Not So "Undercover"...In Your Shoes

This Saturday afternoon I will "walk in the shoes" of one of our nurses on 4 West. The nurse joked this was a real life "Undercover Boss." With humor, I let her know since I will work for her and she just shared my work plans with the 4 West team, it did not seem too "undercover."

I look forward to Saturday. For all St. Joseph Medical Center associates, please let me know if you would like me to "walk in your shoes" next.

What Does Retreat Mean to You?

A few weeks ago I met with our Spiritual Care Department. One of the the associates mentioned a Senior Leadership retreat. She said (and I paraphrase), "Scott, you mentioned the Senior Team had a retreat. Is that similar to our retreat where there is lots of reflection and relaxation?" I said it is relaxing but perhaps in more of a "business' way. We did have a chance to reflect with one another and we addressed priority business needs for the organization. We even started the day with a great check-in to see if there were other concerning issues in our lived so we could have a greater perspective of one another during the retreat.

One our Executive Team members brought this cartoon to me from Harley Schwadron. I called Harley and asked if I could post on this blog as it was so fitting. Check out his website and cartoons http://www.schwadroncartoons.com/.

Thank you Harley.

Employee of the month - July

Congratulations to Joyce Mayfield, our July Associate of the Month. We usually celebrate outside our cafe but this time Joyce asked for a change in venue...in our newly renovated Bono Garden. Joyce led the efforts to renovate the Bono Garden and our 'Green' efforts in addition to her full time role in our Risk Management office.

Congratulations Joyce.

ZUMBA Time at SJMC

Zumba classes started. I had a chance top join in for one song (that was tough enough) along with our KU Intern Ben M. The class has such a great energy leve to it.

If you are interested in participating, please call 9432190. Zumba classes this are in the Community Center - Greenlease Room

- Mondays/Wednesdays 5 – 6 pm
- Tuesdays/Thursdays 4 – 5pm

Perhaps next time I could make it thorough two songs and NOT wear my suit.

Hospital Compare - Updated HCAHPS

The updated HCAHPS are out. I have included the link and the latest Table of Data shown.

Running a hospital is an amazing challenge and very rewarding. It is rewarding given the impact we have on those we serve - for me it certainly outweighs the time, navigation through changes, persistence and continuous improvement needed to work through the daily challenges.

Our patient experience (satisfaction) has remained strong. We have seen growth for the first time after a flat and downward trend in volume for 7 straight years. Our quality outcomes have remained strong. In addition, we have more physicians practicing at the hospital than we have over the past couple of years. As you could see by the data below, so much is driven by our communication and relationship with our patients and our own team.

After a rough couple of years of a rough economy and changes throughout the hospital, we will continue our efforts to ensure our entire 'community' of employees, volunteers and physicians look to our hospital as their hospital. Our 'community' of 2,500+ are the reason we continue to provide exceptional, compassionate and quality care on a daily basis.

Survey of Patients' Hospital Experiences

HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) is a national survey that asks patients about their experiences during a recent hospital stay. Use the results shown here to compare hospitals based on ten important hospital quality topics. Read more information about survey of patients’ hospital experiences.

	XRemove hospital from comparision ST JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTERST JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER 1000 CARONDELET DR KANSAS CITY,MO 64114 (816) 942-4000 Acute Care- Opens in a new window 2.5 miles Map & Directions Add to My Favorites	XRemove hospital from comparision MENORAH MEDICAL CENTERMENORAH MEDICAL CENTER 5721 WEST 119TH STREET OVERLAND PARK,KS 66209 (913) 498-6773 Acute Care- Opens in a new window 5.9 miles Map & Directions Add to My Favorites	XRemove hospital from comparision SHAWNEE MISSION MEDICAL CENTERSHAWNEE MISSION MEDICAL CENTER 9100 W 74TH STREET SHAWNEE MISSION,KS 66204 (913) 676-2151 Acute Care- Opens in a new window 6.8 miles Map & Directions Add to My Favorites
Patients who reported that their nurses "Always" communicated well.	72%	69%	72%
Patients who reported that their doctors "Always" communicated well.	78%	77%	74%
Patients who reported that they "Always" received help as soon as they wanted.	58%	56%	53%
Patients who reported that their pain was "Always" well controlled.	67%	67%	67%
Patients who reported that staff "Always" explained about medicines before giving it to them.	54%	54%	58%
Patients who reported that their room and bathroom were "Always" clean.	61%	54%	64%
Patients who reported that the area around their room was "Always" quiet at night.	54%	53%	52%
Patients at each hospital who reported that YES, they were given information about what to do during their recovery at home.	85%	81%	85%
Patients who gave their hospital a rating of 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest).	64%	61%	66%
Patients who reported YES, they would definitely recommend the hospital.	71%	65%	70%

http://hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/hospital-compare.aspx?hid=260085,170182,170104&lat=38.9650882&lng=-94.5985613&stype=GENERAL&&stateSearched=MO

I look forward to hearing from you.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

This past weekend I went hiking and came across the following sign warning me on the danger of Mountain Lions and Bears. Clearly, some poor hiking outcomes led to some Process Improvements and the sign with a recommended 'process' when dealing with them:

- Do not scream...

- Make yourself as large as possible...

