Last chance: Finish activities by Sept. 30 to maintain lower per-pay medical coverage cost

Posted on September 7, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

Colleagues and spouses/eligible adults enrolled in a Trinity Health medical plan can maintain a lower per-pay cost for medical coverage by completing activities and earning points through our Live Your Whole Live platform. Be sure to complete enough activities to earn 5,000 points and reach Level 4 for quarter 3, which ends on Sept. 30, 2021. Live Your Whole Life is our colleague health and well-being initiative to inspire well-being in body, mind and spirit.

Join now or sign into your free Live Your Whole Life account at Trinity-Health.org/LYWL. You’ll earn 2,500 points just for signing up. To see all the ways to participate and earn points, visit How to Earn under the Home tab on the website or Rewards on the mobile app. Customer Service is available to answer your questions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, via live chat on Trinity-Health.org/LYWL or by calling 855-491-8781.

Both you and your covered spouse/eligible adult (if applicable) can each earn 2,500 points for recording your completed COVID-19 vaccination. Sign in to the Live Your Whole Life account and navigate to your My Care Checklist under the Health tab to enter the details of your COVID-19 vaccine.

The Live Your Whole life platform features an array of tools to help you to walk extra steps each day, select healthier menu choices, explore new methods to manage stress and achieve health goals.

Kevin Barron Receives DAISY Award for Comforting Patient at End of Life

Posted on August 24, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

LIVONIA – While patients are always deserving of compassion, those reaching the end of life may require a special level of care. Kevin Barron, an RN in the ICU, was able to provide this for a patient recently. The family wrote the hospital to share their thoughts on Kevin’s kindness. His empathy made a true difference for a patient reaching the end of life, and earned him this month’s DAISY Award.

Kevin was nominated for the DAISY Award by a patient’s family member, who wrote, “Kevin was exceptionally kind and respectful in his interactions with my brother. He took a genuine personal interest in [the patient] and in us. He was patient and calm and honest in his explanations. He truly gave [my brother] hope and compassion and he felt his caring. He gave [my brother] the last good day of his life.”

Congratulations, Kevin, and thank you for being there when a patient needed you most.

Amber Stinson Helps Make Graduation a Reality for Ailing Senior

Posted on August 17, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

LIVONIA – When a patient was admitted to St. Mary Mercy Livonia on the eve of her high school graduation, she and her parents were devastated at the thought of missing her commencement ceremony. Fortunately, she was under the care of ICU RN Amber Stinson. Amber was not only able to tend to the patient’s medical needs, but her emotional needs as well, enacting “Operation Celebration” to help the patient make it to graduation. Amber’s extraordinary efforts earned her the latest BeRemarkable Award.

Amber was nominated by a colleague, who shared the story of a patient admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis on the night before her graduation ceremony. She wrote that the patient and her parents “spent the night arguing, crying, trying to come to terms with this devastating situation they found themselves in. In the morning, Amber was assigned to be her nurse. The first thing she said after report was ‘We have to find a way to get this girl to her graduation!’ Amber set her sights on this goal, and she along with our manager, her co-workers, and the ICU resident moved mountains that day to make it happen. They managed her medical needs efficiently and effectively to make it safe for discharge.”

At that point, Amber put “Operation Celebration” into action, ensuring that the patient had access to a shower and appropriate clothes for her graduation. She even helped the patient with her makeup and hair. The colleague who nominated Amber added, “As Amber wheeled her out in her wheelchair ‘chariot,’ another nurse even played ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ music for our patient. What started out as a crushing situation, turned into a grand story this young woman will have to tell for the rest of her life. Amber should be celebrated for being the driving force behind making this happen.”

Congratulations, Amber! Thank you for going above and beyond for this patient, and for bringing such joy to her on a milestone day.

Changes to Outlook Email Distribution Group Management Coming Aug.18

Posted on August 10, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

Outlook email distribution groups are moving to Microsoft 365 on Aug. 18 and will be re-named to include “-0365.” All messages sent to the previous email address will automatically forward to the new address with the “-0365” extension.

After that date, follow these steps when you want to be added as a member to an email distribution group in Outlook:

In Outlook, type the distribution group email address in the “to” field of a new message
Right click on the email address to view details
Click on “Members”
The colleague who owns that group will be displayed under “Owner.” (If there is no owner displayed, submit a ServiceNow request and note that there is no group owner. TIS will add you)
Email the owner of the group and request to be added as a member
The owner will add you as a member or explain why the request is denied

The change will occur on Aug. 18 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. There could be a 15 – 30 min. interruption of service for messages sent to the old email address (the one that excludes -0365) during this time and the sender will receive an undeliverable message. No other interruption of service is expected.

For distribution group owners
After Aug. 18, add and delete members from the groups you own in Outlook following this job aid.

