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NEW CHIEF FOR INTERNATIONAL

SERVICES BRANCH

In his role as the new chief of the International Services

Branch for all of one month, Candelario Zapata sums

up his major responsibilities as follows,“We manage the

approximately 3,000 foreign scientists on staff, we help

them obtain, verify and maintain their immigration 

status with the Immigration and Naturalization Service,

Departments of State and Labor. Documentation preparation is a significant amount of our time.There is a lot

of paperwork, and the process is long.”The other side 

of his role is to expand cultural orientation programs 

to help these scientists settle into their time here at the

NIH and in the United States. On average, they stay

from one year to five years.“They will have a better

experience here, and will do better work, if they are

well adjusted culturally.” He said many of the scientists

who come here have mastered the English of their 

specialty, but not necessarily of daily living.

This University of Texas at Austin graduate has 

a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Latin American

Studies. He served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador

and Costa Rica, where he gained valuable life and career

experience.“While I helped people learn, I also learned

so much from them,” said Zapata, who appreciated seeing a different way of life. In basic health care, he taught

the basic values of tooth and hair brushing.At the end of

his service, he had graduated to potable water projects

that involved filtration, chlorination, pumps and wells.

Before Zapata came to the NIH, he served as

both Director of the Office of International Services and

Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at

the University of Illinois at Chicago. His responsibilities

included increasing revenue as well as developing and

implementing policies and procedures for the services

and programs for nonimmigrant students, research scholars, faculty and staff. Customers included almost 3,000

international students, similar to the population he serves

at the NIH, and over 1,000 research scholars and faculty

and staff in an assortment of visa classifications.

He was responsible for supervision of the completion and filing of all INS and DOS forms, waiver

reviews, authorization of government-allowed benefits to

nonimmigrants, and the integration of the nonimmigrant

population into the university.

He served as a resource to the Human

Resources, Office of International Affairs as it related to

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ISSUE JANUARY 2003 

NEWS2USE

OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

NEW CHIEF FOR INTERNATIONAL

SERVICES BRANCH

WHEELS ON THE BUS:THE NIH SHUTTLE

NIH CHILD CARE WAITING LIST SERVICE

NEW BRANCH OF THE NIH CREDIT UNION TO

REPLACE SUNTRUST

NIH LIBRARY ANNOUNCES

WINTER-SPRING 2003 CLASSES

DINING CENTER UPDATE

SMALL ALTERATION/ RENOVATION JOBS

FIRE PREVENTION TRAINING:AT YOUR SERVICE

ORS RESPONDS TO TREE REMOVAL,

MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT

16TH ANNUAL MONTGOMERY COUNTY

BEAUTIFICATION AWARD

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATES

TRAVEL TIPS

WHERE’S WALDO?

HONORS FOR ‘ABOVE AND BEYOND’ 

ORS EMPLOYEES

PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP IN

FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS FOR THE BAY 2002 AWARD

IT’S NOT SO HARD BEING GREEN

IMPLEMENTING PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT IN THE ORS 

FITNESS CENTER SURVEY
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overseas institutional exchange

agreements, and to other departments involved in international education. Zapata has presented immigration related workshops and seminars at local, regional, state and

national meetings and conferences.

The day he was interviewed for

this article, Zapata had driven

through a blizzard to get to the

office, but brushed off any suggestion

of heroics.“I came here from

Chicago, remember,” he laughed.

INFORMATION

Candelario Zapata 496-6166

(NOTE: new address)

International Services Branch/ORS

Building 13 Room 2W48

13 South Drive, MSC 5774

Fax (301) 496-0947

www.nih.gov/od/ors/dirs/isb/isb.htm

isb@mail.nih.gov (ISB mailbox)

WHEELS ON THE BUS:

THE NIH SHUTTLE

The ORS operates six shuttle routes

on and off campus for official government use by employees, contractors, and anyone visiting NIH facilities. Service is available throughout

the business day on the main campus

and to the following off-campus

locations: • Executive Plaza •

Rockledge • Gateway • Mid-Pike

Plaza • Parklawn 

AFTER BUSINESS HOURS - From

Building 10, a shuttle operates until

7:55 p.m. Stops on this after-hours

route include Lot 41 and the

Medical Center Metro.

ON CALL SERVICE AFTER 8 P.M. -

From Building 10, limited shuttle

service is available on call from 8:00

p.m. until 12:30 a.m.

