Hi Team – 

 

I hope you took advantage of an extra hour of rest on Sunday as we turned the clocks back an hour, signaling the end of Daylight Savings Time and the start of the holiday season. And while we remain somewhat guarded about COVID’s impact on upcoming holiday gatherings, we are excited to finally be able to safely vaccinate and protect our children between the ages of 5 to 11, which is starting at TriHealth this week. Based on yet another week of gradually declining new COVID cases and hospitalizations, we are optimistic that we are nearing the end of this fourth wave. And, now more than a week past our own COVID vaccination deadline, our ability to care for patients and serve this community remains as strong as ever, thanks to more than 99% of our leaders, team members and physicians stepping up to become fully vaccinated to ensure we never turn a patient away while providing care in the safest possible environment! 

 

With the implementation of our vaccination requirement now behind us, we return our attention to continuing the foundational work of building a highly engaged culture – the place where team members most want to work, where physicians most want to practice, and ultimately, where patients increasingly choose to receive their care. And that is why, unlike many organizations which chose to suspend engagement and safety surveys during the pandemic, we knew that doing so was more important than ever largely because of the pandemic. We conducted our team member and physician engagement and safety survey in mid-August, and now are excited to share high-level, system-wide engagement survey results. 

 

Despite the many challenges and stresses of this pandemic, it was encouraging to see that nearly 70% of our team members and physicians participated in the survey to share their thoughts and opinions on how we are doing – proof of your shared commitment to advancing our mission of Getting Healthcare Right through a great work and practice environment! And equally encouraging, our system-wide survey results reflect a high level of team member and physician favorability with 76.5% – or more than three out of four – of all survey responses scoring as “favorable.” These results are evidence that our TriHealth Team is resilient, dedicated and has come together like never before to overcome every challenge presented during this nearly two-year pandemic. 

 

You told us you feel a personal sense of accomplishment in your work and are proud to work at TriHealth. When asked to describe our TriHealth culture, the top responses across our system included: “Diverse”, “Caring”, “Team Oriented” and “Friendly”. WOW…what a testament to your dedication to the TriHealth Way, and your commitment to “living” our Always Behaviors and our SERVE values!

 

Of course, our annual engagement survey also plays an important role in helping to identify opportunities for improvement. Not surprisingly, team members and physicians told us they are feeling the toll of having to deal with this prolonged pandemic, now in its 22nd month. As a result, survey findings around physical, mental and emotional well-being reflected the understandable stresses and difficulties we are all experiencing at work and at home as a result of COVID. The good news is that we anticipated these challenges and have already launched a number of initiatives to address workplace wellness such as the Team Member Resource Center, onsite and mobile wellness resources, expanded Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offerings, the PTO “Relax & Refresh” gift for team members to take additional time off to disconnect and recharge, in addition to special training and new classes which are now offered through the TriHealth Pavilion and TriHealth LifeStyles program. We are also taking bold steps to address the unprecedented industry-wide staffing shortages brought on by COVID which include staffing and referral incentives, the COVID SERVE/Thank You bonuses (which will be paid out in December), and unique partnerships with local clinical colleges – including the Good Samaritan College, Xavier University, Fortis College and Columbus State Community College – to grow the talent “pipeline” to fill current and future openings. And all of these initiatives—and others developed in the coming weeks and months – will ensure that we continue to have the necessary complement of dedicated and skilled bedside and support team members to deliver the right care to each and every patient at the right time. 

 

A BIG thank you to our team members and physicians who participated in this year’s survey for your candid feedback which shows us where we can improve while validating what we are getting right – all in the name of delivering the safest and very best care to our patients and community. Your leaders will soon be sharing department-specific survey results, so please stay tuned for information on action planning based on your feedback.

 

This Thursday, November 11, our leaders will gather for our 20th Leadership Development Institute (LDI), themed, “One Leadership Voice: Listening, Supporting, Connecting.” After postponing our scheduled August LDI so our leaders and team members could focus on the pressing COVID surge and capacity management priorities, we are looking forward to reconvening “virtually” with our leaders for this half-day session later this week. Thank you for your support of our leaders as they take this time to sharpen their leadership and communication skills and further hardwire the TriHealth Way so that our entire leadership team can be even better servant leaders to you and our patients! Look for a recap from me and your leaders next week.

 

This is the last week for benefits-eligible team members and physicians to review and change their benefit elections for Calendar Year 2022. Unlike last year, insurance coverage including medical, dental and vision, along with other benefits, will automatically continue in 2022 based on 2021 elections unless you make a specific change during this enrollment cycle. However, if you want to sell back PTO or contribute to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you must take action during this Open Enrollment. These elections do not roll over year to year. The Open Enrollment period covering Calendar Year 2022 ends on Friday, November 12. Visit HR Central for more information on Open Enrollment. 

 

TriHealth and the community recently lost two highly respected physicians and dear friends with the passing of Dr. Mark Snyder and Dr. Ellen Norby. 

 

Dr. Snyder, renowned TriHealth orthopedic surgeon, passed away on November 2. He was a passionate champion for safety and high reliability and developed the internationally acclaimed “Zero in on Zero” program aimed at eradicating infection and adverse events from total joint replacement procedures. For these pioneering efforts, Dr. Snyder spoke nationally and was honored at TriHealth with the Dr. Richard M. Smith Quality and Patient Safety Award in 2012. Among his many achievements was directing the Orthopedic Center of Excellence at Good Samaritan Hospital, which received the region’s first Gold Seal Award from The Joint Commission in 2011 for excellence in total hip and knee replacement. 

 

Dr. Norby, who passed away in late October, devoted her life to serving children, having practiced as a pediatrician for 30 years with TriHealth Queen City Physicians Pediatrics. She was dedicated in her practice to ensure the lives of her young patients carried on in happiness and health during the most important periods in their early formative years. Even as she privately battled cancer, she was unwavering in her commitment to care for her patients, considering the health and wellbeing of our children to be her life’s work. 

 

We express our deepest condolences to the families of Dr. Snyder and Dr. Norby, as well as to their physician colleagues, dedicated staff members and the patients they were so compassionate in serving. 

 

This Thursday, November 11, we as a nation observe Veterans Day, the annual celebration of our military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. We are blessed to have hundreds of TriHealth team members who have selflessly and courageously served our nation to protect our freedom and liberties at home and abroad. And we are also fortunate to have an active and engaged Employee Resource Group – TAGS (TriHealth Armed Forces Group and Supporters), which provides support and resources to our TriHealth veterans, as well as other veterans throughout the larger community. Visit Bridge to learn more about the ways we can all honor and thank the Veterans in our lives and across our community, including activities led by our TAGS team members throughout the week. 

 

Please join me in thanking our TriHealth Veterans and those Veterans in your life today – and every day – for their service! And a BIG thank you for your dedication to selflessly serve our patients, community and one another through this pandemic and beyond!