Healthcare is in a
perpetual state of change.
With these changes
in mind, the Grinnell Regional Medical Center board of directors and leadership
team agree that it is more important than ever that high quality healthcare is consistently
delivered to every patient in need of health services.
To help achieve
this objective, this year the board voted to focus on creating a productive and
creative work environment where GRMC employees celebrate each other and the
hospital’s mission, says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO.
Over the course of
the past six months, everyone who works at GRMC has been involved in a number
of values-related activities to foster a positive healthcare culture.
For starters, all staff
members were asked to read The Florence Prescription: From Accountability to
Ownership, by Joe Tye. The author, who lives near Iowa City, then came to
Grinnell to help launch the effort to help GRMC become an even better
organization. During a 90-minute session for all staff, Tye shared a message about
opportunities for problem solving and building a culture of support. In
addition, Tye trained 12 GRMC employees as “certified values coach trainers.”
The summer months
brought with it a season of training for all staff members. By September, the certified
values coach trainers coached 313 of their GRMC co-workers on how to use 12
different core action values to meet the increasingly tough demands of
healthcare.
“These sessions were about giving employees
information that will help unlock more of their undiscovered potential,” says Chris
Larson, RN, care coordinator. She was one of the 12 trainers who led the values
training sessions. “The goal is to get all
employees to create a culture of ownership here at the
hospital.”
The two-day
training sessions shared guidance on leading a values-based life and the
leadership skills needed to achieve personal, professional, financial, and family
goals.
Reactions from the
training sessions have been positive. Employees appreciated the opportunity to
get to know colleagues from outside their own departments and listen to
everyone’s feedback about GRMC’s culture of ownership.
“It is a great
experience to me as an employee to work for an employer like GRMC that values
their employees so much they take the time to help them grow and better
themselves as individuals and employees,” says Heidi Ramaeker Pearson, who
began working in GRMC’s communications and development office this summer. “I
find myself falling back on the teachings from the values trainings to help me
see the positive in difficult situations.”
Hospital
administrators and the GRMC board are pleased with the results of this
collaborative effort so far.
“I am convinced
that by taking this effort to heart, we will create a truly fantastic place to
work, and, in turn, create the best possible place for those who look to us for
health and healing,” Linden says.
“We have so much to be proud of already at
GRMC,” Linden adds. “That said, we still face many challenges in the future. We
believe this focus on creating a culture that values ownership,
self-empowerment, and positive attitudes will allow us to face the future with
energy and determination. It is our belief that if we all pull together, we can
create an environment that fosters the joy of caring in our everyday lives. I
sincerely believe that all of our employees—as well as our patients, customers,
and families—are also the beneficiaries of this effort.”
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