ONLINE INFO - Several new features

have been added to the NIH Shuttle

home page, providing information

regarding schedules, route modifications, delays, and other advisories and

useful information. http://des.od.

nih.gov/eweb/NIHShuttle/scripts/shuttle_map_live.asp

LOST AND FOUND - If you leave

something behind, contact the shuttle operations center at 435-4009.

If possible, provide the approximate

time and route information. Lost

articles unclaimed by the end of the

business day are turned into the NIH

Police.They can be contacted at

496-5685.

COMMENTS PLEASE - In an effort

to continually monitor service and

make improvements, your comments

and suggestions about the NIH

Shuttle service are welcome.

INFORMATION Tom Hayden 496-5037

NIH CHILD CARE

WAITING LIST SERVICE

The NIH sponsors three child care

centers for children of its employees.

There are always long waiting lists

for spaces at the centers, known for

their high quality and convenience.

In a survey conducted in the

fall of 2001, the ORS heard from

many individuals frustrated about the

process of placing a child on a list 

for one or several of the centers. In

order to address this concern, a

Waiting List Management Service

was developed and implemented in

May 2002.This service has four

components to assist employees who

desire child care at the NIH:

■ First, an employee may call or go

to a website to place a child’s name

on the waiting list for one, two, or all

three of the centers.

■ Second, all employees are offered

personal consultation about other child

care options. Since the waiting lists for

child care are so extensive, especially

for the youngest children, a LifeWork

Strategies counselor (our contractor)

will help families look for alternate

care options near home or work.

■ Third, the Waiting List Service

staff will call every family on a regular basis to confirm their place on

the waiting list(s) and to update 

contact information.

■ Fourth, the service maintains extensive demand data for the ORS to use

when presenting a case for additional

child care resources at the NIH.

The ORS is pleased to offer

this service in response to employee

requests for streamlining, reliability

and fairness.

INFORMATION To place your child’s

name on a waiting list, call 301-309-

1466, ext. 107 or register online at:

www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/chintro.htm

NEW BRANCH OF THE NIH

CREDIT UNION TO REPLACE

SUNTRUST

After 52 years of hosting a commercial

bank, the NIH campus lost its lone

banking company, SunTrust, when it

closed its Building 10 branch on

November 27.According to Stephanie

Parker, branch assistant at the NIH

SunTrust,“Corporate headquarters

decided to close it because we were

not generating enough business.”

SunTrust began as the Bank of

Bethesda in 1950, and was located in

Building 1.The bank moved to the

Clinical Center around the time it

opened in 1953. Later, the Bank of

Bethesda became Crestar, and eventually Crestar became SunTrust.The

bank's primary customers have been

patients and visitors, which presents a

slight challenge for the NIH Federal

Credit Union (NIHFCU) as it reorganizes to absorb nonmember customers.

The space occupied by SunTrust,

just outside of the B1 level cafeteria,

will reopen in early 2003 as a branch

of the NIHFCU.According to NIHFCU President and CEO Lindsey

Alexander,“Because of the unique

nature of the needs in Building 10,

we will provide services that are not

offered at the other NIH credit union

branches.” These services include the

handling of foreign currencies, patient

accounts, and NIH cashier accounts.

NEWS2USE

Candelario Zapata

Chief, International Services Branch
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“We are excited about the opportunity

to offer a branch in the Clinical

Center” continues Alexander,“and will

be picking up where SunTrust left off,

by offering the same convenience and

hopefully better services.”

The NIH community can get

updates on the renovations through

the Worksite Enrichment website,

www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/ind

ex.htm.

INFORMATION Worksite Enrichment

Programs Branch 402-8180

ORSWEPB@mail.nih.gov

NIH LIBRARY ANNOUNCES

WINTER-SPRING 2003

CLASSES

Learn to find, evaluate and organize

information around the clock, seven

days a week. Make a valuable contribution to your work group by becoming a more efficient searcher.Take

advantage of the free, hands-on classes

offered at the NIH Library, in the

Library Training Room, Building 10.

Additional training opportunities are

available via online instruction or with

a trainer in a personal or group tutorial.

