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Employee News - November 2009
PA Class of 2011 to sell pecans, cashews and peanuts 
The Physician Assistant Class of 2011 is selling the items listed below. The money raised will help support students who participate in national conferences, volunteer projects, community involvement and other numerous student activities.
  • Jumbo Pecan Halves - $8
  • Deluxe Mixed Nuts (no peanuts) - $8
  • Chocolate Pecan Turtles - $8
  • Natural Pistachios - $8
  • Special Cashew Halves - $7.50
  • English Toffee Squares - $7
  • Chocolate Covered Almonds - $7
  • Chocolate Covered Peanuts - $6.50
  • White Frosted Pretzels - $6
Order forms have been distributed through UNMC/NHS campus mail. Access the PDF form or contact the PA Program at 559-7955 to have an order form sent through campus mail. The students also will be available for direct sales. They will be on south campus outside the UNMC Cafeteria on Nov. 3 and Nov. 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They will be on south campus, central atrium by the gift shop on Nov. 4, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20 & 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The items for sale are of the highest quality and are excellent values. They are wonderful for Thanksgiving and make great Christmas gifts. Order yours today!

Food vendors now at Sorrell Center each week 
Local food vendors are now on hand at the Sorrell Center each week between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with meals of $5 or less. Vendors and their respective days on campus are as follows:
  • Tuesdays - Subway
  • Wednesdays - Charley's Philly Grill
  • Thursdays - Godfather's (excluding Thanksgiving)
Holiday massage offerings at the Center for Healthy Living 
Treat yourself to a pre-holiday massage at the Center for Healthy Living. One hour massages regularly priced at $50 will be sale priced at $35 from Nov. 9 through Nov. 25. This special rate is limited to UNMC, UNMC Physicians, The Nebraska Medical Center employees and UNMC and Clarkson College students. Call early to reserve an appointment time that is most convenient for you. Appointments can be made by calling or texting licensed massage therapist Kristie Mayne at 391-1882. Also, gift certificates are available at regular prices ($50 for 60 minutes and $30 for 30 minutes) for holiday giving.

UNMC Night with the Lancers at Nov. 21 
The next UNMC Night with the Omaha Lancers is set for Saturday, Nov. 21 when the Lancers face the Sioux Falls Stampeded at a special start time of 3:05 p.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Free Lancers fanclappers will go to the first 1,000 fans, courtesy of the Lancers Boosters Club. UNMC employees and their guests will receive their tickets for $8 each, a $5 discount off the single game ticket price. There is no limit to the number of tickets you can purchase. All seats will be in the second level (see a seating chart) of the auditorium, so you'll be sure to get great seats! Call 402-344-7825, ext. 1 or send an e-mail to ajudy@lancers.com to order tickets. Advanced ticket purchase required. The deadline to place an order is Friday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m.

Nursing alumni association coupon book fundraiser to support student activities 
Support your UNMC Nursing Alumni Association and save money! Be one of the 100 lucky people who can purchase the Savings Sidekick coupon book for $20. With the books you can save with:
  • 12 coupons for 5 cents off per gallon of gas at BP gas stations;
  • Buy one get one free meals at Godfather's, Gandolfo's, Gold Mountain, Guaca Maya, LePeep, IHOP, Runza, McKenna's and many more!
There also are great discounts on golf, bowling, skating, and many health and fitness items. Eleven dollars from each book purchased will help the nursing alumni association support student activities. Contact alumni@unmc.edu or (402) 559-4385 to order a coupon book. Master Card and VISA credit cards are accepted but checks payable to UNMC Alumni Association or cash is preferred.

Enroll for benefits, make changes on Firefly 
Using Firefly to complete your NUFlex benefits enrollment is fast and easy and it only takes a few clicks to review your current enrollment and make any necessary changes. The annual NUFlex benefits enrollment runs Nov. 16 through Dec. 4. All available benefit changes (except Long Term Care) must be completed in Firefly. The Benefits Office will not allow paper enrollment this year. If you have not signed into Firefly in awhile, we suggest you do so before the NUFlex enrollment period so you are familiar with the Firefly Web site. If you need help with your Firefly User ID and/or password, contact the Firefly Helpdesk at 559-5880. If you have questions about any of the benefit options, contact your Campus Benefits Office at 559-4340/559-5911.

A note about sidewalks and construction sites 
Some campus sidewalks have been closed as a part of the construction of the College of Public Health and the new College of Nursing building. This has resulted in people walking in the street instead of crossing the street and using the sidewalk the other side of the street. Several concerns have been voiced by drivers and others related to this hazard. The risk increases with all the trucks and construction equipment moving around these sites. Drivers and equipment operators have a difficult time seeing pedestrians. Remember those few extra steps in crossing the street to use the sidewalk on the other side will not only help burn calories but can prevent serious injuries or death.

