A Positive Difference campaign enrollment opens

A Positive Difference is the employee giving program created five years ago to make it easy for employees to include YNHH in their annual charitable giving. Employees have a choice of five funds to support; may give $2 or more per paycheck through automatic payroll deduction; and can change the amount or fund they're giving to at any time through Employee Self Service. A mailing explaining A Positive Difference will be sent to employees' homes this month. Employees who enroll in the program by Friday, Sept. 30 will be eligible for a drawing for an iPad. For more information select "Positive Difference" under the "Pay" tab on Employee Self Service, visit www.ynhh.org/positivedifference or call the Office of Development, 203-688-9644.

Changes to Dependent Tuition Loan Program schedule

The Dependent Tuition Loan Program allows eligible Yale New Haven Hospital and Health Services Corp. employees to borrow money for college tuition for their dependent children. Starting this year, employees may apply any time during the year, however, once they have applied and been approved, employees may not apply for another loan until one full year from the initial application. Applications must be submitted before the start of the semester. To qualify, the employee must have completed the equivalent of at least five continuous years of full-time service (or a combination of full- and part-time continuous service). The dependent child must be under age 25 and enrolled as a full-time, undergraduate student. The hospital pays the loan interest while the student attends school; loan repayment begins once the child graduates or at the end of the loan term. Employees may borrow up to $2,500 per child, per academic year, with a total maximum of $10,000 over four years. Visit www.ynhhs.org/hrconnect for the application and required documentation.

H.O.P.E. Program seeks graduates

YNHH seeks former graduates of the Having an Opportunity to Prepare for Employment (H.O.P.E.) Program for a 20th anniversary event this fall. H.O.P.E., which provides training, education and counseling to adults making the transition from welfare to work, started at the former Hospital of Saint Raphael and today is a YNHH program operating on the York Street and Saint Raphael campuses. More than 400 people have graduated from the program over the years. If you are or know a graduate, contact [email protected], or 203-789-4156 for an invitation to the 20th anniversary event.

Blood drive July 5

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at the York Street Campus, 7 am - 5 pm Tuesday, July 5, East Pavilion Cafeteria special events area. The last 15 minutes of each hour will be kept open for walk-in donors. To make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org and use YALENHHOSP as the sponsor code, or contact Melanie Champion at [email protected].

Save the date: Patient Experience Conference Oct. 13

YNHHS employees are invited to the 2016 Patient Experience Conference, 8 am - 3:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 13, Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport. Employees may submit abstracts based on their patient experience projects for the year. The conference committee receives more than 100 abstracts for consideration each year and must choose which to showcase at the system-wide event and which to award top honors. For a tip sheet with suggestions on how to submit a successful abstract, as well as submission criteria and forms, visit "Patient Experience Conference" on the YNHHS intranet. The deadline for abstracts is Wednesday, Aug. 31. Registration information will published later this summer.

Upcoming health lectures

To register, visit www.ynhh.org/events or call the phone number listed for the event.

• Pediatric Concussion Management: 7-8 pm, Wednesday, July 13, conference room, Old Saybrook Medical Center, 633 Middlesex Turnpike