May 27, 2016

Hi Team −

Before we head off to celebrate the official start of summer over the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, I wanted to share a few system highlights showcasing the progress we’ve made in May to make TriHealth a great place to work, to practice and to receive the best care possible to live better: 

FY17 TriHealth Management Plan Approved by Board.  This month, the TriHealth Board unanimously approved our FY17 TriHealth Management Plan, which goes into effect July 1. The plan was developed in collaboration with our system physician and administrative leaders and is, essentially, our system “playbook” for the coming year. It outlines:

What we’ll be working on (FY17 Strategic Initiatives)

The associated Operating Budget we’ll be managing against

How we’ll measure our progress and performance (FY17 Pillars Goals)

I’m looking forward to sharing more details about our FY17 Management Plan with you in person at our upcoming series of Team Member Forums taking place June 14 – 21 (check LinkNet and click here for the June forum schedule).

TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital Opened on May 2 in Partnership with Select Medical, the nation’s leading rehabilitation and long-term care acute specialists.  The new hospital allows TriHealth to combine our existing rehab units and expertise – offered at Bethesda North and Good Samaritan – into a single, larger center of excellence that can deliver the most advanced inpatient rehabilitation care available.

New Leadership Best Practices in Action at All TriHealth Locations.  In April, our 800 system leaders participated in our first TriHealth Leadership Development Institute (LDI) to begin to build a consistent “TriHealth Way... of Leading and Serving.”  Now our leaders are applying what they learned within their departments – and you should be noticing some changes, including:

Leader Rounding – Leaders are regularly rounding in their departments to build team relationships and seek out team member ideas about how to improve the way we work and the way we care for patients.  They’ll also be recognizing individual and team efforts that are helping to make TriHealth even better.  So when you see your leader in your area, don’t be shy about striking up a conversation and sharing your thoughts – we want to hear from you!

Stop Light Reports – Leaders are using what we are calling “Stop Light Reports” to promote, capture and act upon the team member feedback, new ideas and team accomplishments shared during rounding or monthly staff meetings.  Look for Stop Light Reports posted in your area – and ask your leader about other ways these reports will be used to support workplace improvements.

Monthly Staff Meetings – All TriHealth leaders are now expected to conduct regular monthly staff meetings.  The purpose of these meetings is to communicate system and department goals, progress toward completion of action items and team recognition.  Additionally, your leader will use these meetings to solicit team member ideas and feedback.

Our Commitment to Improve Team Member Satisfaction and Engagement – All leaders throughout the system have met with their teams to share the results of our most recent team member engagement survey and to discuss and agree on improvement priorities and action plans. Nearly 90% of our team members reported in a follow up survey after these meetings that they now believe leadership will take action and make improvements.  

Following each quarterly LDI (Leadership Development Institute), you will see additional new leader practices being implemented in your area,  all with the goal of better supporting our staff and physicians and building stronger, more effective teams. Ultimately, this will lead to improving the care and service we provide our patients.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts about how things are going!

Celebrating Our People.  Behind every exceptional TriHealth clinical outcome or outstanding patient experience are the physicians, nurses and other team members who are making these achievements happen.  You told us in our most recent Employee Engagement Survey that we need to do better in recognizing and celebrating our people.  So we are redoubling our efforts. Here are just a few things you can expect to see in the near future:

Team Member Participation & Recognition at Truven Health Analytics National Conference  – We’ll be sending 12 team members to this year’s Truven National Conference in June at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California to accept our 2016 Truven Awards on TriHealth’s behalf (Top 100 Hospital/Bethesda North, Everest Award and Top 100 Hospital/Good Samaritan and Top 15 Health System/TriHealth System). I can’t think of anyone better to represent TriHealth in accepting these awards than the team members who serve our patients and support our care givers.  Our team members ultimately made these awards possible!  The selected team members were announced on LinkNet earlier this week, click here for details.

TriHealth Introduces “Team Member Appreciation Week.” We’re starting a new annual tradition at TriHealth – Team Member Appreciation Week, and it takes place this year from June 27 – July 1.  Look for more details about planned activities next month.

Making Team Member Recognition a More Prominent Part of Our System.  To make it easier to regularly celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of our people throughout the year, we’ve created a reward and recognition budget for our system and departments.   So, look forward to more regular celebrations of the amazing work and achievements taking place throughout our more than 130 locations.

Thank you for all that you do to bring our mission of service to life one patient, one neighbor, one family member at a time.  I wish you a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend with your friends and family!   

And to our team members and their loved ones who are serving, or have served, in the U.S. Military, I offer my deepest appreciation and respect for your service and sacrifice.  We are proud and humbled to honor you on this important holiday, along with all those who have lost their lives bravely defending our freedoms. 

Mark