Thank you all for your posts on my previous blog here and for the conversations we have had off line. To keep us on track - the goal of the meetings are to provide an update on how we did during the previous year on meeting our corporate goals, what the new goals are and how they may relate to what you do every day, for information on current issues to be shared and for you to be able to ask me anything you want about the organization and decisions we have made.
In an honest assessment, some of those goals have been met, some of them haven't. I have heard you clearly that the face to face is important, but maybe they don’t need to all be done in an eight week period. Also, that we should make use of the technology to provide an opportunity for those who are unable to be there.
Given all of that, I will continue to do the "State of the State" in the February through April timeframe so the goals can be reviewed and have someone video a session and we will get it on the intranet. The second meetings I will stagger throughout the year, committing to getting to all sites and programs, but not trying to squeeze them all into the tight time frame. For this Fall, I will get to all sites by year end.
Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Redefining Employee Meetings
I am going to ask for your thoughts again on an issue that I am struggling with. For the past six years, I have been doing employee meetings twice a year. It turns out to be about 32 meetings trying to get to all sites, different shifts and each program. It takes about eight weeks trying to make sure that everyone gets the same information about the same time. If you happen to be on vacation or not working that day or just get busy at work, you may not get there. At the bigger meetings, very few questions are asked because people feel intimidated to ask tough questions in front of 100 people. We do solicit questions before the meetings, but honestly I don’t get many questions that way. At the end of all the meetings, the presentation is posted on the intranet, but people have told me it is not the same.
So, here’s where I need your help - Is there a different way to do these meetings that still gets information out? I love the meetings. It is a chance for me to get face time with each of you but if I am absolutely honest, I may get more out of these than you do.
Right now, I need to own up to the responsibility to do exactly what we have been doing throughout the organization - look at everything we are doing and ask - "does this project/process add value, or do we do it because we have always done it?"
Now I am not looking for you to make me feel better about this and justify keep doing something I like. The truth is, are they really effective in the current form?
Here are some options to consider that I know other companies, who have multiple sites, including in other countries have used.
• A video is posted on the intranet for everyone to look at on their own time. Questions following that video are asked on the CEO blog and answered for all to see, not just the people at your meeting.
• Have one meeting, announced ahead of time that is videoconferenced and telephonically conferenced for all to participate, if they choose to come in at that time. It would be like our clinical grand rounds. This would still allow people to ask questions during that meeting, so it would be more interactive. Also it could be taped and posted for those who didn’t attend.
• Abandon the twice a year meetings schedule and schedule for me to be at each site throughout the year. Don’t have a formal presentation at the meeting but do a more meet and greet over coffee and people can bring up any issues. The written presentation of an update on our goals can still be posted on the intranet but not presented.
• Have Site Directors and Managers present the information with the thought that there would be more interaction with people you re more comfortable with and create a different "ask the President" vehicle.
Your thoughts would be helpful.
Amy
So, here’s where I need your help - Is there a different way to do these meetings that still gets information out? I love the meetings. It is a chance for me to get face time with each of you but if I am absolutely honest, I may get more out of these than you do.
Right now, I need to own up to the responsibility to do exactly what we have been doing throughout the organization - look at everything we are doing and ask - "does this project/process add value, or do we do it because we have always done it?"
Now I am not looking for you to make me feel better about this and justify keep doing something I like. The truth is, are they really effective in the current form?
Here are some options to consider that I know other companies, who have multiple sites, including in other countries have used.
• A video is posted on the intranet for everyone to look at on their own time. Questions following that video are asked on the CEO blog and answered for all to see, not just the people at your meeting.
• Have one meeting, announced ahead of time that is videoconferenced and telephonically conferenced for all to participate, if they choose to come in at that time. It would be like our clinical grand rounds. This would still allow people to ask questions during that meeting, so it would be more interactive. Also it could be taped and posted for those who didn’t attend.
• Abandon the twice a year meetings schedule and schedule for me to be at each site throughout the year. Don’t have a formal presentation at the meeting but do a more meet and greet over coffee and people can bring up any issues. The written presentation of an update on our goals can still be posted on the intranet but not presented.
• Have Site Directors and Managers present the information with the thought that there would be more interaction with people you re more comfortable with and create a different "ask the President" vehicle.
Your thoughts would be helpful.
Amy
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Keeping Our Kids Healthy
So I need your advice.
What should Children's Specialized do if we know that employees are intentionally putting our children at risk? Now that is definitely a loaded question and the first reaction is that we must do everything to protect our children. Ok, but what if the risk is that employees refuse to get flu shots free of charge? By not doing so - put our children at risk.
Okay - I can see the eye rolls as I write this. "Why doesn’t she just give this up already? We are already double the percentage for most hospital employees why can’t she just leave well enough alone?"
That was true in the past, but now most hospitals have achieved a 74% vaccination rate among their clinical staff. So we are not any better than the national average. There are now about 45 hospitals and heath systems that require mandatory influenza vaccination and a recent CDC survey of 1,500 health care workers indicated that 1 out of 10 employers required mandatory vaccination. The fact remains that unless we get a vaccination rate of over 90%, our patients will remain at risk from influenza.
We have surveyed our non vaccinated staff about why they refuse the flu vaccine. The most common answer is “I never get sick.” However, it is well known that health care workers may become sick from influenza but have such a mild case that they still come to work. That does not prevent them from transmitting the virus to their patients. For our children with chronic health conditions contracting influenza may cause significant complications and even result in their death. So we need to think about our patients health and get vaccinated to help protect our patients.
