Balance

October is National Work and Family Month! Thanks to today's hectic pace and economic challenges, promoting employee well-being is more important than ever. Each year, the month of October calls attention to the importance of work-life balance programs. This annual focus on work and family encourages workplaces to pause and reflect on the progress being made, celebrate successes, and raise the bar for next year.

Still figuring out how to juggle it all? Good news - Know Better Place is here to help all year long. We are pleased to offer a variety of resources to help you decrease stress and create a better balance between the demands of the job and enjoyment of life outside of work. Whether you are looking to improve or maintain your health, searching for some weekend fun, or exploring ways to give back, we are here for you. Find all of this and more right at Know Better Place.

We welcome you to visit our website often to stay informed on all the efforts underway to make the Health Center a great place to work. If you are interested in participating in an initiative or have an idea or success story to share, please e-mail Know Better Place.

New Hiring Form and Process

The hiring process for new appointments and other position transactions has been updated.

The Personnel Transaction Request (PTR) form and search forms have been revised and consolidated into one (1) PTR form.This form is to be submitted for all recruitment and change actions that have a financial impact on the Health Center. It is very important that all required attachments are included with your fully completed request; incomplete requests will delay processing. All searches also require approval by the VP/Dean before they can proceed.

The employment or continuation of re-employed retirees requires the completion of a justification form in addition to the PTR form. Please refer to the university-wide policy on re-employed retirees prior to requesting the hire or continuation of a re-employed retiree.

PTR forms submitted for the purpose of refilling positions vacated by the 2009 Retirement Incentive Plan should include the department’s plan for achieving 25% overall savings on the vacant positions. If the department plan is not available, PTR requests should reflect no more than the mid-point of the salary range for the position being requested.

Questions about the new forms and requirements should be directed to your Human Resources Officer (see list in HR Updates). Please delete any copies of prior versions of the PTR or search forms.

New policies and procedures have been also been established for Budget Modifications submitted with PTR requests.The Budget Office can be reached at (860)679-4086 with any questions.

Around Campus

Mark Your Calendar – November 3

Expo 2009: celebrating the UConn Health Center is coming on Tuesday, November 3 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Food Court Dining Room. Expo 2009 promises to be a day of inspiration and celebration. The intent is to have all our employees participate, share, laugh, and learn from our highly skilled, talented, and diverse community.

This day-long festival brings together several successful Health Center programs with some new and exciting entries, such as recognition awards, visual and performance arts, culinary competitions, demonstrations, displays, and cultural exhibits. Expo 2009 is all about highlighting your talents, contributions, and artistry.

Human Resources, through Know Better Place, is committed to celebrating and recognizing the great people of our organization throughout the Medical, Dental, and Graduate Schools, Correctional Managed Health Care, John Dempsey Hospital, University Medical Group, and Central Administrative Services. “We strongly believe that continuing our traditions in recognizing and celebrating our employees, particularly during this recessionary time, will strengthen the Health Center,” stated Brian Eaton, Associate Vice President of Human Resources. “This is a great opportunity to show the appreciation that our faculty, staff, and volunteers need more than ever.”

Expo 2009 is seeking participants and volunteers. Anyone interested should contact Sandy Kressner at (860) 679-3419.

HR Updates

Prescription Changes

Due to the recently renegotiated SEBAC agreement, there were several changes to health benefits for active employees that went into effect on July 1, 2009. One of the major changes was the implementation of a 3 tier co-pay structure for prescription drug coverage. Under this new framework, employees will be responsible for a $5 co-pay for generic drugs, $10 for preferred brand name drugs, and $25 for non-preferred brand name drugs. Employees may be able to receive a non-preferred brand name drug for the $10 co-pay if their physician certifies that it is medically necessary.

Co-Pay Changes

Co-pays for routine preventative care office visits were also changed under the new agreement; co-pays for physical exams for adults and gynecological visits for women, per carrier/plan schedule, were reduced to $5.

Computer Use Policy

As a reminder, Health Center computers, software, and Internet access are for the benefit of the Health Center and should not be used for non-work related purposes. The Health Center’s Computer Use Policy outlines three (3) broad categories of violations: harassing behavior, interfering with the activities of others and downloading illegal or proprietary material. Accordingly, surfing the net for the news, sports, or new recipes are all considered misuse of Health Center property. Sending chain letters and jokes via e-mail may also be subject to discipline. UCHC computers and state issued e-mail addresses are to be used for state business only. E-mails received that are not work-related should be deleted immediately.

The Health Center’s Electronic Monitoring Policy also states that work activities and communications may be subject to electronic monitoring.

Violators may be subject to disciplinary action.

Take Note

Have You Moved Recently? If you have, it is important to let us know, especially considering W-2’s will be mailed in January. To update your information, you must complete the Name/Address Change form and mail it to the Records Unit at MC4035. Please note it takes a few weeks to see the change on your pay stub. New Dialing Requirements in Connecticut To accommodate the increase in demand for phone numbers in the state, new area codes have been created. When the 203 area code runs out of new numbers in 2010, phone numbers with an area code of 475 will be assigned for the southern part of the state. The 860 portion of the state is projected to run out of area codes in 2011; at that point new phone number requests for that area will be given 959 area codes. As of December 1, 2009, you must dial 10 digits to make a call within the state whether it is a toll call or local.

Spotlight: Welcome New Employees to Human Resources

Human Resources would like to announce that we have two new staff members! Paul Shea joins us as a Personnel Specialist in the Information Management unit. Paul previously worked as a Human Resources Information Systems Specialist at an aerospace corporation. Catrina Howell is our newest Human Resources Associate in the Records Unit. Catrina most recently worked at a financial management company’s staffing and recruiting department where she was responsible for coordinating recruitment activities and data management. Please join us in welcoming Paul and Catrina.

PAWS

We are proud to announce that two of our very own, Donna Seklecki and Kelly DiPietro, received a PAWS award in recognition of their assistance during the Retirement Incentive Program earlier this year.

Have you recognized someone lately? There are lots of opportunities.  Learn more at Know Better Place.

About HR Connections

HR Connections is a publication of the University of Connecticut Health Center. HR Connections is designed to bring the latest information and current Human Resources events to the employees at the UConn Health Center.

Editorial Board: Kira Callahan Teri Chasse, Alexis Crean, Elizabeth Fay, Jessica Hajdasz, Sandy Kressner, Sylvia Nolan, Rosie Rodriguez, Jessica Van Alstyne