Library Skills for Research Assistants . . . . . . . 1/9

PubMed . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/9, 2/13, 3/13, 4/24

EndNote 6 Basics . . . . . . . .1/9, 2/13, 3/13, 4/24

Web of Science/Porpoise . . . . . . . . . .1/23, 4/24 

Nursing Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/23, 3/13

Reference Manager 10 Basics . . . . 1/23, 2/27, 4/10

Alternatives in Animal Research . . . . . . . . . 2/13

PDAs: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/27, 4/10

PDAs:AdvancedApplications for Clinical Use . 2/27, 4/10

Chemistry Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/27 

Clinical Trials on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/27

Evidence-based Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/27

INFORMATION NIH Library 496-1080

http://nihlibrary.nih.gov/training.htm

DINING CENTER UPDATE

FOOD SERVICES SURVEY

In August 2002, more than 1,500

people completed a survey of the

NIH dining centers.The Quality

Assurance Specialists of the Worksite

Enrichment Programs Branch have

shared the survey results with the 

dining center managers.They discussed

ways to address the concerns of the

public and improve on performance.

Overall, customers stated 

they want lower prices and more

variety on the menus.We listened to

suggestions and hope you will notice

the changes. One example of an

improvement occurring in the

Clinical Center Ambulatory Care

Research Facility (ACRF) is that

rotisserie chickens have been added

to the menu.They are already selling

better than expected!

CLINICAL CENTER ACRF 

DINING CENTER GETS FACELIFT

If you haven’t seen the changes in

the Clinical Center ACRF seating

area, you are in for a pleasant surprise. In October, the Clinical

Center employees were given new

tables, chairs, and carpet to provide a

fresh atmosphere to that facility. Stop

by and see the new look.

INFORMATION Dwayne Parris 402-8180

http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/

food.htm.

SMALL ALTERATION/

RENOVATION JOBS:

A CHANGE IN PROCEDURE

The Design, Construction and

Alteration Branch (DCAB) has instituted a new process for executing

small alterations and renovations,

defined as those costing $25,000 or

less.A contractor named Chugach,

which reports to DCAB, will now

complete these jobs that were previously handled by the Shops Section

of the Public Works Branch.The

change became effective in

November 2002.

WHAT CHANGES? 

Under the old procedure, when an

IC wanted to get a small alteration

done, they submitted an electronic

Division of Engineering (DES) work

request through the Service and

Supply Fund Activity in the

Administrative Data Base (ADB).

Shops then looked at the scope of

the job and planned it, but an estimate was not always done before

work began.With Chugach doing

the work, the IC will submit a 

work request in the same way, but

Chugach will determine the scope 

of the job, plan it, and submit an

estimate. Once the IC has agreed to

the price, the work can begin.With

the change, under the new procedures, work cannot begin without an

approved estimate.The advantage to

the IC is no surprises in the cost.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET

WORK STARTED? 

It should take no longer than 14

business days from the time the IC

submits a work request until the

work begins (for jobs from $500 to

$25,000).This allows two days for

approval of the estimate.Any delays

on the customer’s part, of course, will

increase the lead time for the job.

Here’s what happens during

that time: ÷ The IC submits a work

request, via Delpro ÷ DCAB Business

Center forwards the request to

Chugach ÷ Chugach meets with the

customer ÷ Chugach develops a

Statement of Work and an estimate 

÷ Estimate is reviewed by the

Business Center and, if approved,

sent to the customer for approval 

÷ Estimate is in the customer’s hands

for approval ÷ DCAB Business

Center obtains funding ÷ Construction Contracting Branch (CCB)

issues Notice to Proceed.

WHAT IF THINGS DON’T PROCEED

ON SCHEDULE? 

If there is a delay of some sort (for

example, the IC submits a work

request and doesn’t hear from

Chugach within a few business days),

the customer should call Annette Viola

in the Business Center at 496-4895.

If an estimate for a job is over

$25,000, or is under $25,000 but

requires design services, the job will

automatically be given to the appropriate DCAB Program Manager who

will assign it to a Project Officer.

WHY WAS THE PROCEDURE

CHANGED? 

The ORS is moving to streamline its

operations, and as part of that effort,

it concentrated all construction,

alteration, and renovation work in

the DCAB, leaving the Public Works ISSUE 3 JANUARY 2003 
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NEWS2USE

8

Branch, including Shops, to focus on

maintenance work.There are a substantial number of work requests for

jobs costing $25,000 or less submitted

each year—about 10 a day, or 2,600

a year.The DCAB does not have the

staff to get all of these jobs completed in a timely manner, so the work

was contracted to Chugach as a

means of providing ICs with a fast,

cost-effective means of obtaining

quality work.

A NOTE ABOUT JOBS UNDER $500

To expedite a work request for a job

that will cost under $500, Chugach

will be allowed to complete the

work immediately.An estimate will

be provided on the spot for approval.