Not only do we need to get vaccinated against influenza but there is another disease out there that is making a major comeback. The answer may surprise you - Whooping cough (pertussis). Seven infants have died in California because adults had whooping cough, and transmitted to children. Adults who get pertussis don’t get whooping cough; they get the cough that never seems to go away and typically lasts about 6 to 8 weeks! But when babies and young children get pertussis they get whooping cough which can be deadly. The infants who died in California could not fight the infection because they were too young for the vaccine to be effective (pertussis vaccine (part of the “DPT”) is a series of three shots given at 2,4, and 6 months of age and a booster at 18 months). Infants don’t have immunity until they complete all three shots. The problem is compounded by parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated. Politicians have inserted themselves into this debate and said that we should allow parents to make their own decisions for their children - but what happens when their free choice impacts the rest of us? Adults who were vaccinated against whooping cough as children need to be revaccinated as adults and this can now be done when you get your tetanus shot But for those who opt out - the result may be deadly for our kids.
So what should we do? Right now we make influenza vaccination one of our corporate goals. We provided the shots free of charge and will virtually do them any time day or night. Our highest percentage of employees who get the shots are actually the administration employees who may never see children - such as all of our employees on Route 22. The employees who have the least vaccination, sadly our EIP employees who are most vulnerable because they are walking into people's homes each day. There is no environmental services staff there to make sure they are safe and things are clean.
We have talked about allowing staff to opt out but for clinical staff who are not vaccinated they would have to mask and gown before they were allowed contact with a child in the event of an influenza or pertussis outbreak. At RWJ they put a dot on their ID card to distinguish between those who have gotten their flu shots and those who haven't.
Your advice/comments would be welcome. How can we increase the number of CSH employees who receive their flu or whooping cough vaccine?
The truth is that with whooping cough starting, other diseases of the “past” may not be far behind. When the vaccination rate against polio dropped off in several countries in Africa, polio came back with a vengeance. As an organization we lived through that crisis once - it would be a sin to be faced with it again.
What should Children's Specialized do if we know that employees are intentionally putting our children at risk? Now that is definitely a loaded question and the first reaction is that we must do everything to protect our children. Ok, but what if the risk is that employees refuse to get flu shots free of charge? By not doing so - put our children at risk.
Okay - I can see the eye rolls as I write this. "Why doesn’t she just give this up already? We are already double the percentage for most hospital employees why can’t she just leave well enough alone?"
That was true in the past, but now most hospitals have achieved a 74% vaccination rate among their clinical staff. So we are not any better than the national average. There are now about 45 hospitals and heath systems that require mandatory influenza vaccination and a recent CDC survey of 1,500 health care workers indicated that 1 out of 10 employers required mandatory vaccination. The fact remains that unless we get a vaccination rate of over 90%, our patients will remain at risk from influenza.
We have surveyed our non vaccinated staff about why they refuse the flu vaccine. The most common answer is “I never get sick.” However, it is well known that health care workers may become sick from influenza but have such a mild case that they still come to work. That does not prevent them from transmitting the virus to their patients. For our children with chronic health conditions contracting influenza may cause significant complications and even result in their death. So we need to think about our patients health and get vaccinated to help protect our patients.
Not only do we need to get vaccinated against influenza but there is another disease out there that is making a major comeback. The answer may surprise you - Whooping cough (pertussis). Seven infants have died in California because adults had whooping cough, and transmitted to children. Adults who get pertussis don’t get whooping cough; they get the cough that never seems to go away and typically lasts about 6 to 8 weeks! But when babies and young children get pertussis they get whooping cough which can be deadly. The infants who died in California could not fight the infection because they were too young for the vaccine to be effective (pertussis vaccine (part of the “DPT”) is a series of three shots given at 2,4, and 6 months of age and a booster at 18 months). Infants don’t have immunity until they complete all three shots. The problem is compounded by parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated. Politicians have inserted themselves into this debate and said that we should allow parents to make their own decisions for their children - but what happens when their free choice impacts the rest of us? Adults who were vaccinated against whooping cough as children need to be revaccinated as adults and this can now be done when you get your tetanus shot But for those who opt out - the result may be deadly for our kids.
So what should we do? Right now we make influenza vaccination one of our corporate goals. We provided the shots free of charge and will virtually do them any time day or night. Our highest percentage of employees who get the shots are actually the administration employees who may never see children - such as all of our employees on Route 22. The employees who have the least vaccination, sadly our EIP employees who are most vulnerable because they are walking into people's homes each day. There is no environmental services staff there to make sure they are safe and things are clean.
We have talked about allowing staff to opt out but for clinical staff who are not vaccinated they would have to mask and gown before they were allowed contact with a child in the event of an influenza or pertussis outbreak. At RWJ they put a dot on their ID card to distinguish between those who have gotten their flu shots and those who haven't.
Your advice/comments would be welcome. How can we increase the number of CSH employees who receive their flu or whooping cough vaccine?
The truth is that with whooping cough starting, other diseases of the “past” may not be far behind. When the vaccination rate against polio dropped off in several countries in Africa, polio came back with a vengeance. As an organization we lived through that crisis once - it would be a sin to be faced with it again.
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