Good Afternoon...

A note I shared with our team today...

What inspires you? Who inspired you recently?

Today, I received a letter from a family bragging about the care and compassion provided while her husband was here. Specifically she wrote, "my husband had a heart attack and was quickly taken to the Cath Lab where we encountered four fabulous nurses; Kim Bruno, Kim Graham, Christine and Catherine (the PILLOW fluffer). From the minute we arrived they helped to put us at ease with their compassion, professionalism and friendliness. My husband (the typical Macho Man) had never been so scared in his life and they were all able to calm him with understandable explanations about everything that was going on and about what would be happening. They did this with continual cheerfulness and thoughtfulness. We are sure that they do many procedures each day yet they made my husband feel as if his was the most important one they had ever done or will ever do. There was nothing routine. They were caring, cheerful and simply perfect in every way."

Last week, we held our April Associate of the Month reception honoring Pam Hazen, RN on our CCU. One way I would describe Pam would be her welcoming approach. As I round the hospital it is easy to see when areas are very busy. What I do look for is the welcome we provide each other no matter how busy we are through our day. Isn't that the acknowledgment we all enjoy from each other?

This morning, Joseph Jones from Environmental Services greeted me with a simple "Good Morning!" He was truly present when greeting me. As basic as it is, sometimes we lose sight of that simple "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon." Those statements are actually a blessing and not just an evaluation of the day.

The welcome and greeting we provide each other, our, patients and families is one way that we make St. Joseph Medical Center and Carondelet Health a better place for our patients. This is part of the culture of who we are and the mission we serve. Hospitals can be scary places when you are the one feeling vulnerable. Many times our patients and families have a lot of questions and that calls for us to welcome them even more often.

Thank you for making the consistent effort to welcome each other, our patients and our families.


In addition, during our Safety Huddle, one of our managers noted that there are times when a patient is waiting to get on an elevator but it is full. It was requested that we step off the busy elevator to allow room for the patient and we all agreed. That is just one more thing I love about our culture...our willingness to quickly adjust as needed to better serve our patients, each other and our mission.

Wishing you all a great week.