INFORMATION Annette Viola 496-4895

FIRE PREVENTION

TRAINING:AT YOUR

SERVICE

The Fire Prevention Section provides the NIH community with fire

safety training and information. If

you have specific fire safety training

needs, ideas, or questions, call these

experts.They are anxious to provide

training that includes topics for the

workplace as well as the home.

The success of fire prevention

training programs improves dramatically with direct input from the ICs.

Addressing specific needs and questions is better than a ‘one-size-fits-all’

approach.The Fire Prevention staff

finds it worthwhile and more

rewarding for both their professionals

and the IC participants when the

training is something requested and

desired. If the subject matter is specific, there is naturally more interest.

Some examples of past training

performed for the ICs include the

following topics: • Using Space

Heaters Safely in NIH Buildings •

Using Small Appliances Safely • FireSafety Tips When Using Personal

Computers • Maintaining Home FireSafety While Protecting Against Crime •

Laboratory Fire-Safety

The Fire Prevention Section

can provide fire safety training for

small groups as well as large, in an

informal office setting or a formal

setting such as classroom...it's all up to

the customer. Call or e-mail Chief J.P.

McCabe to set up a training session.

INFORMATION J.P. McCabe 496-0487 

ORS RESPONDS TO TREE

REMOVAL, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT

Lynn Mueller, Chief of the Grounds

Maintenance and Landscaping

Section, was recently asked why the

NIH was removing several of the

mature oak trees behind Building 1

between Buildings 4 and 5.

At the NIH, we agree that the

landscaping and trees on our campus

are one of its great attributes.We

want the NIH community to know

that, as with those trees, every attempt

is made to extend the lives of all our

trees. However, some, sadly, reach their

maximum growth potential and go

into decline.Dead branches can become

a hazard to people and property.

The trees between Buildings 4

and 5 are a good example. Fallen

limbs had caused damage to several

cars.These trees had reached their

maximum growth potential about 10

years ago, judging by a study of the

annual growth rings.

Mueller insists that decisions to

remove trees are not made lightly.

“The trees were suffering from significant yearly crown dieback even

after repeated pruning and fertilizing.The steel pipe guards that were

installed when the trees were planted

in the narrow islands to keep car

bumpers from hitting them were

restricting their growth. From looking at the growth rings, it was obvious that all the trees were in decline

for the last 15 years where the rings

for the past 12-15 years were compressed into 1-1 1/2 inches of

growth while the previous 50 years

had about 12-15 inches of growth.”

Trees that must be removed are

replaced unless construction is planned

for the site.The removed oaks will be

replaced with new, sturdy willow oaks

later this fall.Willow oaks were chosen

for their anticipated success in that

particular restricted growing situation.

Finally, Mueller pointed out,

“Trees are living, breathing things...

and like us, do not live forever.”

INFORMATION Lynn Mueller 496-4817

16TH ANNUAL

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

BEAUTIFICATION AWARD

The NIH won a beautification award in

the Public/Institutional category for

restoring the campus to what many of

Montgomery County’s city and residential streets looked like over 40 years ago.

During the fall of 1998, following the completion of the utility

tunnel that ran under Center Drive

through the heart of the NIH campus,

the Grounds Maintenance and

Landscaping Section (GMLS) was

charged with creating a new

streetscape from the Natcher Building

to the new Louis Stokes Laboratories.

Lynn Mueller, a registered landscape architect and Chief of GMLS,

replenished the American elm tree

stock, down from hundreds to only

18 due to the effects of Dutch Elm

Disease that began to invade the area

in the 1960’s, with 23 disease-resistant American Elms. Each May,

GMLS plants more than 15,000 

colorful annual flowers including

those in the elm planting boxes along

Center Drive. In addition, flowering

double pink Kwanzan cherry trees

were planted on the west side of

Center Drive opposite the elms.All

the trees have flourished in the past

three to four years.

INFORMATION Lynn Mueller 496-4817

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATES

ANDOVER SECURITY SYSTEM

DEPLOYMENT

All perimeter door Cardkey® readers on the NIH campus have been

converted to the new proximity

(prox) card readers, with the exception of Buildings 29, 29A, and 29B.

Efforts are now underway to convert

the interior door card readers in 

specific on-campus buildings to the

new prox card technology.
12

ISSUE 3 JANUARY 2003 

The issuance of the combination

ID badge/Andover proximity card

rebadging has begun off-campus.The

IC Administrative Officers have been

notified of the badging station locations and dates and are being asked to

disseminate this information to their

staff. In addition, efforts are underway

to begin rebadging of Food and Drug

Administration staff in the Building 29

complex so that perimeter card reader

conversion can begin there.

