Results shared at Tuesday’s Town Hall provide insight and baseline data into our level of workforce commitment, also known as engagement. A raw engagement score of 3.67 looks great to those of us who grew up in a graded world but in this case, it’s not a B+. Our results place us in the lowest 10 percent of similar organizations for overall engagement.

Nearly 50 percent of all employees took the survey, adding over 2,000 open ended comments that all together provide measurement and context to the often elusive world of organizational culture. Sure, anyone can differ in how connected we feel to our workplace, any day, even hour-by-hour, but overall this tells us some really important things about ourselves.

With more detail available by using this link on UConn Health Express, and to be shared by your leaders in the coming days, the infographic shows a lot about the general sentiment of the organization. Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. We will do this again in spring 2017 and we hope that more than 60 percent of you participate, express your opinion, and offer feedback as we strive toward building a culture worthy of our name and our mission.

Human Resources and the Pride In People committee at UConn Health hosted an awards reception today for the July PAWS winners. The celebration honors employees who consistently perform above and beyond the expectations of their job and exhibit the following attributes: part of a team; awesome attitude; wonderful work ethic; and superior service.

Kidd Collins……………………………………………… CMHC – Hartford / Mental Health

Margaret Cummings…………………………………. UMG – General Medicine

Jessica Demarest……………………………………… Intermediate Unit

Sarah Higley……………………………………………. Surgery/Orthopaedics Unit

Michelle Masters……………………………………… Intermediate Unit

Carol Wiediger…………………………………………. CMHC – Hartford / Mental Health

Vincent Williams………………………………………. Orthopaedic Surgery

The team award went to the Medical 3 Unit Staff.

Monday, August 8, the UConn Health daily Broadcast Message email, and the system that supports it will be ‘retiring.’ In its place, a new format and new name – UConn Health Lifeline.

The new UConn Health Lifeline will continue to consolidate internal announcements, however, in a more useful and user-friendly way. “It is no less information, but it is a modernization of look and employing an already existing online tool that is more efficient and really tailored toward the end-user,” says UConn Health Chief Communications Officer Chris Hyers.

The new Lifeline is coordinated by UConn Health Marketing and Multimedia Services with great support from University Information Technology Services (UITS). As a “self-service portal,” gone will be the days of emailing information. Now, users will self-submit using an online submission form which allows for a preview of the announcement and editing before and after final submission. Lifeline will be distributed on weekday mornings. To be considered for inclusion, announcements must be submitted at least two days prior.

What you will see as a reader is an expanded list of categories; such as Human Resources and Benefits; Lectures and Presentations; Research, Funding, and Awards; Student Activities, and more. This will make it easier for you to find the information of interest to you, click the link and learn more. Lifeline is designed as a companion resource to “The Pulse,” UConn Health Express, and events.uconn.edu.

Check out what you need to know on UConn Health Express for more details and guidance on how, when, and where to submit.

Send questions or comments regarding the new UConn Health Lifeline to uconnhealthlifeline@uchc.edu.

We shared the news late last week that Dr. Denis Lafreniere has decided to step out of his role as the Medical Director of UConn Medical Group (UMG) to spend more time in his clinical practice of Otolaryngology. He will also continue to serve as both an Associate Dean for the School of Medicine and Division Chief of Otolaryngology.  Denis has been a tireless leader for UMG and accomplished much.  In a letter to colleagues, Denis wrote of his four-year tenure, “I am proud to say that we have seen significant change in UMG – our expansion into the Outpatient Pavilion and satellite clinics in Storrs, Canton and Southington. UMG has consistently seen more patients each year and expanded our primary care base, most recently with a new Family Medicine clinic.”

Going forward we will be replacing the UMG Medical Director role with a UMG Chief Executive Officer (UMG CEO) position. Toward this end we have opened a national search for an MD with business credentials and experience, who will have a full-time focus on operational and strategic leadership of the faculty practice. Denis will continue in his Medical Director role until the UMG CEO is hired.

Those who know Denis won’t be surprised that although he is stepping away from his role as UMG Medical Director, he will still be very busy on behalf of UMG. In addition to the roles already mentioned, he will continue to have involvement in the Clinical Council, the roll out of UConn Health ONE and the PTN project.  In addition, he has agreed to spend 10 percent of his time serving in the role of “UMG Physician Liaison” which will support the efforts of the new UMG CEO.  As Denis wrote in his letter, “Although I will miss working with all of you as the Medical Director, I truly believe this is the right time for me to focus more on my primary passion – otolaryngology – while still contributing to the School of Medicine and helping UMG and its new leader when that person is selected. Fortunately, in the role of UMG Physician Liaison I will still serve on the UMG senior leadership team and therefore will interact with all of you frequently on the journey ahead.”

Andrew Agwunobi, M.D., M.B.A.
Chief Executive Officer, UConn Health
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs