I am going to start something new with my blog. At the beginning of each blog, I'll answer one question. If you'd like to ask a question to be answered in the next blog, please submit it at the bottom of the blog home page.
Last week, I received the following question:
What made you want to become a CEO/President of a hospital?
I should probably start by telling you I never “wanted” to become a CEO. It was something I believe was God’s plan. I started out in healthcare as a physical therapist, and what frequently happens in healthcare systems is they promote their strong clinicians into leadership roles.
Once I was promoted, I knew I needed more education, so I went back to school and obtained an MBA. I guess I am a little weird in that I like having lots of irons in the fire and juggling lots of things. I like to fix problems, remove barriers and serve. I really enjoy operations and so my goal was to become a Chief Operating Officer.
After being a COO at two different hospitals, I was given the opportunity to become CEO here. I now have the best job because I get the opportunity to serve over 1700 employees in our region and also our community.
To get back to the blog -
I hope each and every one of you had a great Thanksgiving and for those who had to work I want to say a BIG THANK YOU! My family and I had the chance to get out of town and visit a theme park and spend a few days riding a bunch of different rides.
One of the rides we rode was called “Revenge of the Mummy.” My wife, girls nor I had ever seen the movie and really didn't know what to expect. We actually chose the ride for two reasons: 1. It looked like fun, and 2. It (most importantly) had a short line.
The fun, nervous energy and apprehension slowly crept in as we inched closer to the front of the line. Let me describe the experience a bit: it was a roller coaster, it went both forwards and backwards, there was a pause that seemed to last forever before a big drop, at one point there was fire, and did I mention it was all in the dark?
Across my family members, we all “experienced” the ride in our own way. My 13-year-old screamed the entire ride but wanted to ride it again, my wife enjoyed it, my 16-year-old survived the ride and never wanted to ride it again, and I enjoyed experiencing it as a family. "It's unbelievable how the same thing can be experienced differently!"
Our four different “experiences” of the same ride is probably a similar phenomenon to various patients experiencing diagnoses and prognoses here at the hospital. While some diagnoses will be the same, no two people will react the same way. We should always remember we are made similarly, but we are all different and we will all react in our own way.
While reactions may vary, each of you is the consistency. You're consistent in providing the highest quality, consistent with individualizing care, and consistent with adding that personal touch, always looking for ways to make a patient's experience both memorable and meaningful.
Talk soon,
Jason