As a reminder, regardless of

your work location, if you are on

campus and have not obtained a new

NIH ID badge/prox card, you may

do so at the Parking Office located

on the B3 level of Building 31.

If you are uncertain about your

need to get new identification, look

on the back of your ID badge. If it

has a magnetic strip, you have a new

one. If there is no strip, you are in

need of a new NIH ID badge.

PERIMETER SECURITY SYSTEM 

The NIH main campus will be

receiving a new Perimeter Security

System (PSS) beginning in 2003.

The objectives of the PSS are to

minimize the impact on biomedical

research while mitigating the risk of

catastrophic events, creating a flexible

system that can respond to external

security threats, and enhancing the

overall security of the NIH campus

by managing non-employee access.

The PSS is designed to accomplish

these tasks in three phases.

The first phase constitutes the

current conditions at the NIH today.

The lack of a perimeter security system has resulted in 1) the screening

of individuals at the building

entrances; 2) visitor and commercial

vehicle inspections at multiple

perimeter points and; 3) a limited

number of campus vehicular access

points for employees.

The second phase includes conditions that would exist once the

perimeter fence is completed, which

is expected to be finished during the

last quarter of 2003. Completion of

the perimeter fence results in 1)

removal of the guards from most

buildings with the doors open during 

business hours; 2) a temporary

Commercial Vehicle Inspection (CVI)

station for improved traffic control

and; 3) a temporary Visitor’s Center

to welcome guests onto campus.

The third and final stage

includes conditions that would exist

once a permanent CVI and Visitor’s

Center are erected.The addition of

these two elements along with the

fence is what creates the completed

PSS. Full implementation 1) creates a

centralized gateway for welcoming

and orienting visitors at the perimeter; 2) ensures open access to most

buildings during business hours and;

3) enables more thorough and efficient screening of commercial vehicles at a single location.

Fundamentally, the PSS provides the most secure environment

possible while minimizing impact on

the mission of conducting biomedical research, accommodating the

culture of the NIH, maintaining all

possible openness within the campus

environment for employees and visitors, and providing a more secure

campus environment while minimizing inconsistencies in the application

of the security program.

INFORMATION

Division of Public Safety 496-6893

Comprehensive NIH security information:

http://security.nih.gov

ORS Information Line website: http://www.

nih.gov/od/ors/security/index.htm

Security for NIH visitors and patients: http://

www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm

Security for NIH visitors and patients:

Spanish language version: http://www.

nih.gov/about/spanvisit.htm

TRAVEL TIPS

To quickly disseminate key travel

information, the Worksite Enrichment

Programs Branch began piloting the

use of its dedicated travel listserv to

provide frequent Travel-Tips to its

customers. Every two weeks since

May,Travel-Tips has provided NIH

travel planners with brief articles 

on current travel topics and, when

appropriate, offered links to additional resources.

A sampling of the types of

information in Travel-Tips:

4 Updates regarding the Continuing

Resolution as it relates to issuance of

tickets by the Travel Management

Center (TMC).

4 Omega's NIH dedicated website,

www.nihtravel.com, was developed as

a one-stop approach for NIH staff to

complete travel forms online.We can

not stress enough the importance of

completing the Travel Profile Form.

This provides Omega with a traveler's preference for airlines, airports,

seating, meals, and most importantly,

full contact information in case of

last minute changes. From this site,

you can also submit a Travel Request

Form or check on the status of an

existing reservation.

4 What is a paper ticket fee? A paper

ticket fee is a charge applied by the

carrier (presently this includes;

Continental, Delta and American

Airlines) for tickets available electronically (e-ticket), but the traveler

insists on having a paper ticket

issued.When the TMC (e.g.,

Omega) books your reservations for

travel, if the reservation qualifies for

an e-ticket, it will save the NIH $20

per ticket if you agree to accept the

electronic version.The goal is to

completely eliminate paper tickets

and only offer e-tickets for wholly

domestic itineraries by March 2003

and for 100 percent of all other itineraries by December 2003.

Omega recently acquired a

dedicated phone line for customer

service questions, comments or 

concerns. Routinely, the customer

service manager receives calls asking

for clarification on issues such as frequent flyer and business class authorizations, Omega policies, seat assignments, special meal requests, and

sometimes even NIH travel policies.

