         
|
 |
||
| by
Andy Evangelista
first appeared 22 November 1999 When Caring Overshadows Catastrophe It was just over a year ago when Michael Martin, a storekeeper at Bear Necessities, collapsed from a brain hemorrhage at the end of his workday. Co-worker Joey Convento found him unconscious in the store, located on the third floor of the HSE building, and got help.
Martin, however, has an iron will to go with his hard-headedness, and months of rehabilitation not only put him back on his feet, but also back to work by last spring. Few who suffer such a massive hemorrhage make that speedy a return to work, if at all. But Martin’s determination was fueled by his desire to be with his UCSF friends, many of whom donated their own hard-earned vacation hours to make sure he did not suffer financially during his recovery. After Martin’s surgery, Jim Hales, who manages Bear Necessities, posted and distributed flyers informing co-workers, customers and other UCSF people about Martin’s plight and of the campus’ Voluntary Catastrophic Leave Sharing Program, which was still relatively new at the time. The program allows regular status career employees and non-faculty academic personnel to donate up to 40 hours of their accrued vacation time to an eligible employee who has exhausted all of his or her paid leave because of serious illness or in caring for a ill family member. And it’s as simple as filling out a form. The response was overwhelming -- 51 people at UCSF offered to donate between 8 and 40 hours to Martin. "I was stunned by the generosity," he said. Some even offered 80 hours, but were told that 40 was the maximum. He used 31 of the donations, according to Erma Germer, personnel analyst for the Materiel Management Department. Ten employees of UCSF Stanford offered donations, but because the program does not cross UCSF Stanford and UCSF lines, they had to be refused. Another 10 acceptable donations weren’t needed, because Martin was ready to return to UCSF and mind the store. Hales teased him for coming back when he could have stayed out longer -- with pay -- if he wanted to. "When employees volunteered the maximum of 40 hours, I called them to inform them that this was their limit for the year and they would not able to donate again if a friend needed one. No one changed their mind," said Germer. Employees of every classification offered donations. Some did not know Martin personally. "It was heartwarming to see employees come to the aid of a fellow employee," she said. Donations were credited to Michael on a first-come, first-used basis. Since he was on paid leave, he accrued his vacation and sick leave as if he was working, and that time was used to supplement the donated hours. "By remaining on pay status, his family did not have to worry about a decrease in income or have to worry about the paperwork involved in disability," said Germer. The biggest advantage, however, was that in the six months that he was supported by the leave sharing program, Martin, who is 57 years old, earned service credit, enabling him to reach his five years of service with the University -- become vested -- and be eligible for retirement benefits. The Voluntary Leave Sharing Program "is one of the best programs that has been initiated at UC," said Germer. "Michael’s case proved that there is a UC family feeling." One of the conditions of the program is that information on the donors is confidential, so Michael could not thank them individually. He did so in a letter published in Synapse. "Thank you to everyone who helped me and my family throughout this ordeal. I cannot praise the Catastrophic Leave Program enough," it stated. And he shows his gratitude every day, by working with enthusiasm, whether it’s stocking a shelf, taking supply inventory or taking a phone order for office supplies at the busy Bear Necessities. Before suffering the hemorrhage, Michael enjoyed the work and the interaction with the hundreds of people on campus who come to or call the store. Now, he loves his job even more. Telecommute vs. Road Rage A great argument for telecommuting: Commuters in the San Francisco-Oakland area lose 57 hours annually to traffic congestion, and that costs each an average of $3,065 in lost productivity, gas and other expenses, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s annual "mobility study." It ranked the San Francisco-Oakland area as the nation’s third worst -- behind LA and Seattle -- when it comes to traffic congestion. And with great timing, Human Resources last week issued the campus’ final guidelines on telecommuting She Heard About the Stress Here From the UCSF Police Department’s October report: "Patrol Officers responded to the Medical Sciences Building regarding a subject selling ‘massages.’ A description was given of the subject and a search resulted in an apprehension in front of Millberry Union. A wants and warrants check revealed that the subject had a misdemeanor arrest warrant for grand theft and forgery with a $4,000 bail. The subject was arrested and booked into the County Jail." ER Jewels From the medical research files: As body-piercing becomes more popular, jewelry is becoming a great challenge for emergency room staff, according to a recent study in the Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine. A survey of 28 ER doctors in England found that only 6 of them knew how to open the three most common types of body jewelry. Bleeding, infection and swelling of surrounding tissue are common side effects and occur in an estimated 30 percent of all body piercings, but if there is excessive swelling or the patient is unconscious, doctors must be able to remove the hardware. One of the most common types of body piercing jewelry is the barbell stud, a straight or curved bar with removable balls at either end, according to the Medical Tribune News Service, which recently reported the study. The straight barbells are used in the tongue and genitals, while the curved or banana type is used in the navel, eyebrow or nipple. On the other hand – or mouth, we should say -- the labret stud is a straight bar with a removable ball at one end and a permanently fixed disc on the other end. This is mostly used for lower lip and oral piercings. The captive bead ring appears to be a closed circle with a removable ball in the middle -- it’s for the nose, naval and eyebrow, according to the report. Four of the doctors surveyed suggested cutting out the surrounding tissue to remove the jewelry, but the authors of the study deemed that "wholly unnecessary.'' Readers: If you have any items or suggestions for this column, send us an email: aevangelista@pubaff.ucsf.edu . |
|||
|
DAYBREAK | ARCHIVES | CALENDAR | CAMPUS NOTES Copyright ©1999 Regents of the
University of California. All rights reserved. |
|||
Brain
surgery at UCSF that November 3 night saved his life. But for weeks,
Martin, his family and friends wondered if he would ever talk or walk
again. "I didn’t know if I’d recover," he said.