The amazing group of employees who came together to help assess the future of flexible work for staff has been released of their task force service. While the updated existing policies, newly adopted policies, and supporting resources will be works in progress for the foreseeable future, the task force’s work is now officially complete.

In line with each one of our Core Values, Drake HR would like to thank each of the task force members for their:

• Joyful Accountability in being curious, creative, brave, and bold;
• Generosity of Spirit in approaching this work by presuming the very best in our talented and dedicated staff and with an eye always on equity and inclusion;
• Desire to be All In This Together—assuring the task force’s work was regularly communicated to campus with the highest levels of transparency and with opportunities for feedback and input; and
• 100% Commitment to Drake’s Mission in keeping our students first, while simultaneously acting with purpose and optimism in how we evolve and modernize our approach to workforce management.

As we have shared with campus previously, we are adopting a Customized Work Arrangement Policy to replace and supersede policies informing staff about telecommuting, flexible schedules, and summer hours. The CWA policy is now live and posted in the Policy Library. Since it is a brand-new policy, we will conduct a formal review of the policy after it has been in place for one year. Until then, we are accepting on-going feedback, suggestions, and questions. You can direct them to drakehr@drake.edu, please use the subject line: CWA Policy and let us know what you think. We still have a lot of learning to do and we will make improvements as we identify them.

Drake HR is creating a CWA page on its website that will house a variety of tools, templates, and resources relating to the CWA policy. A lot of time and effort has been put into them and we hope that investment of time is reflected in their usefulness to both staff and managers. If you are interested in exploring with your manager a CWA, we suggest you spend some time with these new resources as a next step.

If any managers or department would be interested in training for their areas, please let us know. We are happy to provide whatever assistance or training may be helpful.

Managers: separate communications will be coming your way in the coming weeks addressing how to help review and update essential functions of your direct reports and conduct eligibility assessments of existing positions—as these will be important initial steps to complete before approving any new CWA requests.

Once again, we thank the task force and also all staff who provided feedback, ideas, and suggestions throughout this journey. It’s not over, but it feels great to have covered this much distance already.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

One of the interesting byproducts of COVID-19 has been a spike in remote work arrangements. As we have discussed in the past, hybrid working arrangements are likely here to stay. As we work on finalizing our new updated policies related to hybrid work, there’s a companion topic: out-of-state work.

COVID-19’s impact on the mobility of the workforce has prompted many states to review their state practices on income tax treatment of teleworking employees and the threshold requirements for employers to register as a business in their state.

Consequently, we are taking a fresh look at our existing Out-of-State Policy to assure it is clear, consistent, and adequately addresses the new landscape shaped by the COVID experience.

It is important to note that each state has different requirements for employers conducting business within their borders. A separate set of state income tax laws impact employees conducting business in any given state. This policy is designed to appropriately manage risk associated with both of these topics.

Fun Fact: As of January, 2022, Drake is conducting business in several states where we anticipate an on-going need for active registration. These include: Iowa (naturally), Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, and Vermont. There are additional states where we have temporary registration based on short-term needs, but we do not intend to continue active registration. Most states require annual registration—so this list regularly expands and shrinks over time.

However, it’s more complex than that. If we are not currently registered to conduct business in a state, we also have to review the state’s unique labor and employment laws. There could be different forms of paid leave, a state (or municipal) minimum wage, workers’ compensation, etc. If we are going to have employees in another state working on Drake’s behalf, we want to do so lawfully and ethically and this doesn’t happen without time, care, and effort.

The updated policy is now posted for public comment, and it addresses both situations where Drake may be interested in hiring a new employee who will remain out-of-state and situations where an existing employee may want to temporarily or permanently relocate out-of-state. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please share them. This will help inform final edits.

Please be sure to read next week’s OnCampus for an update on the Customized Work Arrangements policy and related policies that have also been under review.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Heather Travis, Controller

Drake HR is happy to share with you a message from our new partners at Broadlawns Medical Center:

Broadlawns Medical Center is so pleased to become your Tier 1 healthcare partners in 2022! We’re committed to providing exceptional, personalized care that keeps you healthy and feeling your best. We offer a broad range of services to meet your healthcare needs, including:

• Primary Care
• Urgent Care (Three locations—check the wait times on our homepage)
• Mental Health Care, including a Psychiatric Urgent Care
• Pediatric Care
• Virtual Care
• Surgical Care
• Specialty Care
• Inpatient Care

You can view a complete list of offerings on our Clinics and Services page.

Here are a few resources to assist you as you familiarize yourself with Broadlawns Medical Center:

• Find A Provider/Service: You can find a provider, specialty, or service on our website using our Find A Doctor
• Maps and Directions: You can find directions and maps for each of our locations on our Maps and Directions webpage.
• Patient Portal: Once you have established care, be sure to enroll in our Patient Portal. Our Patient Portal allows you to view and monitor your health information, request appointments, securely message your provider… and so much more!
• Broadlawns Pharmacy: Our pharmacy is conveniently located on our main campus so you can stop by after your appointment. You can request refills with ease and message your pharmacist using our Pharmacy App.

• Questions About Broadlawns Services: If you have any questions regarding Broadlawns services, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via our Contact Us page.
• Questions About Coverage: If you have questions regarding your insurance coverage, please reach out to Wellmark.

If you haven’t seen Broadlawns lately…

Here are some of the exciting things that have happened in recent years:

• March 2016: Completion of our newly renovated 30-bed inpatient Behavioral Health Unit.
• November 2016: Opening of Broadlawns East University Clinic.
• March 2017: Opening of Broadlawns Medical Plaza, which houses our Family Health Center, Geriatric & Memory Clinic, Outpatient Mental Health, Dental Clinic, and Pain Management Center.
• November 2017: Completion of our 14-bed expansion for Inpatient Behavioral Health focusing on major depression.
• June 2018: Psychiatric Urgent Care opens (The first in the State of Iowa).
• October 2019: Completion of the Oncology & Hematology Center renovation. Check out the photos of the new clinic.
• August 2020: A new 42,000 sq ft hospital floor was added to our Sands building that includes a Birthing Center, Med/Surg and ICU unit. See photos of the new Birthing Center.
• October 2020: New Connections addiction center opens in newly constructed space within the Broadlawns Medical Plaza.
• February 2021: A brand new lab with state-of-the-art facilities.
• COMING SOON: Broadlawns Surgery Department is doubling in size with new OR suites, Endoscopy suites, robotics, pre and post-operative patient suites.
• Keep up to date with the latest happenings at Broadlawns by following us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter.

We look forward to getting to know you and your families and attending to your healthcare needs.

Warmly,

The Staff at Broadlawns Medical Center

Together A Healthy Community.