For prompt customer service, contact

Patience Hadley, Omega Customer

Service Supervisor, at 301-984-9289

or phadley@owt.net.

Please share this valuable

resource and encourage others to

join the Travel-Tips listserv by visiting: http://list.nih.gov.

÷ select “Browse”

÷ type in the word “Travel”

÷ select the option “NIH_Travel_L”
NEWS2USE

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÷ select “Join”

÷ enter your name and e-mail address

INFORMATION Ellen Grant 402-8180

WHERE’S WALDO?

NEW CAMPUS MAP AVAILABLE

FOR VISITORS 

Concerned about a new visitor or

patient finding their way around

campus? 

Your worries should be put to

rest.The ORS has a new,‘visitorfriendly’ map available to get people

where they need to go – quickly and

easily.The map is based on building

numbers and includes updates on

new facilities, information about

entrances, hours of operation, parking locations and fees, valet services,

visitor passes, and what to expect

from a security standpoint when

entering the campus.

The map is available on the

NIH website and at the visitor

entrances to the campus.To download a copy for yourself or a visitor,

visit: http:// www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm. Select, “NIH Visitor and

Patient Campus Map” and print a copy.

INFORMATION Tom Hayden 496-5037

HONORS FOR ‘ABOVE AND

BEYOND’ ORS EMPLOYEES

At the 2002 ORS annual Town

Meeting, select individuals and

groups were honored for going

‘above and beyond’ the norm to

make sure their customers – the

NIH, its patients and visitors –

received outstanding service and the

highest level of satisfaction.

This year’s Excellence awards

winners included Claude Belcher,

for providing superior customer service and going the extra mile to

provide repairs and maintenance to

NIAAA facilities at the NIH Animal

Center.As a team, the Center for

Career Resources, including John

Carr, Nancy Ludewig and Ron

Poole received the Excellence award

for unusual resourcefulness and sensitivity while conducting career

counseling for ORS employees.

An individual award for

Customer Service Special

Recognition was presented to Ron

Alexander for exceptional resourcefulness and outstanding customer

service while managing the Nuclear

Magnetic Resonance (NMR) renovation.The NIH Library Digital

Reference Project Team, including

Kathryn Dudley, Bradley Otterson,

Karen Smith and Nancy Terry, also

received Special Recognition for

creativity, innovation, and vision in

developing AskUs Live!, and for

being one of the first federal agency

libraries to implement a live, interactive web-based reference service.

Finally, the Division of Engineering

Services AAALAC Accreditation

Support Team, a sizable group, was

honored for significant contributions

to sustain AAALAC accreditation by

maintaining NIH animal facilities in

exemplary condition.

INFORMATION 

Jacqueline Williams 402-2770

PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR

LEADERSHIP IN FEDERAL

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

On October 24, 2002, the NIH and

the Department of Health and Human

Services received its first Presidential

Award for Leadership in Federal

Energy Management.This award was

accomplished through a joint venture

of the Partnership for Energy

Performance (PEP) that included: the

Department, the U.S.Army Garrison

at Fort Detrick, the National Cancer

Institute, Frederick Cancer Research

and Development Center (FCRDC),

and private sector partners.

The uniqueness of this publicprivate joint venture and the outcome anticipated was the basis for the

team receiving the 2002 Presidential

Award for the “results” produced in

putting the garrison and the NCIFCRDC campuses in an outstanding

position to meet and or exceed the

energy reduction goals by FY2005.

Under a utility area wide agreement established in 1994, the PEP

developed a Utility Services Contract

(UESC) to acquire energy conservation services and more than $25M in

facility improvements.The private

sector partners include Potomac

Edison Company (Allegheny Power)

and the Science Applications

International Corporation (SAIC).

INFORMATION Clarence Dukes 496-5078

BUSINESS FOR THE BAY

2002 AWARD

On November 13, 2002, the

Department of Health and Human

Services, National Institutes of

Health received the Business for the

Bay 2002 Significant Achievement

Award for a Government Facility.

Businesses for the Bay (B4B) is

the Chesapeake Bay Program’s

nationally recognized, voluntary pollution prevention program with more

than 500 participating businesses,

industries, government facilities and

other organizations in the Bay watershed. The award was presented at the

organization’s annual conference

“Towards Zero Regulation – Business

Strategies for a Healthier Chesapeake

Bay” held in Linthicum Heights, MD.