- Speak firmly...

- If attacked, fight back

Well, hospitals probably follow the 'Do not scream' mantra but the other points are better with Lions and Tigers and Bears...'oh my' (sorry - I couldn't resist). We are expected to be the safest place for patients and here is an update on 5 LEAn Six Sigma projects we are working on at SJMC. The combined projects will positively impact our medical staff, patient experience, nursing and support staff, financial performance and compliance.

- Hospital Acquired Conditions related to Blood Stream Infections

- IV Start/Stop Times to ensure documentation compliance

- Central Supply Rental Equipment to improve availability of tools and equipment for staff

- Room Notification and Handoff in Communication to improve the flow of patients
going from the Emergency Department to an Inpatient floor

- OR Instrument and Supply Availability to improve the flow of our surgical cases

Certainly we are pleased with our focus on these intitatives. They will help ensure we are the safest place for our patients and most effective place for our associates, physicians and volunteers to work.

When I compare our challenges to those posed against the Mountain Lion and Bear, I know we are in good hands.

C is fo Cookies, That's Good Enough For Me...

Our Mission, Vision and Values are posted below. In line with our vision to have a physician friendly environment, it has been brought to my attention (by one our our good natured physicians) that we are out of Chocolate Chip Cookies in the physician dining area and lounge. Please note - this situation has been remedied!

On another note, I am so pleased to see that Drs. Marr and Harlow joined our Daily Safety Huddle today and Dr. Lundgren let the mission and reflected while participating in the Safety Huddles with our Cardiology Department - a true commitment to ensuriing we are the safest place for our patients. We are seeing results daily with a strong collaboration amound our clinical and non clinical areas. It is having an amazing impact on our culture of safety and accountability for our patients and one another.


Our Mission:Carondelet Health consists of Catholic organizations dedicated to the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Our commitment to human dignity compels us to provide compassionate, quality health care for body, mind and spirit, with a special concern for the poor. We are responsible stewards serving the needs of all people from conception to death. We are united in this mission.

Our Vision:St. Joseph Medical Center will serve as the safest place to be a patient through Unwavering Advocacy for those we serve. Our Ministry is committed to a physician friendly environment providing faith based, community and family centered care.

Our Values:Integrity - Compassion - Unity

Our Mission:Carondelet Health consists of Catholic organizations dedicated to the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Our commitment to human dignity compels us to provide compassionate, quality health care for body, mind and spirit, with a special concern for the poor. We are responsible stewards serving the needs of all people from conception to death. We are united in this mission.


Our Vision: St. Joseph Medical Center will serve as the safest place to be a patient through Unwavering Advocacy for those we serve. Our Ministry is committed to a physician friendly environment providing faith based, community and family centered care.


Our Values: Integrity - Compassion - Unity

Note: We will deliver a tray of cookies to the first one who comments on the origin of 'C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me'

Enjoy your weekend.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July, the day we celebrate Independence Day with family and friends. It is a day to celebrate our freedom.

My blog is certainly one expression of freedom of speech as a way to communicate my thoughts on things in the healthcare arena and a forum to hear from others as well.

Today I received what I call a 'nastigram'. Certainly everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech. In order for me to post 'nastigrams', please ensure the comments are constructive. In no way do I mean they must be positive about me, the hospital, etc. However, they should be constructive. For example, if something 'stinks', please be more specific so we could be more focused in our efforts to improve.

The Safety Huddles we started this past Monday were just another example on our efforts to ensure we provide the safest environment for our patients, staff, volunteers, physicians and visitors. We have always been committed to safety and added these Huddles to enhance our efforts further.

I look forward to hearing your comments and will post all positive and negative comments as long as obscenities are not used and you specify any concerns so we could address. I appreciate your consideration.

Be Safe Tonight.

Source of Picture: http://rescommunis.files.wordpress.com

Welcome Auxiliary Board 2010-2011

Yesterday I attended the St. Joseph Medical Center Auxiliary Annual Summer Luncheon and Installation of the 2010-2011 Auxiliary Board. We have over 800 Volunteers and Auxilians.

Thank you to Ann Clark, Outgoing President and congratulations to Mary Ann Nagy, our incoming President. Our Volunteers and Auxilians truly represent our mission, vision and values under the leadership of Jeri Grimes, Director, Volunteer Services.

Our Auxiliary Board for 2010-2011:

Executive Officers:

President: Mary Ann Nagy

President Elect: Shari Boles

Past President: Ann Clark

1st VP, Ways and Means: Joan Cody

2nd VP, Dues and Membership: Dale Wolf

3rd VP, Strategic Planning: John MacDonald

Recording Secretary: Ann Smith

Corresponding Secretary: Fran Graves

Treasurer: Rocky Hembree

Standing Committee Chairpersons:

Program:Pat Seiter

Scholarship and Certification: Becky Hook

Serving: Mary Ann Olson

Spiritual: Sandy Berland

Special Committee Chairpersons:

Ambassador: Dorothy Hauser

Historian: Joan Jenkins

Hospitality: Janet Morris

Information Desk: Bruce Border

Telephone: Peggy Hembree

Congratulations to Student Volunteers Rex, Jennifer and Ben who received $500 scholarships.

I look forward to hearing from you.