Around UMHS

The Medical School’s Office of Research & Graduate Studies developed a new database to help UMMS faculty, postdoctoral/clinical fellows and graduate/medical students find research funding and recognition opportunities. Called M-Quest, the database allows users to search by type of award, appointment status, demographics, activity recognized (clinical or research) and funding source. Funding sources included in the database are foundations, the U-M Medical School itself, other schools and colleges across the U-M campus, and professional societies. Federal funding sources are not included. Currently, M-Quest contains more than 150 fellowships, grants, honors/prizes and travel awards. Check out M-Quest.

This July, U-M’s Children’s Emergency Services expanded its hours of operation to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We’ve always offered continuous, onsite emergency medicine coverage for pediatric patients, but before July overnight pediatric emergency services were provided in the main Emergency Department. Now, we are providing emergency and trauma care for young patients in an area specifically for pediatric patients and families. This is a major enhancement to service, both internally when it comes to patient flow and externally in terms of access to U-M pediatric care.

It’s almost October and that means it’s almost time for Open Enrollment—the time when faculty, staff and retirees can elect new benefits or change benefits enrollments for the upcoming year. Open Enrollment 2007 takes place Oct. 8-19. Any changes you make to your benefits during this time will be effective Jan. 1, 2008. This year’s medical plan options feature U-M Premier Care, a customized plan developed exclusively for—and offered only to—our U-M community. This plan replaces the M-CARE HMO and will be administered by Blue Care Network. Open Enrollment info and details.

Celebrate Quality Month this October by attending the “UMHS Improvement Building a Better U” event. View Plan-Do-Check-Act exhibits Tuesday, Oct. 23 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Wednesday, Oct. 24 (8 a.m.-3 p.m.) in the Towsley Center Lobby. Team members will be there Wednesday 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to talk about their storyboards and how their systematic use of P-D-C-A processes changed—and improved—the way they do their work. Quality Month is an annual opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff who’ve made their work more collaborative, more productive and more effective using P-D-C-A. Learn more.