to preserve your back for all eternity!” Don says they’ve learned they

can’t always trust Map Quest! He loves loading and unloading the bags and boxes...”It’s just like Christmas!” He remembers a cabinet that was so heavy it couldn’t be lifted without remov-ing the drawers. They pulled the drawers out one by one & found an old, old baby book, long given up for lost... that the donor was thrilled to have back! Bob and Don can always use help with their retrievals; call us at the shop to sign up!

On Friday, June1st we will be hosting a Training Orientation at the Garret from 9:00 to10:00 a.m. We welcome all new volunteers plus any old timers interested in a refresher course to join us for an informa-tive session on the history of the Garret, our policies, procedures, and to meet the Board members and Supervisors. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Jackie Pomerantz, at the Garret 932-9474, or at home 939-9287. ALL are welcome! We hope to see you there!

In the meantime, come on down and check out our ever-changing showroom! There’s something with your name on it...I promise! Oh, and...according to superstition...no matter what, never buy a broom in May or wash blankets...so, should you stumble upon the most beautiful blanket in the world at the Garret, avoid tossing it into the Maytag until June!

Have a splendiferous May!

Linda

Linda Laituri:Garret Volunteer

THE GARRET

THE GARRET 1530 Third AvenueWalnut Creek, CA 94597(925) 932-9474

CelticMaypoleDance

on the surface with water and your creation will come to life in bold design. Then, as the water slowly evapo-rates, your art will magically disappear leaving you with a clean slate and a clear mind-ready to create a whole new masterpiece. It’s also a great mess-free product for children to enjoy. It’s environmentally friendly as it only uses water-no ink, no paint, no chemicals, and with proper care will last for years. It is also 100% recyclable, and sells for only $10.95. If you are a volunteer with an aging uniform, the gift shop is now offering a 10% dis-count on the purchase of a new uniform to all volunteers with a current ID badge.

Save the date: June 25th and 26th, Dan Lindstedt will return to the Epstein 1 Conference room with his beautiful Thai Jewelry. Many people are looking forward to his sale so they can add to their collec-tion they purchased from him last year!

We at Muir Galleria always want to hear what you’re concerned about, how we can serve you better and what you would like to see here in the future. Hearing from you is the best way for us to ensure your enjoyment each time you visit us. If you fill out one of our surveys, you will be entered in a drawing to win a $10.00 gift card for any Muir Galleria purchase. You may also voice your opinion by calling Karen at the gift shop office at 925-947-5269, or email karen.chantri@johnmuirhealth.com

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ensure quality and customer service. The improve-ments will then be extended to other area hospitals. We anticipate that once fully implemented the peak number of additional patients brought in annually would be 700, which works out to one to two patients daily per campus.

Our clinical expertise and depth and breadth of servic-es also allow us to bring in patients from a larger geo-graphical area in northern California. This is consistent with John Muir Health’s strategic vision to grow as an organization beyond the communities we traditionally serve. We are also, in many cases, bringing patients who are part of the John Muir Physician Network closer to home to receive their care from physicians, nurses and clinical staff they know and trust.

We appreciate all of the work that has been done on the Transfer Center program by the Patient Access and Flow Optimization Committee. It will ultimately benefit our patients, the communities we serve, other communities in northern Califor-nia and John Muir Health.

John Muir Heath’s Medical Centers Recog-nized for Excellence in Radiation Oncology:First Hospitals in the East Bay to Receive Ac-creditation (from a JMH press release):John Muir Health’s Radiation Oncology programs at its Concord and Walnut Creek medical centers have received accreditation from The American College of Radiology (ACR), the nation’s oldest and most widely recognized radiation oncology and medical imaging accrediting body. This rec-ognition places John Muir Health in the company of 200 radiation oncology facilities in the United States that are ACR accredited or in the accredi-tation review process, and the only hospitals in the East Bay to be recognized.

The rigorous ACR review process includes a self-assessment and an independent external expert audit, based on the ACR guidelines and technical standards, which assesses the quali-fications of personnel, policies and procedures, equipment specifications, Quality Assurance activities, patient safety, and ultimately the qual-ity of patient care. ACR accreditation requires that the physicians providing radiation therapy treatment to patients meet stringent education and training standards. ACR accreditation also requires that the equipment is surveyed regularly by qualified medical physicists, to ensure that it is functioning properly, and that the radiation therapists administering the treatments are ap-propriately certified.

