July 15, 2022

Our cultures make up a best place to work

As I round with other leaders, walking through our hospitals and talking with our colleagues, we often come back to a common question for our teams: Why do you choose to work at CoxHealth?

Amanda Hedgpeth, president of our Springfield hospitals, asked that question recently in several areas at Cox South when we were rounding together. In almost every case, team members told us the answer was simple: they work here because their area is the best.

We heard this from our inpatient floors, to Surgery, to our Neurotrauma ICU and beyond. People repeatedly told us they have the best leadership in their departments, and they are on the best team.

I am sure it is true in each of these areas. Nearly everyone we spoke to made the choice to work on their particular unit because they had found the best team for them. Having our staff members feel that they are in the right place is a testament to how well our teams work together and support each other.

In our discussions, we also had productive conversations about possible areas for improvement. Amanda and I asked about any problems our colleagues are facing and any things that are keeping them from doing their best work.

Throughout the day, we uncovered several issues that are just beneath the surface. These are the “pebble in your shoe” problems - things that seem small, but over time can become major impediments to progress.

In many cases, these are issues our teams have been coping with for a long time. In one area, for example, we found a piece of technology that only works reliably about half the time. When we mentioned it in other units, they were dealing with the same issue. And, they had seen the issue for so long that they were used to working around it.

We know our front line leaders are constantly on the lookout for any opportunity to improve their employees’ work environment, but we also know that a large health system like CoxHealth can have its fair share of red tape. Sometimes senior leaders can help cut through some of that bureaucracy and get good ideas expedited. Creating this kind of awareness is one of the biggest benefits of leader rounding.

I encourage our teams to be prepared to identify anything making their work harder, so we can talk about it. I want all of our colleagues to know that we will be intentional about finding these things, and finding solutions.

Everywhere Amanda and I went, our teams extended so much grace to us. Throughout our organization, people are working so hard to meet the needs of our patients.

I continue to be inspired by the all people who make CoxHealth a great place to work, and l will always fight to make our culture the best it can be. In unit after unit, people told us, “These people are the best people, and they are my family.”

I am committed to making CoxHealth the best place for people to pursue their passions and do meaningful work, and I am so pleased to meet people who are doing just that.

Our people are exceptional because they are the best for one another and we, as an organization, will always work to be the best for each of them.

Recognizing our summer 2022 Springfield DAISY Award honorees

Each quarter, we have the opportunity to recognize our nurses who have provided outstanding care with DAISY Awards. This award is presented in health care facilities across the United States to recognize the education, training, skill and compassionate care nurses provide.

These awards become true badges of honor, and I always enjoy walking through the hospital and seeing full DAISY gardens adorning their name badges. You can read about our honorees from our Springfield campus for summer of 2022 at this link. I appreciate all our nurses do!

‘Topping out’ ceremony at the new CoxHealth clinic at National and Sunshine

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Wednesday afternoon as we placed the final beam on our new clinic at National and Sunshine. We carried on a CoxHealth construction tradition with a “topping out” ceremony, which places the beam, along with an evergreen tree that will be planted on the construction site.

You can see full video of the beam placement at this link. Watch for more details on the clinic coming soon as we advance health care once again for our community!

CoxHealth Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt

Our Performance Improvement team is hosting a CoxHealth Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt training for staff members from throughout the system. Lean/Six Sigma is a set of process improvement techniques and tools that remove waste and make use of statistics and data analysis to reduce errors or defects. The CoxHealth Green Belt training provides a background in Lean/Six Sigma approaches and includes a departmental process improvement project. Candidates will learn about Lean, the 8-Step Process and Six Sigma problem solving skills.

These kinds of approaches are key for improving the way we work, and I am grateful to have these opportunities for our teams.

Voice of the Patient

Adapted from patient feedback at Cox South: “I always felt heard, respected and fully aware of steps that needed to be taken. Thank you for helping me though scary and exciting times!”

Thank you for all you do,

Max

Direct Line from Max Buetow for 7/15/2022