Housestaff Dining Program
Residents participating in programs that require in-house overnight call, use their I.D. badge to access hospital provided dining funds at approved dining locations. The GME office provides the MCG EXPRESS CARD office with the names and badge numbers of all incoming Residents. The badges, when produced, are encoded with the necessary format to communicate with the system. A representative from the MCG EXPRESS CARD office is present at the new resident orientation to verify names and badge numbers, to obtain mother’s maiden name or password (for security purposes), and to open personal spending accounts.
Every month, the GME Office uses the call schedule published by each program office to determine the specific amount of on-call meal allowance allocated to any resident taking call. This will, of course, depend upon how many dates the resident is scheduled to remain in the MCG hospital overnight (24 hours). Funds are given as $10.00 for week night call, and $15.00 for weekend or holiday call. Departmental lists with deposit amounts are sent to the MCG EXPRESS CARD office at the end of each month and are usually placed on the accounts when received, but not later than the first day of the rotation. If received early, the deposits are not placed on the accounts sooner than three days before the start of the rotation, (unless Holiday schedules apply). If received late, the deposits are placed when received. When residents call with questions regarding their scheduled dining funds, the MCG EXPRESS CARD office contacts the GME office for confirmation before making any changes.
Resident allocations are available by the first day of each month. These amounts remain valid in the account for six weeks. Residents should have at least two weeks after the month end/rotation end to use Housestaff Dining funds. For example, November allocations are usable from November 1st until December 15th. Expiring funds become in-valid on the 15th of the month and these funds are purged at the end of the month. Any remaining balance is returned to GME Administration.
Funding for each month’s call rotation is a separate 'plan’ and each plan balance is reported individually (to the user, each time a transaction is made). When two (or more) plans are valid, the 'first’ plan is used until it expires or reaches a $0 balance - THEN the 'next’ plan is automatically accessed.
Housestaff Dining allowances are used in the Terrace Dining Room and the CMC McDonald’s. Housestaff Dining allowances may be used anytime during the valid time period, whether or not the user is actually on call that specific day.
Residents may deposit personal funds into a separate MCG EXPRESS CARD spending plan. Express Dollars may be used for meals in both Student Center and Hospital dining facilities, for access to certain photocopy machines and vending machines that are located in the Library, the R&E Building, the Dental School, and Student Center, and for purchases and services in the MCG Library, Bookstore, Copy and Print services, and Wellness Center. These are personal monies and do not expire. At approved dining locations, personal funds are accessed ONLY when all Housestaff Dining allowances have expired or been depleted.
Residents are advised to report lost cards IMMEDIATELY to Public Safety and the MCG EXPRESS CARD office. Funds are not physically on the card, they are on the system, but the card is the means to access those funds. Cashiers are supposed to verify the user by the ID photo, but de-activation is the only sure way to prevent misuse. Lost or misplaced IDs may be deactivated by phone to the MCG EXPRESS CARD office at 721-9939 during regular business hours or online at www.mcg.edu/express 24/7.
The MCG ExpressCard office is located on the first floor of the Student Center, DA-1020, and is open Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.