“We sought accreditation as a means to bench-mark our quality standards and to help us contin-uously improve the quality of care we provide to our patients,” said Michael Levine, M.D., Medical Director of Radiation Oncology. “We participated in a rigorous preparation that encompassed our entire department – physicians, physicists, nurses, clinicians, nurse navigators and social workers,” states Levine. “The entire process,

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With Sincere Appreciation and KUDOS! As many of you may know, I have had a period of health adversity recently! FIRST, I want to thank so many of you for the various expressions of caring and support –via balloons, flowers, cards, e-mails, phone calls over this time. I care deeply for our program and you, our wonderful volunteers, and your support has meant more than you will ever know. This has been an unexpected challenge and the support of those who you care about, when it is returned, is a true and miraculous comfort. I truly miss you and want to thank all of you! You are an amazing group of individuals and I feel honored to know you! Thank you again, and I hope to be back with you soon!

One of the special aspects of my hospitalization was watching so many of you in action. Wherever I was —so were you! There were patient relations volunteers, pastoral care visitors, volunteers in the ED, on the nursing units delivering newspapers, delivering flowers, always a special presence mak-ing a difference for our patients and staff! AND, from the medical staff, to the nursing staff, to the EVS team, to the nutrition services team, everyone talked about how WONDERFUL our Volunteers are! My KUDOS to you all —You are AWESOME!

John Muir Health Regional Transfer Center: (Following is a message from Administration)Because of the depth and breadth of the services we offer and our clinical expertise, John Muir Health’s medical centers are a desired destination for transfer patients throughout northern California. In the past, we were not always able to respond to transfer requests in a timely manner, leading to some being withdrawn and patients sent to other facilities.

In July 2011, the Patient Access and Flow Opti-mization Committee was formed to improve the process for requests and acceptance of transfer patients to John Muir Health’s medical centers, as well as to improve the experience for patients, referring hospitals, our physicians and staff. The committee, which includes physicians across multiple specialties and nursing directors, is seek-ing to make John Muir Health the premier regional transfer center in northern California.

Their work led to the development of the new John Muir Health Regional Transfer Center. By July 1, the Transfer Center will be staffed by RNs 24/7 to facilitate the transfer of patients into our medical centers. We have always had the capability to take transfer calls at any time, but now we are extending the dedicated hours of the transfer center coordina-tors to provide 24/7 support across both medical centers. Implementing this change will allow us to more promptly respond to transfer requests and decrease the time taken to accept transfers, which will avoid requests being withdrawn.

We are currently conducting a very successful pilot with Sutter Delta Medical Center to test the policy and process changes, including recording all calls to

Roxanne Foster: Director of Volunteer Services

Director of Volunteers

They are located on the ground floor in The Women’s Health Center ...1656 N. California Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596

TheWigSource...The Wig Source, part of the John Muir Medical Center Auxiliary and In-service Volunteers, is a free commu-nity service. They help women and children of all ages suffering from hair loss due to various medical treat-ments and conditions.

Hours of operation are ... 2nd and 4th Friday of each month 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Call (925) 947-5328 for appointments.

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including the two-day inspection, helped to en-sure that we are providing patients with the best possible care based on national standards. This is a significant achievement and recognition for our team and our program.”

The Radiation Oncology program at John Muir Health provides services at both the Concord and Walnut Creek medical centers. The program serves more than 1,000 patients each year and provides state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and advanced treatment technologies including: • RapidArc® IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) • Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) • Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) • Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) • Brachytherapy • Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) • Wide Bore 4D CT Scanner • Robotic Couch • Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) • Respiratory Gating

John Muir Health has one of the largest and the most technologically advanced Radiation Oncol-ogy programs in the Bay Area. Founded more than 30 years ago, the program is led by five board-certified radiation oncologists who have more than 100 years of combined experience.

Parking Reminder:I have been asked by Facilities to remind all vol-unteers to park in the Volunteer Parking Spaces in the Parking Structure or in another non-reserved space if it is a busy day and the Volunteer Spaces are full. Don’t forget to be sure your parking plac-ard is displayed. Facilities is patrolling all areas regularly. Volunteers with Handicapped Placards may also park in those specially-designated spaces with both of their placards in view. We have been asked again to respect the needs of our patients and visitors and NOT park in the parking lot in front of the new Main Entrance OR in the ED and Birth Center parking. Thank you for your assistance with this.

