In this issue

	Patient Safety Awareness Week
	401(k) Open Enrollment
	Personnel Spotlight: Pat Maddox, RN
	St. Patty's Day Recipe

On the web

	Employee Sign In
	Local Branch Offices
	Favorite Benefits

Hot job of the week
We have several travel contracts available for RNs in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio! All shifts, all areas! Give us a call at 800-755-1411 for details on our current travel openings!

Patient Safety Awareness Week

Learn more about patient safety during Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 6-12, 2005.

Patient Safety Awareness is a national education and awareness-building campaign for improving patient safety at the local level. Patient Safety Awareness Week was launched in 2002 by PULSE (Persons United Limiting Substandards and Errors) and the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety, both of which are collaborating with National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) on this year's event.

The theme this year is:

Focus on Patient Safety: Ask, Listen & Learn
Effective Communication: The Patient Safety Tool of Choice.

Learn more on the National Patient Safety Foundation website at www.npsf.org.

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401(k) Open Enrollment

Enroll in the 401(k) retirement plan or make changes to your current plan by March 25th.

Open enrollment for the 401(k) retirement plan runs now through March 25, 2005 for all employees. The open enrollment period allows both current and new employees the opportunity to join the plan. This is also the time of the year when current participants in the plan can change their payroll deferral percentage.

You can pick up an enrollment packet or change form at your local branch office or click here to access printable forms from our website. All forms must be signed, dated, filled out completely without error, and postmarked by March 25, 2005 in order to be accepted in this open enrollment. Changes will become effective April 1, 2005. Please check your pay stub to ensure that changes were made, and contact your local branch office if you have any questions. The next open enrollment period will be in June 2005.

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Personnel Spotlight: Pat Maddox, RN

We take a moment to get to know Pat Maddox, a Registered Nurse from the Favorite Staffing Indianapolis branch office.

Although nursing wasn’t Pat’s first choice as a profession, she discovered she wanted to do something more than work in the business world. After attending Marion College, majoring in art and realizing that she likely would not achieve the fame and fortune she had hoped for, she began working as a claims adjuster. Eleven years later, at the encouragement of her husband, Pat returned to college to seek a nursing degree. She graduated from IUPUI in Indianapolis with an ASN in nursing.

Pat started her nursing career in an open heart recovery area. As her sons grew, she switched to a weekend option position on a med-surg floor to enjoy more time with her family. This was when Pat started "testing the waters" with a nursing agency. She soon found that she could make more money and have more time off working full time as an agency nurse.

Pat explains, “Working as a Favorite Nurse full time has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. This has allowed me to help my sons go to college and to spoil my grandchildren. Most times I can adjust my schedule to correspond with my husband’s, who is a Lieutenant with the Lebanon Fire Department.

“With Favorite I have had the privilege to learn new skills and have experiences I might never have been given the chance to do. I have been able to do case management, clinical research and even learn the H.E.L.P. system for lowering patients’ cholesterol levels. I continue to enjoy friendships with other nurses I have met on assignments."

She continues, “The staff at Favorite is the best. Whenever I have a question, I know they will help me. They are a great group that is even willing to listen when I just need to ‘vent’ a bit. I never have to worry about the next assignment, as the staff always has ideas for the next contract. I can not say enough about Favorite, except I hope to be here for several more years and I offer many thanks to all the folks at the Indy office.”

As a dedicated mother and grandmother, Pat spends her spare time spoiling her grandchildren (3 boys, 1 girl, ages 3 months to 7 years). In addition, she and her husband have a craft company, where they make wood cabinets of all kinds, dolls, quilted pillows and more. On summer and fall weekends, Pat and her husband can usually be found at various art and craft shows.

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St. Patty's Day Recipe

Kids and grown-ups alike will enjoy this tasty, nutritious treat that celebrates symbols of St. Patrick's Day - the rainbow and the pot of gold!

Rainbow Pot of Gold (excerpt from Mother & Child Reunion)

Ingredients:

• 2 peeled and sliced kiwis
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup seedless purple grapes
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 cup mandarin orange slices
• 2 sliced bananas
• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, low-fat frozen yogurt, or whipped topping
• colored candy sprinkles
• chocolate gold coins

Directions:

1. Layer kiwi slices at the bottom of a clear glass.
2. Add a layer of blueberries, then grapes, strawberry slices, orange slices, and banana slices.
3. You can add a layer of yogurt or whipped topping between each layer or save it for the top.
4. Garnish with candy sprinkles, and then add a chocolate gold coin.

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