Thursday, October 22, 2015

GRMC Invests in Culture Training


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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