It’s normal to have first day jitters when starting a new job. But imagine starting that job in a new country, with new rules and a completely different culture. That’s what some colleagues have to do once they’re hired to work at Michigan Medicine. Fortunately, one team member at the Rogel Cancer Center has made it her mission to help employees break through language and cultural barriers. Click through for details!

Happy Friday! It’s the end of a busy week at Headlines — one that gave readers a look back at the MLK Health Sciences Lecture and a look inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Domino’s Farms. There was also a feature on the HOPE Ambassador Program, which helps visitors find their way at Michigan Medicine; and Samya Nasr, M.D., shared how she is bringing potentially life-saving cystic fibrosis care to the Middle East. Click through for the latest!

Michigan Medicine's mission is to advance health to serve Michigan and the world. Indeed, global outreach occurs in many different pockets of the organization, like the efforts led by Samya Nasr, M.D., C.P.I., professor of pediatrics and director of the U-M Cystic Fibrosis Center. Click through to find out how Nasr, and a small team of volunteer staff and physicians, are dedicated to improving cystic fibrosis care around the world!

In honor of the life and accomplishments of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., U-M hosts a week of events aimed at thought-provoking conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion. On Monday, as part of the festivities, the U-M Health Sciences Committee presented its 30th annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Lecture featuring Jalonne White-Newsome, Ph.D. Click through for a look back at the important event.

Two years ago, volunteers wearing cheerful yellow vests began walking the halls of Michigan Medicine hospitals. Their mission: helping patients and families find their way to appointments or to visit family members. That was the official launch of the HOPE Ambassador program, which today has more than 120 volunteers. Click through to learn more about the program and find out how it plans to grow even more in the near future!

Every day at Domino’s Farms, patients come to the Michigan Medicine Comprehensive Wound Care Clinic to go for a dive. But they never have to go near a swimming pool or lake — or any body of water at all. Instead, they enter a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which helps wounds heal faster and more effectively. Click through for a closer look at this important and impactful treatment!

The week at Headlines was filled with ways employees can enjoy the perks of working for Michigan Medicine! For instance, Human Resources outlined all the ways benefits have changed in 2020 — including increased retirement savings and new shift premiums; MHealthy rolled out its annual Rewards program; the Office of the Staff Ombuds shared how it helps resolve workplace conflicts; and HITS unveiled ways in which it is improving customer service. In case you missed anything, click through for the latest!

Last November, Michigan Medicine announced a series of enhanced benefits for eligible U-M Health System and Shared Services employees. Benefits range from an increase in retirement contributions, to holiday pay and shift premiums — all of which will impact employee paychecks. Whether you are paid bi-weekly or monthly, click through for more information on the changes that took effect Jan. 1, 2020!

Each year, more than 20,000 employees take advantage of MHealthy Rewards. They learn about their health and choose to take steps to maintain or improve it. For extra motivation, they can also earn up to $220. Click through for details of this year’s program!