Fall Blog

Han and I recently had the privilege of being invited back to St. Joseph’s hospital to share our experience in the Intensive Care Unit with their team. The primary goal of the visit was to help give them insight into what we thought they could have done better and to help celebrate their successes.

As I sat and thought about our remarks, I struggled with finding areas in which they could improve. The fact that they had even assembled the Unit Based Council, a leadership team for their ICU, and were proactively searching for ways to improve is a testament to the their department. So rather than focus on providing constructive criticism, I decided to focus on what I thought they did well. But that had it’s own challenges, as the list would have taken days to go through.

Listing all of the positive experiences we had while going through such a difficult time, it dawned on me that there was a recurring theme. It was clearly evident that they CARED. They cared not just about the outcome, but about the process and experience of getting to that outcome. It reminded me very much of an idea we borrowed from the Ritz Carlton and their service model. Relating this to their leadership, it turned out that they too were keenly aware of how important it is to build a team that truly cares. It also turns out that they were implementing their own version of the Ritz Carlton service model. Let that sink in for a moment, Ritz Carlton service in a hospital.

After the presentation, we had a chance to talk with a few of the nurses and doctors. They expressed that it was rare for them to come across a patient after they’d left the ICU. In fact, once a patient leaves, they don’t want to see them back there because that would signal complications or a bad outcome. As much as that made sense, it also made me a bit sad for them. They, like so many other people, are committed to caring and doing great work but are seldom recognized for it.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I’ve been blessed enough to have countless things to be thankful for – my loved ones, my health, you all, the fact that I get to wake up everyday and come to my dream job. Thankful that (regardless of who you voted for) we live in the greatest nation in the world. But this year, I want to give special thanks to all the good people out there in this world that have their heart in the right places and still truly care about doing good work – especially the elite team at the St. Joseph’s Intensive Care Unit.

Happy Holidays!