Flexible spending accounts deadlines: March 15, 31

March 15 is the deadline to incur healthcare flexible spending account (FSA) expenses and have them applied to any 2015 FSA balance employees might have remaining. March 31 is the deadline for filing all 2015 FSA healthcare and dependent daycare claims. If you have questions about 2015 FSA balances, contact the hospital's FSA claims administrator, Crosby Benefit Systems, 1-866- 918-9711. FSA claim forms are available on the Crosby website, www.crosbybenefits.com, and on HRConnect.

National Nutrition Month demos in March

Culinary and Clinical Nutrition team members will hold recipe demonstrations on Wednesdays during March, National Nutrition Month. Demos will be 11:30 am - 1 pm March 2, 16, 23 and 30 in the East Pavilion Cafeteria at the York Street Campus and the Saint Raphael Campus cafeteria. March 9 is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Day. YNHH employees and covered dependents enrolled in Yale New Haven Health System's health plans are eligible for unlimited nutrition counseling visits without co-pays as part of preventive care benefits. For more information, call the Nutrition Clinic, 203-688-2422 (YSC) or 203-789-3266 (SRC).

YNHH celebrates Social Work Month with new award

The Department of Social Work celebrates Social Work Month 2016 by announcing the new Award for Social Work Excellence, recognizing YNHH social workers who consistently go above and beyond to serve patients. Three winners will be selected this first year. All employees are invited to nominate a social worker by submitting a nomination application and letter of recommendation.

Nominees must be YNHH clinical social workers who provide direct patient care and services to patients and families that are guided by YNHH's patient and family centered-care philosophy. Nominees should also demonstrate the highest standards of personal conduct and professional integrity that advance the values, ethics and knowledge of the profession. Applications are on the employee intranet and will be available at the Social Work Month information tables: 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Wednesday, March 16, YSC East Pavilion Cafeteria, and Thursday, March 17, SRC cafeteria. Nominations must be submitted to [email protected] or delivered to the Social Work office, EP 10-635, by March 31. For information, call 203-688-2195.

Certified Nurses Day March 18

YNHH will celebrate National Certified Nurses Day Friday, March 18, with breakfast and information fairs at both campuses. The fairs will be 6:30 - 10:30 am, in the cafeteria at the Saint Raphael Campus and in the East Pavilion Cafeteria special events area at the York Street Campus. At the fairs, certified clinical nurses will provide information on certification in oncology, emergency, critical care, medical/surgical, pediatric, perioperative and other nursing specialties. YNHH reimburses nurses who successfully pass an approved certification exam or a re-certification exam. Nurses should see their managers for details.

Qigong class March 19

The Complementary Services Department at Smilow Cancer Hospital will host a free Qigong class, 11 am - noon Saturday, March 19, Smilow Cancer Hospital room 4-101 A. Qigong is a gentle practice of coordinated breath, movement and visualization. The Qigong classes are held once a month. Visit www.ynhh.org/events to register and check future dates, or call 888-700-6543.

Call for abstracts: Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Conference

The deadline for abstract submissions for the 2016 Joseph A. Zaccagnino Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Conference is Monday, March 28. Submission instructions are available at viper1p/jzacc. Abstract categories are: communication, teamwork, hospital-acquired conditions, patient safety, patient care, nursing practice and physician practice. All groups submitting an abstract are asked to display a poster at the conference, which will be 9 am - 3 pm Tuesday, May 24, Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport. Submitted projects will be considered for the Joseph A. Zaccagnino Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Awards. The awards committee will select a winning team from each delivery network. The top two winning teams will deliver a 15-minute oral presentation on their project at the conference; other winning teams will present their projects during poster viewing sessions. Winners will be expected to submit their abstracts to the annual Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) National Forum; one member from each winning team will receive a fully paid trip to the IHI Forum in December. For information, contact Heather Love, [email protected], 203-688-8692.

When the stars come out at Smilow

Complementary Services at Smilow Cancer Hospital invites members of the YNHH community to participate in "Starlight: A Collaborative Constellation", 10 am - noon Monday, March 28 in the fourth floor conference room (NP4- 10B) at Smilow. The project encourages participants to reinvent the night sky and create original constellations that are personally relevant. The individual fabric circles will be assembled to form an art installation at Smilow. For details, contact Dana Shaffer, 203-200-6129.

Nursing scholarship applications accepted April 1 - 30

YNHH will accept applications for advanced practice nursing scholarships Friday, April 1 - Saturday, April 30. Applicants should apply online for the Marna P. Borgstrom and Peter N. Herbert, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital Advanced Nursing Education Scholarships. The scholarships provide tuition assistance of up to $10,000 annually to qualified employees working toward advanced nursing education to meet requirements for an APRN license. Information is available on the YNHH nursing website, through HRConnnect, or by calling 203-688-8222.

YNHH named a top 10 company for executive women

Yale New Haven Hospital has been named to the 2016 NAFE 10 Top Nonprofits for Executive Women list by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). The hospital ranked among the top eight in three areas: workforce profile, women's issues and advancement and company culture and work-life programs. The list recognizes organizations whose policies and practices encourage women's advancement and whose numbers at the highest levels of leadership demonstrate that commitment. YNHH has been recognized as an employer of choice nationwide, offering many benefits and programs to help all employees meet work-life demands, such as internal advancement, tuition reimbursement, dependent tuition and employee health and wellness programs.