pep talk

Love this. I pulled it out of today’s Daily Announcements. My hat’s off to Patrice Houston and the folks in Employee Health for this clever twist on the American Smokeout, and so appropriate for the week before Thanksgiving. My brother quit smoking last year after a two-decade long habit. It isn’t easy, but it can be done. I’m glad he was able to; I’m kinda’ fond of him. If you’re willing to try, I wish you great success. As for the offer below, I wonder if you can get smoked turkey?

GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT–THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Are you thinking about quitting smoking but not quite ready to take the plunge? Maybe the GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT is for you!! It is an opportunity to join the millions of other smokers in saying “NO” to cigarettes (and other tobacco products) for 24-hours.

The UTMB Employee Health Promotion Program will sponsor a health station located in the Cafe on the Court on 11/19/09 from 11am - 1pm. Staff will be available to provide encouragement and support, quit smoking self-help material, tobacco awareness information, and carbon monoxide testing.

A FREE “COLD TURKEY” SANDWICH, A BOTTLE OF WATER, AND A PIECE OF FRUIT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE FIRST 100 SMOKERS WHO VISIT THE HEALTH STATION AND TURN IN AT LEAST A HALF PACK OF CIGARETTES.

The Great American Smokeout, for many, has been the beginning of a journey - free of tobacco use.
For those users who desire to quit long term, contact Patrice Houston with the Commit to Quit Program.

The UT System Board of Regents are meeting today in Austin, and our boss Dr. David Callender is there. Ralph Haurwitz, with the American-Statesman, blogged a funny exchange. Go check it out…

The State Employee Charitable Campaign kicked off about 10 days ago. Dr. Gary Hankins is the campaign chair this year, and I heard him speak about what the campaign means to him. It was really moving (his department, ObGyn, is always among the leaders in giving and participation). I love the campaign, have had the honor to be  involved in it since my early days at UTMB. I love it for two reasons: 1) the good it does so many people in so many ways; and 2) I love what it says about us.

Through good times and bad, flush times and lean ones (mostly lean lately), the people–you people– have consistently put aside your own fears, needs, concerns–and recognized that there were others who had greater needs, who needed help. I think last year may be the classic example, when still deep in pain from Hurricane Ike, we managed to come up with more than $300,000 to help others with recovery, even as many here were digging out from the debris of their own homes and putting their own lives back together.

That feels good, it restores my faith in people, embodies me with hope for a better future.

For the many we serve, I hope you’ll help me make Dr. Hankins’ campaign a record-setter. Get details and see where we stand… 

The Employee Advisory Council kicked off its elections this Monday. There’s a good field of candidates in the running, and I hope we get a good representation of people flexing their power to elect their representatives. Classified and Administrative & Professional employees get to vote (faculty have their own council) in the election, which runs until Dec. 4. Five new representatives will get chosen. Voting is online, with employees allowed one vote for a nominee from their university group. Check out the nominees…

I’m working hard to get ready for a beta or “soft” launch of a new web site we’re developing for patients. It’s a project we’ve been working with a great task force to get done. The tool and basic design are now in place, and we’re working at a furious pace to plug in content, fix stuff, and get ready to solicit more data about our care providers (info about our docs is currently the most heavily referenced part of our current clinical site). We’re shooting to “go live” by Thanksgiving. For being one of the three readers still with me, you get to take a very early & unofficial sneak peek. Let me know what you think.

The official start of the 2009 hurricane season is about 10 days away. I think folks everywhere are surprised at how fast this date came upon us again. Areas are busy reviewing their plans anew, wondering what they might have learned from Ike, what they might do different the next time, hoping to all heaven there isn’t a “next time.” I’m an advocate of good planning and preparation, but there’s one thing I’ve come to count on: expect the unexpected. Whatever we anticipate, experienced in the past, feared or counted as a blessing, Mama Nature will do her own thing, and it will bring with it surprises. At best, we can stockpile options, have a  plan b and a plan c, and hope for the few lucky breaks that seem to accompany the occassional crisis (like a cool front on the heels of a hurricane). The most important factor for successfully navigating an emergency? Good people. On that front, I’m happy to report we’re well prepared.

This past Tuesday I found myself planted in Levin Hall, watching President Callender at the recent Town Hall. There were about 200 people in attendance, more watching online, but my sense is the meeting and the messages may have slipped under a lot of people’s radar. It was really an informative meeting, and if you’re interested in what’s on the likely horizon for us, spend a few minutes scanning his presentation or  watching the video. My friends and former co-workers in Public Affairs have posted the info online…

Our blog server is recording a bunch of errors, and we’re working to figure out why. We set up “pep talk” as a working web laboratory, so we’re testing a few fixes here. The new template is helping us narrow down a few possible causes. I’ll be back with a real post, and a new photo, later this week.