Center for Reducing Health Disparities participates in Toys for Tots 
The College of Public Health's Center for Reducing Health Disparities is participating in the local Toys for Tots campaign. If you would like to donate toys or encourage others to do so, the center has set up a box in our office to collect the toys. The center also will accept applications for families looking for toys for their children this year. Families can stop by the office at 4460 Farnam St. (first floor) to fill out applications. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 4. For more information, call Stephon McNeil at 559-9660.

Health Risk Assessment log-in information for UNMC employees 
Employees recently received an e-mail from the University of Nebraska Central Administration about health-risk assessments, which employees will be able to take between Nov. 16 and Dec. 4. To log in to the assessment, UNMC employees need to use a special variation of their UNMC personnel ID number as their username.
  • If your personnel ID number is 5 digits long, your username will be "UNMC000-" followed by your number (i.e. if your number was 12345, your login would be UNMC00012345).
  • If your personnel ID number is 6 digits long, your username will be "UNMC00-" followed by your number. (i.e. if your number was 123456, your login would be UNMC00123456).
More information about the health risk assessment will be published soon.

A schedule of November SoCRA meetings/CCRP exam deadline reminder 
View a schedule of November SoCRA meetings here. Also, please note that the deadline to register for the Jan. 16 CCRP examination is Dec. 4. Register through www.socra.org. Contact amykeyes@creighton.edu or lhoudesheldt@unmc.edu for more information.

A reminder about usernames for the Health Risk Assessments 
To log into the Health Risk Assessment, UNMC employees need to use a special variation of their UNMC personnel ID number as their username.
  • If your personnel ID number is five digits long, your username will be "UNMC000-" followed by your number (i.e. if your number was 12345, your login would be UNMC00012345).
  • If your personnel ID number is six digits long, your username will be "UNMC00-" followed by your number. (i.e. if your number was 123456, your login would be UNMC00123456).
Your temporary password is "wellness," which you will need to change once you've logged in. Those who have trouble logging in should call 559-4340.

Night of a Thousand Stars set for Dec. 5 
The annual Night of a Thousand Stars event will be held Saturday, Dec. 5. The theme for this year's event is "Night of a Thousand Silver Stars: Nebraska AIDS Project - Honoring 25 years." A pre-party will be hosted by Dr. Susan Swindells, Dr. Ziba Jalali, Dr. Uriel Sandkovsky, the UNMC HIV Team, Mike McGlade, Keith Swarts and Jayme Nekuda, Pauli's Blue Room (brothers Chris and Paul) and Karen Griego. Following the pre-party, the Stars gala will be held at the Holland Performing Arts Center, with music by "Session 7."

Name changes and the UNMC system 
Name changes don't happen very often and typically are associated with major life changes. As such, it can be difficult for employees to know the steps that must occur to ensure the name gets changed correctly in all UNMC systems. Below is information to help the process goes smoothly. First, an employee must first receive a new Social Security card from the Social Security Administration showing the new name. There are then two distinct actions the employee must take once they receive the new card:
  • First, employees should contact departmental PAF coordinators for assistance.
The PAF coordinator will ask employees to complete a Personnel Data Change Form (PDF). Employees must spell out exactly how the new name is to appear with appropriate spaces and hyphens (this is a crucial step to ensuring the name change happens correctly). The new name must appear as it is on the Social Security card. The PAF coordinator will then enter the name change into the human resource information system as it appears on the PDF. This initiates the formal change in the employee record as well as with any elected benefits such as health insurance.
  • The second action requires the employee to contact ITS System Access for the name change to occur with regard to e-mail address, online Employee Self Service and Blackboard.
The e-mail address change also requires the employee to notify others with whom they frequently exchange e-mail that their email addresses have changed so that people can update their address books. For more information about the name change process, contact Kris Hammond in Human Resources at 559-5908 or khammond@unmc.edu.

A note from HR regarding employee/dependent scholarship applications 
Due to revisions within Nebraska State Statues, University of Nebraska employees will notice a change to the Employee & Dependent Scholarship application within Firefly. Beginning Oct. 5, 2009 and each time employees access this application after that date, you'll be presented with a United States Citizenship Attestation Form asking you to validate if you are a United States citizen or a qualified alien under the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act. If you are, you'll be able to move forward and allocate your credit hours. If not, you will be directed to your campus Benefit Office for further review. This change is being made because the university, an agency of the State of Nebraska, is required by law to only allow employees participation in any public benefit program if they meet the United States Citizenship guidelines. Learn more about Nebraska Revised Statutes 4-108 through 4-114. Contact Anthony Huerta at 559-4391 or Jim Wiegel at 559-4216 in staffing for additional information about this program.

Printing Services to briefly close on Dec. 9 
Printing Services will be closed from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Dec. 9 for in-house training. Orders can be submitted on-line.

