Loma Linda University & Medical Center Other
News
May 4, 2000
- Adventist Review In Touch
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- Del E. Webb Memorial Library librarians available to assist with literature searches
The official newsletter for the Adventist Review Online <http://www.adventistreview.org>
I take sides
Does the present generation have the gumption to take bold stands on important issues? Roy Adams takes a look at the dangers of being tentative.
Extreme prayer
Debra Lea Jordan writes a stirring account of her teenage daughter's bout with a rare form of spinal meningitis, a disease from which 99 percent of those who contract it don't survive.
Special report: health-care salaries
Still available from the Adventist Review's home page, in response to media reports on Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, the Adventist Review presents a special report on executive compensation in Adventist health-care systems. Main article written by Sharon Anderson Wilson with supplemental information gathered from various reports and interviews. Some material is available only on-line.
New credentials for women pastors
In this report, not yet available in print version, read about the vote by the Southeastern California Conference Executive Committee (SECC) on March 16 that will grant male and female pastors in their district the same ministerial credentials.
HRM benefits division serves LLU&MC employees
Editor's note: The following article is continued from the April 6 issue of TODAY.
FSA benefits
The Flexible Spending Account works much like a checking account but with a pre-tax advantage. Each year, you decide how much to deposit in your health care account and/or dependent care account for the following calendar year. You draw on your account throughout the year to pay expenses that qualify under the plan.
Under the health-care account, these expenses include co-pays for prescriptions and medical visits to preferred providers, and the amount for glasses or contact lenses not covered by your insurance. Money in the dependent care account can be used for child care from a baby sitter or day care center.
To be reimbursed for such expenses, you will need to fill out a claim form and attach the appropriate paperwork, such as an itemized receipt or prescription slip. The benefits office processes these claims every two weeks.
To open an FSA account, visit the benefits office this coming November if you are not a new employee. New employees may enroll within 30 days of being hired.
The Health Care Account limits are $2,600 annually and $5,000 annually if you file jointly, and $2,500 if you file as head of household. (The minimum contribution is $104 per year.) Keep in mind that any money in these accounts that you don't use is forfeited back to the institution. For more information on this benefit, call Mr. Gwinn at extension 45265.
Survivor benefits
Benefits for families of employees that have died increased this year from $5,000 to $8,000. Ruth Penrose, senior HRM assistant, can answer employees' questions about survivor benefits. She can be reached at extension 88075.
Tuition and CEU reimbursement
This wonderful benefit allows employees who qualify to further their education free of charge.
The tuition process is quite simple. First, employees must work an average of 70 hours per pay period over the past six pay periods prior to the class and while they are going to school.
Employees can take up to eight units a year (four units a quarter) and be reimbursed up to $395 per unit. If they take classes at Loma Linda University or at La Sierra University, the institution will pay for the classes up front. Employees should obtain clearance from the benefits office before taking classes. If they plan to take a class from another institution in California, it must be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. After taking the class, employees should bring their grades (C or above) and a financial receipt to Lemuel Leialoha, coordinator of benefits, who will see that they are reimbursed for the class in their paychecks.
If employees are taking graduate classes and are not faculty members or researchers, taxes will be taken out of their tuition reimbursement.
Each year, LLUMC, LLUHC, and LLUBMC also allot $300 for each full-time employee who needs to take classes to earn CEUs. Part-time employees are eligible for $150 of CEU money. To use this benefit, simply call Mr. Leialoha at extension 45266 with the class information.
Tuition assistance
Salaried University employees have the added benefit of tuition assistance for their children. If their children are attending a Seventh-day Adventist elementary school or academy, the University will pay 35 percent of the tuition fees. For children living in the dormitory at an Adventist college, the University pays 70 percent of tuition -- 35 percent tuition if they are day students. Call Ms. Tobing at extension 45661 if you have any questions regarding tuition assistance.
Paid leave
All Loma Linda employees accrue their paid leave according to the amount of time they have worked for an Adventist institution. In addition to their regular paid leave, they receive five days of sick leave and eight paid holidays in their paid leave bank each year (nine paid holidays for LLU).
According to Mr. Leialoha, some employees do not understand that if they take time off for a short-term illness, their pay for the first two days will come out of their paid leave bank. The only exception to this is if they have more than 120 hours in their sick leave bank.
The only employees who fall under a slightly different category are University employees who are on salary. For these employees, the department that they work for keeps track of how much paid and sick leave they use.
Sick leave
The sick leave bank accrues more slowly than the paid leave bank. It exists primarily to cover long-term illnesses. An employee with 120 hours in his or her bank can begin using sick leave from the first day of a major illness. Otherwise, the first two days of leave will be taken from his or her paid leave bank.
Jury duty
Although the institution pays employees for up to 120 hours of jury duty time each year (10 days for University employees), you may only report a maximum of eight hours per day.
For more information, call Ms. Penrose at extension 88075.
Recognition banquets
Each year the University and Medical Center hold special banquets recognizing their employees for their years of service. Unlike the service credits one receives, the recognition banquet is based upon a lesser requirement.
Benefits fairs
The benefits office puts on two benefits fairs each year, one for the University and another for the Medical Center, Children's Hospital, the Behavioral Medicine Center, and Loma Linda University Health Care.
The benefits fairs are held primarily to inform employees about their benefits and to encourage them to participate, says Mr. Leialoha.
Vendors attend each fair and can offer explanations to employees of possible changes in their benefits.
The next benefits fair will be held at the University on Wednesday, May 17.
If employees have suggestions or comments pertaining to employee benefits, send them to Mr. Leialoha in the HRM benefits office.
Del E. Webb Memorial Library librarians available to assist with literature searches
Throughout spring quarter, Del E. Webb Memorial Library is offering free literature searches by librarians to faculty, students, and staff.
In addition to databases available via WebbLine such as Medline, CINAHL, and Psyc Info, the library has access to hundreds of other databases on nearly every topic via Dialog and FirstSearch, online database vendors.
Library staff want to encourage awareness and use of these valuable resources.
For those writing books or book chapters, comprehensive research is necessary and one database usually does not suffice.
A broad search on topics in health care, for example, would include Medline, Web of Science, and Biosis, a database available through Dialog.
To browse a list of other databases available from Dialog, go to: <http://library.dialog.com/blue sheets/>.
To order a free literature search now until June 30, call the Del E. Webb Memorial Library reference desk at (909) 558-4588, or go to the Library's online request form at: <http://library.llu.edu/ services/onform.htm>.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2001 11:14 AM
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