Together as a team
Joyce Hein, Interim CEO, Newman Regional Health
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
IT HAS BEEN six weeks since I began my job as interim administrator here at Newman. During that time I have focused my efforts on getting to know the medical staff, our employees, and as much as I can about the organization. I have been impressed by the dedication and willingness of everyone involved, to move forward in looking for opportunities and improvements. Change is not always easy, but being open to new ideas is essential in any organization or business.
As I mentioned in my last column, my job as interim administrator is to keep things running as smoothly as possible and build a good foundation for the arrival of the next CEO. We are taking action to stabilize the hospital’s finances during this time of low census and have begun work on the 2009 budget. We have completed a community survey, seeking opinions and ideas from Lyon County citizens as to how we can improve our services. The Board of Trustees held its annual retreat last week and we have begun an update of the hospital’s strategic plan. Many other activities are taking place as well.
Perhaps one of the most enjoyable tasks I have had is to meet with various members of the medical staff. Some of the other communities I have worked in have not been as fortunate as we are here, in having so many physicians truly committed to caring for their patients. I think that is one of the advantages of living in a smaller city, and one we can continue to build on.
I see an opportunity for Newman to increase collaboration with our physicians and other local partners to improve healthcare in our community. There are already many efforts underway in which our physicians are participating in improvement efforts in our hospital. Surgeons and anesthetists worked with our operating room staff to improve start time and reduce delays between surgeries. Several physicians are working on quality teams to ensure we are meeting the latest standards of care for heart attack, pneumonia and congestive heart failure. Others have been working on national patient safety and infection control initiatives. With input from physicians, the hospital has purchased new equipment to enhance the care and services provided.
Like many of you, I have been enjoying watching the Olympics these past few days. I love the stories of the athletes; their challenges and how they overcame adversity in their quest to be a champion. Their stories are inspirational. They have a goal and people…coaches, parents, fellow team members and others…working together to help them achieve their goal. Even if you’re not familiar with all the various aspects of the particular sport, it is easy to spot a team who doesn’t work well together. Of course you have to have good athletes to succeed, but it is not always the ones with the most skills that win. It is the team that works well together that comes home with the gold.
The healthcare system depends on people working together as partners. We have a common goal. When the patient, family, physician, nurse and every member of the healthcare team communicate and work together, everyone wins. We have our hurdles…compliance with regulations, bureaucracy, unfunded care, declining reimbursement, professional shortages and others…but we have a common goal. Meeting the challenge of improving quality and access to healthcare is not the responsibility of an individual person or hospital. It is the responsibility of all of us. Earning trust to be your first choice for healthcare services takes a team effort. Together as a team, we can achieve our goal of quality care for each and every patient.
Comments
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)