Breakfast with Santa Dec. 12  NEW!
Breakfast with Santa will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12 in the Lower Storz Pavilion. Sessions will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Attend the breakfast and get your picture taken with Santa Claus. The cost is $5 per person or a child's toy.Toys will be donated to Ronald McDonald House and The Nebraska Medical Center Child Life Services. Limited seating available so please make reservations. To make reservations, call 559-4010 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, starting Nov. 30.

Chancellor's Holiday Tea Dec. 14 
The Chancellor's Holiday Tea will be held on Monday, Dec. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Durham Outpatient Center West Atrium.

A note about TrueYou 
TrueYou is the Web interface that allows users to change passwords, answer security questions and generally manage access to Firefly. When changing passwords for Firefly, users will be redirected to https://trueyou.nebraska.edu to manage password resets. Please note, UNMC individuals will continue to use the UNMC NetID to logon to Firefly, so employees should please enter UNMC NetID when prompted for NU ID.

Individual retirement counseling in November and December  NEW!
Representatives from TIAA/CREF will be at UNMC on Thursday, Dec. 3 and Wednesday, Dec. 16. PLEASE NOTE: There has been a change in the procedure for scheduling one on one counseling sessions. One-on-one counseling sessions will be scheduled as needed through TIAA-CREF's new counseling advice service by calling 800-732-8353 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CDT. Calls before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. can be directed to 866-842-2908 or 402-548-3600, to leave a message at the Omaha TIAA-CREF office. Please note that the Web page used previously will no longer be accessible to schedule sessions.

Representatives from Fidelity Investments will be at UNMC on Tuesday, Nov. 24, Thursday, Dec. 3 and Tuesday, Dec. 22. You may call 1-800-642-7131 or go to www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations to schedule an appointment.

Help UNMC's Adopt-A-School partner 
UNMC and its Adopt-A-School partner, Monroe Middle School, will work together to help families in our community this holiday season. UNMC hopes to spread some holiday cheer by sponsoring families. To help make a difference for the families at Monroe Middle School, departments and individuals at UNMC can collect gifts/gift certificates, purchase a holiday meal or donate money to one of the chosen families. The ages and clothing sizes of each family will be supplied for those who wish to purchase gifts. By supporting UNMC's Adopt-A-School program, employees and departments can make a difference in the lives of these children and their families. For more information on how to sponsor a family or a student, contact Kacie Gerard at 559-4319 or kgerard@unmc.edu.

Twenty percent discount on Oakleys until the end of the year at University Optical  NEW!
University Optical offers employees a 20 percent employee discount on Oakley Sunglasses until the end of the year. EyeMed benefits and leftover reimbursement money can be used. The store has great stocking stuffer's ideas for the holidays and the best selection of reading glasses and accessories in town. Call University Optical at 559-8351 for more information.

University to cease paper paycheck stub distribution Jan. 1 
Starting Jan. 1, the University of Nebraska will no longer print paper paycheck stubs for benefit eligible employees. Instead employees must use their Firefly accounts to obtain this information. Paycheck stubs can be viewed in Firefly up to seven calendar days prior to the pay date. Not only does this help employees budget upcoming expenses, but it also provides the opportunity to verify that any exceptional pay (e.g. overtime, stipends, etc) has been calculated correctly. Also, employees can view stubs as far back as January 2000. Employees are urged to confirm that they can receive this information by taking the following steps:
  • Click the Employee Self Service (ESS) tab;
  • Click the Payment link;
  • Click Paycheck Inquiry; and
  • Your paycheck stub should now be visible.
PDF versions of your pay stub will be available for downloading or printing. Contact the Payroll Office at 402-559-5875 for more information.

Aging Interest Group seeks photos for annual contest 
The UNMC Aging Interest Group calls for entries for it's annual Active Aging Photo Contest. View more about the contest here, including entry and deadline information.

Newsletter details happenings at Durham Museum 
Click here to see the latest Durham Museum newsletter. UNMC employees and students can access the museum free with valid identification as part of the Passport Partners program.

SAGH coffee sale to benefit Third-World farmers 
The Student Alliance for Global Health is selling fairly-traded coffee, tea, chocolate and snack products as a fundraiser to support Third World farmers and the annual SAGH medical service trips. Look for their product display over the noon hour, Monday-Thursday, either in Wittson Hall or by the University Tower cafeteria. By purchasing these products, you are building a sustainable future for small farmers in countries through the Americas, Africa and Asia. SAGH will use the proceeds of the sales to help support its annual medical service trips to Jamaica, Nicaragua, Belize and an American Indian Reservation. The products may also be purchased directly from International Studies & Programs at WH 3054. Or complete the order form on the IS&P Web site. and send it to IS&P at zip 5735. A complete list of products, prices, and descriptions plus order form can be found online.