ServiceNow Login Update Effective August 17 

Posted on August 3, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

Beginning Aug. 17, 2021, Trinity Health ServiceNow, our application for technical support, will verify your identity at login using Microsoft Azure, the cloud-based, single-sign on program we use for several other applications (Outlook, Teams, etc.). Trinity Information Services will transition the ServiceNow sign-in process from the “purple page” to the Microsoft solution (Azure) used to access Microsoft 365 applications. 

What you need to do

Beginning Aug. 17, log into ServiceNow using your Microsoft cloud username (your Trinity Health email address or the same username you use to log into Microsoft 365) and your standard Trinity Health network password.

If you do not know your Microsoft cloud username, look it up via our internal Find My UPN (Microsoft Cloud Username) website accessible when you are connected to the Trinity Health network.

Help

Updated ServiceNow job aids may be found on the LearnNow Education & Training website.

More Information

This update is part of Trinity Health’s ongoing migration of applications to Microsoft Azure, a secure program frequently updated to keep your information secure, to authenticate users’ identities.

An added benefit will be less frequent logins to other Trinity Health applications, as a “cookie/token” will be established. This will mean that once you’ve logged into one application using Microsoft Azure, you will be automatically authenticated into all other applications while the single sign-on tokens remain active.

SMML’s 5 East Honored with TEAM Award

Posted on July 20, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

LIVONIA – Colleagues on 5 East at St. Mary Mercy Livonia have faced enormous challenges in the past year, and have met those challenges with grace and strength. In 2020, 5 East was designated as a COVID-19 unit. The team had to quickly adjust to a high-acuity patient population while managing a new and unknown disease. For their hard work and commitment to excellent patient care, they were honored with the T.E.A.M. Award.

The 5 East team was nominated by a fellow colleague, who shared, “For over a year now, the 5 East team has worked diligently to care for the hundreds of very sick COVID patients of all ages that have been admitted to the unit. This team of professionals have worked through very scary, dangerous, tiresome, and trying times… Despite all the challenges that the 5 East staff has faced, they continue to provide outstanding care to each and every patient. They work very hard to ensure that every patient is safe, comfortable, and well cared for.”

Congratulations to our 5 East colleagues, and thank you for your incredible work to care for patients during this pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccines Protective Against Delta Variant

Posted on July 13, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

You’ve likely seen the latest news about the COVID-19 variant quickly becoming the prominent strain in the U.S. It is spreading rapidly and is now responsible for over 51% of new U.S. cases, up from 30% two weeks ago.

The COVID-19 delta variant is found to be about 60% more transmissible than original COVID-19 strain. The latest CDC data shows that due to the COVID-19 delta variant new cases over the last week have increased 9.1% around the country. As of June 30, on average, one COVID-19 related death is still occurring every seven minutes in the U.S. The best measure of protection we have against all variants is the COVID-19 vaccine.

Those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have 88% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 and 95% protection against hospitalization and death from the Delta variant. Moderna by initial reports seems equally protective against the delta variant. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears 66% protective against the delta variant.

Millions of people have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring of any vaccine in U.S. history. Serious adverse events after vaccination are rare.

Trinity Health Requires COVID-19 Vaccine for All Colleagues

Posted on July 8, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

Our Core Value of Safety means we do everything we can to protect people. That’s why effective July 8, Trinity Health requires all colleagues, clinical staff, contractors and those conducting business in our facilities be vaccinated against COVID-19. See the announcement for additional information.

Action Needed

Submit documentation of your COVID-19 vaccine through the methods outlined below. The process is different for SJMHS colleagues and providers, IHA colleagues and providers, and affiliated providers. Colleagues who are not able to be vaccinated for strongly held religious beliefs or rare medical reasons will be required to apply for an exemption.

Colleagues who do not fulfill the requirement to be vaccinated by the dates outlined and do not have an approved exemption will be subject to termination of their employment and/or loss of their privileges.

How to Submit Documentation

SJMHS and Mercy Health Colleagues: Submit a copy of your vaccination card or other document your provider gave you as proof you received the vaccine within the HR4U colleague portal at HR4U.trinity-health.org/. You can access HR4U on a computer or smartphone browser.

IHA Colleagues and Providers: IHA colleagues and providers are not part of the HR4U portal. Instead, they should use the Vaccine Documentation portal on IHA’s Intranet (SharePoint) page. All questions may be directed to HR Business Partners.

Affiliated Providers: Affiliated providers should work directly with their respective Medical Staff Offices to submit documentation of their vaccine.