TheMusicBox:In this Music Box story, John Gruenstein, our first JMWC Hospital Musician of 10 years, shares the un-expected experiences of our hospital musicians. We continue to actively seek musicians to expand the patient-to-patient musician program. If you know a violinist, flutist, or guitarist interested in provid-ing this very special service, please notify us.

I also want to thank John and Wesley Cohen for their special visit to my room a few weeks back! I tell you it was a treat that brightened my day! Thank you both!

As we take in the beauty of our lovely Contra Costa spring with the green velvet hills, trees and flowers in blossom, I am reminded of our beautiful Rotunda, bringing nature inside, which you all worked tirelessly to bring to John Muir, Walnut Creek. Nature is indeed a healer AS are all of you who bring your caring and healing presence to our patients, visitors and staff with each shift of service. A most sincere thank you to all from me, a recent patient! With sincere affection and appreciation,

Roxanne

Music, Music Everywhere

Some days are slow playing music for patients, and some days…well, it seems like there is music and musicians everywhere, and not just us hospital musicians. The other day, one patient and his wife received me warmly. Oh, the husband liked listening to my songs well enough, and knew a lot about folk music, but what his wife most wanted was to video my fingers with her cell phone so she could improve her own finger-picking technique. I was happy to oblige with a variety of tunes, and then lent her my guitar, and she played a beautiful arrangement of the old Shaker Hymn “Simple Gifts”. After a lot of fun there, I traveled on to a second musical encounter – with a big band saxophone player, well-along in years, surrounded by his musical fam-ily. They all enjoyed some “sing alongs” that I played, and then as before I passed my guitar over – this time to his son who played great jazz guitar as his father sang along. Great joy happens when we are all music-makers!

John

Kay Andrade: Art show Chairperson

Exhibit Location ~ corridor of the Aspen Surgery Center - first floor of the parking structure.Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m..

For detailed information about this exhibit contact... the Association chairperson, Lorraine Botsford (925)934-9417

Concord Art Association ~ May 5 - June 8

Mount Diablo Education ~ June 9 - July 13 For detailed information about this exhibit contact... the Association chairperson, Patricia Strout (925)691-9758

Art Exhibit

Highlights from THE CAHHS CONFERENCECalifornia Association of Hospitals and Health Systems – February 20-23, 2012 in San Francisco Highlights from Maureen Bell, Vice President Ways and Means, Muir Galleria Gift Shop Bookkeeper:The Conference was well publicized and organized. The seminar on retail sales that I attended included helpful information on products, pricing and placement of items in a store. The discussions on exchanging inventory with other hospitals was interesting, as was learn-ing about participating in the Purchasing Power plus program and the Bigger Box program. We received detailed information on how to promote our sales and the valuable points about the employee payroll deduction program.

The second seminar I attended focused mainly on promoting your products by advertising on the internet with various programs such as Shopify.com, Foursquare, Google and Constant Contact. The exhibitor show was interesting, offering a well-planned display area and a chance to contact new vendors for the Gift Shop. I definitely enjoyed the opportunity to talk to other volunteers facing similar challenges and to gain insight into their solutions.

Highlight? Definitely winning a $50 gift certificate in one of the Opportunity Drawings!

Highlights from Linda Borrelli, Vice President Membership and Docent Chairman: I was able to attend the CAHHS Conference on Thursday, February 23rd and had an amazing experience. I met many hospital volunteers from throughout the state and exchanged ideas and comments. In the morning, I attended a meeting on “Helping Define and Improve the Patient Experience”. It as conducted by a group from Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and it was all about improving the patient experience and the effect of the program on HCAHPS scores. This is being accomplished by providing patient relation volunteers on every nursing unit to help resolve patients’ non-medical needs and concerns.

This was followed by a luncheon where the featured speaker was a young woman who had been in an automobile accident and was a “Code Blue”. After her remarkable recovery, she had become a volunteer at the same hospital and told of her experiences that culmi-nated in her becoming an employee. It was a very inspiring talk and touched us all. The afternoon was devoted to learning about Patient Support Programs that are found at UCSF Medical Center and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. It was interesting to find that here at John Muir we provide most of the same services to our patients. Sharing information from the attending hospitals and the other volunteers was the highlight of my attendance.