Institutional pollution prevention programs competing for B4B

awards were judged by several award

criteria including:

• Setting and successfully meeting or

exceeding waste and pollution

reduction goals.

• Making positive impacts on the

Chesapeake Bay that included education or outreach to employees or

local communities, involvement in

environmental activities, or providing

assistance to others.

• Fostering activities that will be sustained or enhanced in future years.

• Transference of projects and programs to other facilities.

• Development of new or unique

approaches to pollution prevention.

The major NIH accomplishments cited in the award were:

• 99+ percent reductions in generation of mixed waste

(radioactive/chemical waste).

• Exceeding goals for total reductions of chemicals reported under

EPA’s Toxic Chemical Inventory

(TRI) reporting system.
17

18

ISSUE 3 JANUARY 2003 

• The Mad as a Hatter? Campaign

for a Mercury-Free NIH and its

extensive outreach efforts to schools

and communities.

• Power plant improvements including construction of a new cogeneration facility that will minimize use of

the more polluting conventional

methods of power generation. When

this facility comes online later this

year it is expected to produce a

regional savings of 815.5 tons of air

emissions per year.

• Installation of a state-of-the-art

water reclamation system at NIH’s

Poolesville facility preventing discharges of 100,000 gallons per day of

wastewater from the facility’s treatment plant to surface waters.

Contributions to this effort

were made by diverse disciplines –

from the many individual investigators who have worked to improve

laboratory waste minimization at the

bench top, to the engineers and

developers of major facility infrastructure improvement projects such

as the new state of the art power

generation and wastewater reclamation facilities.

This was the second award

issued by B4B to the NIH for its

pollution prevention efforts. In May

2002, the NIH received the organization’s Member of the Month honors, and a story highlighting some of

NIH’s program accomplishments

appeared in MD Environment, a

publication of the Maryland

Department of the Environment.

INFORMATION Ed Rau 496-7790

IT’S NOT SO HARD

BEING GREEN:

YOUR ROLE IN CONSERVATION 

Every NIH employee plays a vital

role in preserving our nation’s natural resources while at the same time

helping the NIH meet the FY2005

energy conservation goals established

by the Department of Energy.

Toward this objective,the

Department of Health and Human

Services (DHHS) instituted a night-time

energy audit program to survey facilities

on an ‘after hours’basis to evaluate how

well the NIH is doing to conserve energy. These audits are intended to observe

what electrical equipment (computers,

radios,copiers,etc.) can be turned-off to

reduce energy consumption.

The audits, conducted periodically, include participants from the

DHHS, NIH Security, Facility

Managers, and Energy Program

Managers to assure that all work

areas are entered in a professional

manner that is sensitive to the 

occupants.

Your support in turning-off

electrical equipment and in understanding the importance of the NIH

participation in the Night-time

Energy Audit Program is essential

because the NIH consumes over 50

percent of the electricity, natural gas,

and water, 40 percent of the fuel oil,

and 90 percent of the steam used by

the Department to fulfill its mission.

Thank you for supporting this

valuable program.

INFORMATION 

Clarence Dukes 496-5078 

IMPLEMENTING

PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT IN THE ORS 

In November, the ORS held its second Performance Management

Conference.The conference was

attended by several hundred ORS

employees and various NIH customers and provided an opportunity

for 43 teams of over 200 participants

to showcase the initial outcomes of

their efforts on their Annual Self

Assessments, more commonly

referred to as ASAs.

What are ASAs? The ASAs are

the vehicle the ORS is using to

implement performance measurement and improvement throughout

the organization.The ASAs use the

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach

as the foundation for performance

measurement.This approach originated from a Harvard Business

School research project in the early

1990s involving 12 companies at the

leading edge of performance measurement.The BSC methodology

encourages the establishment of a set

of measures to give managers a fast,

yet comprehensive view of their

business.This approach assists service

providers in clarifying the value they

provide to customers, along with

translating business strategy into

action.The ASAs use the BSC

approach of four perspectives to

organize and communicate performance measures: the customer 

perspective, internal business process

perspective, learning and growth 

perspective, and financial perspective.

During the Performance

Management conference,ASA Teams

presented their first chapters in the

story of transformation to a performance management culture. For

many teams, the story focused on

what was learned from the common

set of measures all teams were asked to

address in FY02. Data shows that

progress in implementing these 

common measures varied by ORS

program area and the type of common measure.

For instance, the customer 

perspective area indicated that about

82 percent of the ORS discrete 

services have completed a customer

segmentation chart, providing service

providers with a better understanding of who are their customers.

