by Skip Anderson
As undergraduate students wrapped up their last classes before spring break Friday, Feb. 28, Dr. John H.J. Nadeau, professor of medicine, received a call he had been expecting.

“ My chief petty officer and I had been talking about it for about a week,” said Nadeau, a preventive cardiologist in the division of nephrology and a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves. “I knew it was coming, I just didn’t know when.”

Nadeau was the 14th Vanderbilt employee to be activated by the military reserves in recent weeks, and as many as 55 others may soon be deployed, according to Vanderbilt Human Resources.

Nadeau, a 17-year veteran of the military reserves, said this is the first time he has been called to active duty. Nadeau spoke to the Register from New Orleans while en route to 29 Palms, Calif., where he expects to be stationed for several weeks before being deployed to a yet-to-be-determined site overseas. He will serve as a battalion surgeon for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Although their responsibilities may carry them across the globe, University employment status of the reservists will not change.

“ As long as they’re serving in the military, they may still access Vanderbilt benefits,” said Lisa Ponton, senior director in Human Resources. “While on unpaid leave status, they can elect to continue benefits by paying through a direct billing.”

Of the 69 employees known to be military reservists, all but two are employed by the Medical Center.

“ My wife and family are on board with this,” said Nadeau, whose three grown children include a son who will receive a master’s degree from the Vanderbilt Graduate School in May. “Nine-eleven was pretty attention-getting.”

Nadeau indicated he opted to keep his health benefits through the University while serving full time in the military. However, Ponton said he will probably be in the minority as the military offers comparable plans at no cost. Other Vanderbilt benefits deployed staff members may choose to continue include coverage for dependents and voluntary programs.

While it is Vanderbilt’s policy not to make up the difference in pay should the military pay less than the University, activated employees may use vacation and personal time to assist with cash flow to supplement their pay. Employees called to active duty do not accrue additional leave time while serving in the military. Upon return from active duty, Vanderbilt will make its mandatory retirement contribution to the 403b retirement account if the leave was without pay. If the employee wishes to make his or her own catch-up contributions, arrangements will be made to facilitate the deductions over as much as a three-year period, said Ponton. Vanderbilt will also provide the additional 2 percent match on these contributions.

Once a reservist receives notice from the U.S. government that he or she has been called to active duty, things happen quickly. For Nadeau, the call came five days before he was to depart — not much time to arrange for contingency plans for those who depend upon him for medical care. However, anticipating the call helped him arrange for the needs of his patients.

“ It gave me an opportunity to get the things done I needed to get done at the office,” he said.

Colleagues from the Vanderbilt Clinic, the divisions of nephrology, pharmacology and internal medicine, and his patients’ primary care physicians will help treat his patients during his absence, he said.

“ A very large and diverse group of folks at Vanderbilt are going to help while I’m away,” said Nadeau.

However, being deployed doesn’t have to mean being out of touch. Not only does he plan to keep in close contact with his family via the Internet, he has access to the electronic medical records of his patients through technology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center called “Star Panel.” He said he plans to be included in the treatment for his patients from wherever his duty carries him.

“ The military is fairly hard-wired all over the world, so I will be able to get to the records from just about anywhere,” he said. “The moral of the story is Star Panel can travel.”

The Role of the Manager

For employees to ensure their jobs will be waiting for them upon their return as mandated by federal law — or a comparable position with the same pay — they must immediately notify their manager once they’ve been activated. Ponton said it is critical the manager then notify HRS of the employee’s change in status. Such correspondence may be sent by the manager directly to her via e-mail (lisa.ponton@vanderbilt.edu).

“ We then send a letter that same night to the home of the employee notifying them of their rights and their benefits,” she said.

Managers may fill the vacated position with either a temporary employee or a “term” employee, the difference being the latter receives University benefits.

The government sets the timeframe during which employees must reclaim their respective positions upon their return, should they choose to do so. Had they been activated for fewer than 30 days prior to being released from duty, they must return to the University the next work day. If they were activated for more than 31 days but fewer than 180 days, they have 14 days to report. If they served for more than 180 days, they have 90 days to reclaim their positions within the University.

Ponton said it is the responsibility of the manager to notify Human Resources immediately when military reservists return to the University to reclaim their position.

Posted 03/07/03 at 10 a.m.