Key Dates

Date	Information	Affected
July 8, 2021	COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement effective for all Trinity Health colleagues, clinical staff and business partners	New Hires, Colleagues, Leaders, Medical Staff, Business Partners
August 6, 2021	Deadline for management to submit exemption request via HR4U colleague portal; IHA to use Vaccine Documentation portal on IHA’s Intranet (SharePoint) page	Colleagues with a Workday management level of manager, director, vice president or senior officer
August 20, 2021	Deadline for colleagues to submit exemption request via HR4U colleague portal; IHA to use Vaccine Documentation portal on IHA’s Intranet (SharePoint) page	Colleagues with a Workday management level of supervisor, coordinator, or any other role
August 24, 2021	Last day for management to receive last dose of vaccine and submit documentation to HR4U; IHA to use Vaccine Documentation portal on IHA’s Intranet (SharePoint) page	Colleagues with a Workday management level of manager, director, vice president or senior officer
September 21, 2021	Last day for colleagues to receive last dose of vaccine and submit documentation to HR4U; IHA to use Vaccine Documentation portal on IHA’s Intranet (SharePoint) page	Colleagues with a Workday management level of supervisor, coordinator, or all other positions

We know you may still have questions about the vaccine. More resources are available below, including a recording from the July 13 town hall. We will hold another town hall in August. Thank you for your continued work to make Trinity Health a trusted health care partner for the communities we serve.

More Information

Hospitalized for 208 Days, Local COVID-19 Survivor Returns Home

Posted on July 7, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

LIVONIA – After 208 days in the hospital, Terry DiLaura was recently discharged from St. Mary Mercy Livonia. It’s been a long, difficult journey for Terry, who, prior to his COVID-19 diagnosis in December 2020, had never been seriously sick or hospitalized in his life. His seven month journey took him to many area hospitals and rehab facilities, and along the way he experienced many health setbacks. Eventually, he ended up at St. Mary Mercy, a hospital he says was “by far the best I had been to.”

When he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in December, it developed into a very serious illness. He was put on a ventilator and his prognosis was not good. Physcians at another area hospital told him that “he wasn’t expected to walk or talk ever again.”

From the beginning Terry’s wife Mary never gave up hope. She was his strongest advocate. According to Terry, Mary provided a mix of love and a “a good ol’ fashion cracking of the whip” to make sure he was doing everything he had to do to get better.

There were many difficult nights along the way. Due to visitor restrictions, Mary couldn’t see her husband for 72 days. During that time she would park in the parking lot of the hospital, so that she could be close to him, and she would Zoom him from her car.

Had it not been for Mary and all of Terry’s nurses and doctors at St. Mary Mercy, he very well might not be alive today.

On Thursday, July 1, Terry was discharged home from St. Mary Mercy Livonia to the applause of his team of caregivers, all of whom came together to organize his sendoff.

Looking forward, Terry is working as hard to improve his walking and stability so that he can return to work at General Motors.

“I’m working as hard as I can to be the best I can be so that I can go back to work,” he said. “I want to go back to work where I can retire on my own terms. I want to walk back in there on my own two legs.”

With enormous gratitude and humility, Terry went on to say, “I have a new lease on life and I don’t intend to take anything for granted anymore.”

The entire team at St. Mary Mercy Livonia wishes Terry well on his journey. We all continue to pray for him, and cheer on his recovery.

St. Mary Mercy Livonia 4th of July Holiday Hours

Posted on June 29, 2021 by St. Joseph Mercy Health System

LIVONIA – In observation of the upcoming 4th of July holiday, many departments at St. Mary Mercy Livonia will close or have limited hours. We have gathered submissions below for your convenience.

Department/Office Name	Friday, July 2	Saturday, July 3	Sunday, July 4	Monday, July 5
Cardiac Cath Lab	Open as normal	On-Call	On-call	On-call
Cardiac Rehab	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
Case Management	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal	Holiday Observed; Case Management, call x2686; Social Worker, call x2845; Hours are 8a-4:30 pm
Facility Engineering	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal
Health Information Management (Medical Records)	Open as normal	ONLY- Birth Registry will be on site to complete birth certificates.	Closed	ONLY- Birth Registry will be on site to complete birth certificates.
Infusion Center	Closed	Closed	Closed	Open as normal
Medical Oncology clinic	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
Medical Staff Office	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
MercyElite	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
Non-Invasive Cardiology	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal	Closed to outpatients
Outpatient Diabetes Education	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
Outpatient Pharmacy	Open as normal	Open as normal	Closed	Closed
Outpatient Therapy (PT/OT/Speech)	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
Peripheral Vascular	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal	Closed to outpatients
Pre Surgical Clinic	Open as normal	Open as normal	Closed	Open as normal
Radiation Oncology	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed
St. Joe’s Outpatient Psychiatry and Counseling Center	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Open as normal
Supply Chain Management	Open as normal	Open as normal	Open as normal	Distribution will only be open from 8a-4:30p
Wound Care & HBO	Open as normal	Closed	Closed	Closed

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