About 50 percent of service groups

have established baseline measurements of customer satisfaction using

the ORS Customer Scorecard survey.Another outcome, observed from

the teams initiating basic steps in

understanding their internal business

processes, has been the recognition

of the “cross-functional” nature of

many ORS processes, and our need

to work better together.

Implementing performance measurement to improve our business

operations requires large-scale

organizational change with transformation to a performance-driven

culture. While no simple task,

the ORS has stepped up to this

challenge. The Performance

Management conference offered

our first organization-wide snapshot

of a multi-year effort to become a 
3 ISSUE JANUARY 2003 OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Mr. Steve Ficca, Office of Research Services Director encourages

you to submit questions, comments and suggestions about the services ORS provides to the NIH community.

Either Mr. Ficca or someone from the ORS staff will personally respond to each question. Just e-mail, phone

or fax your comments and questions to the appropriate location listed below.

For questions or comments about:

ORS services to the NIH community, contact the

ORS Information Line.

E-mail: ORSInfo@mail.nih.gov

Phone: 301-594-6677 

Fax: 301-402-2204 

Website: http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/security/index.htm

For questions or comments about:

News2Use articles or to suggest future story ideas.

E-mail: ORSNews2Use@mail.nih.gov

NEWS2USE

Published quarterly on recycled paper by the

OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

EDITOR Bradley Moss

WRITER Ann Cochran

ORS DIRECTOR Stephen A. Ficca 

LAYOUT DESIGN Medical Arts and Photography Branch

INTERNET ADDRESS www.nih.gov/od/ors

19

performance-driven organization.To learn more about

Annual Self Assessements, visit:

http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/od/oqm/asa/asa.htm 

INFORMATION 

Amy Culbertson 594-9616 Antonio Rodriguez 496-7698

FITNESS CENTER SURVEY

In order to assess the current state and future needs 

of the NIH population for fitness services, the ORS

commissioned Performance Dynamics, Inc to design

and implement a Fitness Facility Needs Assessment

Survey.

Understanding the importance of fitness offerings

in the recruitment and retention of talented people, the

survey was inclusive of all persons working at the NIH

whether they are members of fitness facilities or not.

The survey design was quite a process; in fact, it

was a comprehensive three-phase approach. Senior

consultants reviewed existing NIH public documents

pertaining to fitness facilities and conducted focus

group meetings with key stakeholders. In the second

phase, an initial survey draft was given to select individuals.The results were collected, analyzed, discussed

with the stakeholders, and revised. In the final stage,

NIH employees received the agreed upon version (in

English or Spanish).The survey resulted in a sample of

1,816 participants.

CRITICAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Survey respondents indicated the existing fitness facilities provided through the Recreation and Welfare

Association are inadequate in many respects.

The following recommendations were derived

from the study:

• First, develop an NIH-wide strategy promoting

workplace fitness and wellness, comprised from leaders

across the Institutes to make recommendations on

how the NIH could improve its offerings.

• Second, encourage Institutes and offices to allow

workers to maintain responsibility for productivity

and give them greater flexibility for fitness activities

during the course of the working day.

• Third, develop corporate discount relationships with

other fitness facilities or develop a voucher system

that NIH workers could use at select facilities.

• Fourth, build a larger fitness space on the Bethesda

campus, ideally with swimming facilities, that can

accommodate more programs and equipment, consistent with the standards gleaned from benchmarking.

• Fifth, the NIH should work to develop a comprehensive and consistent campaign to encourage 

participation in new programs.

• Sixth, the NIH should approach wellness and fitness

comprehensively, focusing its efforts on education and

raising awareness of health programs and the benefits

of healthy living.

Within the next six months, an NIH-wide

employee wellness/fitness advisory committee will be

formed comprised of leaders across the NIH and will

develop a comprehensive plan of action for creating a

healthier and more informed workforce.Their plan of

action will look at all aspects of creating an NIHwide wellness strategy including:

• Examining the current fitness centers and employee

recreation clubs

• Looking at nutritional values of provided food 

services 

• Sponsoring special fitness events (i.e., the NIH

Relay)

• Providing promotional and educational materials

This task force will make recommendations on

how the NIH can improve its offerings and develop a

comprehensive and consistent campaign to encourage

NIH community members’ participation in

fitness/wellness programs.

INFORMATION

Tim Tosten 402-8180;TTY: 435-1908

http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/index.htm