Tralee Dobson, Auxiliary Vice President Ways and Means, attended the entire California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference and writes, as follows, about Patient Satisfaction: Patient satisfaction was the theme of day three of the conference. Helping to improve the patient experience is the goal for all of us. Why?—because hospitals will be reimbursed based on patient satisfaction surveys.One California hospital determined that patients often won’t share their concerns with staff because they don’t want to get their nurse in trouble and/or they fear they may be treated poorly if they complain. This particular hospital started a new group of volunteers that they call Patient Relations Volunteers. They even changed the uniform so they can be distinguished from other volunteers. This way, patients can identify volunteers who are there to assist them. Patient Relation Volunteers are able to hunt for missing belongings or go to the kitchen for additional of missing items for patient meals.

Other California hospitals have RIE or Rapid Improvement Events in which concerns are discussed and hopefully solved. A volunteer is always part of the RIE, along with staff. These hospitals’ efforts have resulted in handi-wipes on every meal tray. Note pads and pencils are at each patient bedside, so patients can write down concerns or important information. In some hospitals there is a ready supply of reading glasses for those patients who forgot to bring theirs. Expensive? Not from the Dollar Store, and if it improves patient satisfaction, the price is right.

We know John Muir Health, Walnut Creek is a great hospital with great volunteers, but are there things we can do to make it even better?

Patti Gallinatti, Garret Marketing Supervisor: Attending the CAHHS Conference gave a clearer picture and a better understanding of what lies ahead for hospitals and volunteers, as they meet the challenges in the communities that they serve. It took our breath away. After the opening speakers, we had the opportunity to listen to Nancy Lubin, CEO of Do Something.org, Founder, of Dress for Success, and a Social Media Expert. She presented “Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business” and, since the Garret is a business, our attention was truly focused on her 11 ideas for volunteers. She was not only entertaining, challenging and so enthusiastic; I could feel the excitement and energy that radiated throughout the audience. Martha (May) took notes and as we later discussed each idea and thought about the possibilities and their use, we continued to feel energized by her presentation.

Being able to attend the Gift Show at the Moscone Center was a treat and so much fun. We saw so many things that are donated at the Garret, and it was interesting to see the cost of the items at wholesale and what the buyers were buying. We were excited about what we are offering our own customers at the Garret. I thought the time was well spent and am grateful for the opportunity to attend.

Highlights from Martha May, Auxiliary Nominating Chairman and Garret Thrift Shop Treasurer: I appreciated being able to attend the CAHHS Leadership Conference in San Francisco in February. The speakers (CEO’s) from the various hospitals were very informative in explaining the problems facing hospitals, all the costs associated with running a hospital, as well as all the legislation/regulations coming very soon or already in place. It is a monumental challenge, to say the least. I especially enjoyed Nancy Lubin’s talk on “The Power of Zero in Business”. She spoke with truth and humor in her presentation. Her talk on the “eleven ideas” for vol-unteers was great!

continued on page 116

WouldtherealElvisstandupplease?

Volunteer Week Celebration and BrunchCelebrated Thursday April 19

in The Ball Auditorium - JMMC Walnut Creek

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Dirk Owens : Public Policy

What’s Gonna Happen To Our Hospital?What might John Muir Walnut Creek look like in 2014? Here is a serious reduction of the California Hospital Association’s 11 page report: Environ-mental Scan and View of the Future.

Demographic Environment: (pundits love demographics … they are so persuasive) • California is home to more than 37.6 million people. Estimates are that our population will grow to more than 39.2 million by 2015. • We are aging. In 2000, 3.6 million folk were Medicare-eligible. By 2020, 6.3 million may be. Our growth is driven by births and net foreign migration. • Whites are a declining percentage of the state’s population and are the oldest of the racial and ethnic groups. • Hispanics are growing significantly in the state’s population and are the youngest of the racial and ethnic groups. • The proportion of low-income residents is increasing and the gap between the wealthy and moderate income earners is also widening.

Economic Environment: • State budget pressures and competition for scarce funding will persist. The econ- omy will continue a painfully slow recov- ery. Unemployment will remain high. • Government bodies will continue to shift health care costs to the private sector. • Cost pressures on hospitals will intensify, driven by increasing staffing expenses, the cost of the unfunded seismic man date, and technology-related demands. • Private health insurance premiums will increase at a rate higher than the con- sumer price index.

Hospitals and Systems: • Health care providers will evolve from volume-based to value-based payments, challenging hospitals and physicians to change the way they deliver health care. • Hospitals will implement strategies that include aligning hospitals, physicians and other providers, using evidence- based practices to improve quality and patient safety and developing integrated electronic information systems. • The cost of meeting statutory mandates, nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and multiply ing regulatory requirements will contribute to the closure of more hospitals. • Mergers and acquisitions will increase. • Ambulatory service centers will expand as physicians build or invest in new am- bulatory technology. • Retail medicine located in “big box”

Public Policy stores and pharmacies will grow and reach beyond basic preventive or primary care to the management of chronic conditions. • Timely access to hospital beds and services will become more problematic. • Uncompensated care will rise as govern- ment payers constrict payments and private payers shift risk and costs to the patients. • Hospital emergency departments and trauma centers will continue to be over used and underfunded.

Health Care Workforce: • The graying of the health care work- force and aging of the baby boomers will compound health care by decreasing the pool of health care workers and increas- ing the demand for health care services. • Compensation for personnel in short supply will rise disproportionately.

Technology: • The cost of implementing new clinical technology will outpace many health care providers’ ability to deliver new prod- ucts and services. • New technologies will positively impact health status and longevity, but, on balance, will increase health care spending. • Health information will evolve, empow- ering patients, and enabling comparative shopping for health care services. • Use of remote patient-management tech- nologies will increase.

Physicians: • Shortages of primary-care physicians and other primary-care providers will worsen. • The number of non-physician practitioners, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners, will grow. Nurses will take on new roles in patient care. • More inpatient hospital care will be deliv- ered by hospitalists, intensivists and other hospital-based specialists.

Conclusion:The period ahead will be a time of unprecedented challenges, disruptive change and great opportunity.

Your Columnist’s Personal Perspective …Who was it – Samuel Goldman, Pogo, or Yogi Berra who opined, “Never predict anything, especially the future!”

Whatever happens, we are so fortunate to have the best executive leadership team from Cal Knight and Jane Willemsen on down to the Aux-iliary Executive Committee!

Dirk

There‛s just nothing happier than a Golfer‛s smile.

And nothing brings those out more than the Volunteers at the

Auxiliary‛s Annual Golf TournamentTo see for yourself,

sign up and be there atOrinda Country Club

On Monday, September 24thJust fi ll out the sign-up form on the back of this page,

mail it in, or drop it in one of the boxes by the sign in screens at the hospital. We‛ll contact you

and work out your assignment for the event.

It’s the 26th AnnualJMMCAuxiliaryGolfTournament

andYes, I’ll be glad to help out as a volunteer on

Monday, September 24, 2012 at Orinda Country Club.

Name: _____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Phone: ____________________

I am a golfer: ___ I am not a golfer: ___ Let’s hit it really big again this yearI already have a Volunteer polo shirt: ___

Please loan me a Shirt. Size: sm.__ med. __ lg. __ xl. __ xxl. __

I can work: 1st shift (10:15-2:15) ___ 2nd shift (2:oo-5:30) ___ either shift ___ both shifts ___

I have volunteered at the tournament before: yes ___ no ___If yes, what positions have you filled? __________________________ __________________ ________

Many thanks for your help. You can either drop this off in the Golf Tournament boxes in the Volunteer office or Welcome Center, or mail it to : Elaine Laderer 400 Brutus Ct. Walnut Creek, CA. 94598

If you have any questions, or need additional information please call Elaine at; (925) 943 - 1392

11

In April, the Docents were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Central Utility Plant (CUP) for the Long Tower. The CUP is the low building located near the corner of Ygnacio Valley Road and La Casa Via. Our guide was Eddie Ramirez, Chief Engineer, 9 year veteran of Plant Operations. Eddie and co-worker Jim Pickard gave us a high level overview of three important systems: electrical, air conditioning, and heating and hot water.

We get 2 electrical feeds from PG&E – one feed for Phases 1, 2 and 3 (East, North/South and West buildings) and the second feed for Phase 4, the Long Tower. The Long Tower feed is 21,000 volts! Compare this to the 220 you get at home. Just like your 220 is stepped down to a usable 110, the 21,000 volts are stepped down in the CUP to something more usable. The power priorities are 1) Critical and Life Safety, such as the operating rooms and inten-sive care units, 2) Non-essential and equipment and 3) Non-essential, such as lights.

In addition to the feed from PG&E, we have 3 cogeneration (cogen for short) machines. They run on natural gas and generate electric-ity, thereby reducing the draw from PG&E. In addition, the heat from producing electricity is used to preheat water for the boilers discussed below. In some circumstances, surplus electri-cal power from the cogens can be fed back to the PG&E grid.

In the event of a power failure, we have 3 back-up generators, each about the size of a large SUV. They run on diesel and we have capacity for 26,000 gallons of fuel. The generators are V16 engines that produce almost 3000 horse-

power each. They are only used in emergencies but are routinely tested each month. They were called into service prior to the Long Tower being occupied and provided seamless power for over 3 days. In the Long Tower, while running on the backup generators, virtually everything works. In contrast, in Phases 1, 2 and 3 only the red outlets could be used.

Inside the CUP are 3 chillers and outside are 3 cooling towers, which are an important part of the air conditioning system. The chillers cool water to 44 degrees which is then used to cool the air. The cooling towers transfer heat from the water and send it back to the chillers. We also have 3 hot water boilers, which run on natural gas but can also run on diesel. Heat from the cogens is used to pre-heat water for the boilers, which is used for building heat and for “domestic water”. Water for building heat is 180 degrees; water for sinks and showers is 120 degrees.

Much of what goes on in Plant Operations is regulat-ed by OSHPD, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Design.The Plant Operations organization has 20 engineers, plus additional support staff. While some specific training occurs on the job, most of the employees have some combination of related higher education, vocational training and work experience. The facilities are locked and badged for security, and there is someone on site 24/7.

Too much technical detail? Eyes glazing over? The Docents will remember this if nothing else – we have a highly skilled and very customer focused organization, tending to high tech and redundant equipment, which provides the medical center with reliable and transparent facilities support.

Mauna

Docents

Mauna Wagner: Docent

The June newsletter deadline is ... Thursday Noon, May 31, 2012. Delivery options are as follows... E mail. your copy ...to sisconnolly@sbcglobal.net and to irene_mende@yahoo.com Please use Arial 10 font with single line spacing,Only one single space after each period between sentences is required. Type Muir Missile on the subject line, before sending. All TYPED hard copies and /or notes should be placed in the EDITOR’s folder in the Volunteer Office.

Editor’s Notes

Being able to attend the California Gift Show at the Moscone Center was a real treat, as well. We were only able to get through about half of it since our feet were about ready to fall off our legs from all the walking and checking out the lovely merchandise. We saw quite a few great ideas for the Galleria Gift Shop and reported them to Dorothy Van De Poel. She placed an order for one of our suggestions.

Volunteers are such a necessary asset to the success of hospitals. What would a hospital do with them? Thank you for allowing us to attend this conference. It was very worthwhile, as well as a lot of fun.

continued from page 6

Non ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDWalnut Creek, CA

Permit #1023

JOHN MUIR HEALTHJohn Muir Medical Center Auxiliary

1601 Ygnacio Valley RoadWalnut Creek CA 94598-3194 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Calendar of Events for 2012MAY 10 Missile Mailing Epstein 2 9:00 a.m.15 Docents Meeting Concord Campus 9:00 a.m.18 Teddy Bear Meeting Mariposa 10:00 - Noon 21 Auxiliary Board Meeting Epstein 1 9:00 a.m.21 Executive Committee Epstein 1 10:30 a.m.22 Mariposa Guild Meeting Members Home 7:00 p.m.28 VOLUNTEER OFFICE CLOSED Memorial Day Holiday31 MISSILE DEADLINE Aux President & to Editor Thursday Noon

JUNE1 Golf Meeting Sterns 9:30 a.m.5 Garret Board Garret 10:00 a.m. 8 Teddy Bear Meeting Mariposa 10 - Noon 12 Galleria Board Sterns 9:00 a.m.14 Missile Mailing Ball Auditorium 9:00 a.m.19 Docent Meeting Member’s Home TBA25 Auxiliary Board Hanson 9:00 a.m.25 Executive Committee Hanson 10:30 a.m.

JULY - NO MISSILE6 Golf Meeting Sterns 9;30 a.m.20 Teddy Bear Meeting Mariposa 10:00 - Noon 27 MISSILE DEADLINE AUG Aux President & to Editor Friday Noon

NOTES: 1 Check postings in hall for possible room changes.2 Garret Staffing for May..................................... .......Staff and Board3 Garret Staffing for June, July, August......................Staff and Board

MAY

VOLUNTEERS SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS

“May” by Joan Miro