So long sweet summer

Ok, so we have passed Labor Day weekend – the “unofficial” end of summer. While the calendar says summer doesn’t actually end until tomorrow, the beginning of September is usually the time most of us think of the going back to school or back to work.

I shared some of my goals for the summer, for example my summer reading list. Out of the six books I wanted to read, I read five of the six.

The Talk Like Ted book was fabulous and I have already lent it out, especially if you do any presentations or public speaking.  The key take away I got from this book was the art of saying less but having a bigger bang with your messages.

I also read “Do the KIND Thing,” “The Vacationers,” “Beautiful Ruins,” and Sue Grafton’s “X.”

The last book I still have yet to read is “The Oz Principle.” Of course I picked up other books to read along my travels! I told you about “Touchpoints” a great management book that brought together so many of the things we have been working on as part of our management growth.

I also read "Every Last One" by Anna Quindlen which I loved and the "Beautiful Bureaucrat" which I hated.

My August was filled with travel — China and Japan you already know about, but this month also had two wedding back to back. I have now reached the age where my friends’ kids are starting to get married! Both weddings will put me back on planes to Florida and South Carolina. After doing the 13 hours to Asia, these are a walk in the park! 

While I didn't get as much relax time as I would have liked, I did spend a great deal of time thinking about the future. Not only are we working on the RWJ/Barnabas merger, we are also preparing to embark on updating our three year strategic plan in 2016. This is the time when we look both ahead and back. What have we accomplished over the last three years, what is left to do, and how does that fit with both what our families want and the current state of our health care environment?

You have heard me say many times that I do not believe the healthcare delivery system will look anything like what it does today, or in the very near future.

The minute clinics and easy access clinics are now on every major corner. I believe the next big thing will be the ability to make use of your medical information. While many of us have electronic medical records, they’re still not easy to access or are unavailable without going through many steps. I think sharing protected health information will become as easy as sharing access to an app with your provider – regardless of where you are.

The technology is coming too. Accessing doctors via telemedicine will be the standard, not the exception. While we and others have begun to dabble in it, it will be more common than going for an office visit.

So yes, I guess you could say I spent a lot of the summer thinking about how we will fit all of this in and what it will ultimately mean for our continued growth and efforts.

So how about you? What did you do or think about this summer? I would love to hear summer vacation stories too!

Summer reading, had me a blast

Summer reading reminds of Miss Hawk’s third grade class, when she told us we had to read over the summer or we would fall behind in fourth grade.

I got a “U” for unsatisfactory in cursive handwriting in third grade. So, I was already traumatized, and the reading list did me in. I don’t remember what we read but I know I finished it the first week we were on vacation.

There is something relaxing about reading a book, especially when you’re relaxing on the beach. So, over four decades later I still select books to read over the summer so I don’t fall behind.

I know, you won’t be shocked – since I am your resident nerd – but some of the books I have read (and are sharing with you today) are work related.

The three books that are in my nerd category are:

1. The Oz Principle
2. Talk Like Ted
3. Do the KIND Thing

The Oz Principle was given to me by a former Children’s Specialized Hospital employee who thought I would enjoy it. It is all about challenging your beliefs about individual and organizational accountability.

Talk Like Ted is about the secrets of public speaking. Although I do a lot of public speaking, the State Chamber Chair will require me to speak to groups outside of health care. So, this book will definitely help me step up my game.

Do the KIND Thing is written by the Founder and CEO of KIND, the company that makes those incredible granola bars. The thing that caught me about this book is not only that I love those little bars but the cover had the following words in a circle “Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, and Live Passionately.”

That was it! I was in. See after turning the age of 50, I have started to wonder: I know I work hard and am always busy, but am I truly paying attention to all aspects of my life? I don’t think it is possible to run full throttle in all areas at the same time, but I don’t want to wake up at the age of 60 and say, “Where the heck did the last decade go????”

I’m a pretty frequent customer of Amazon, so I went to the site to check out their summer reading list to add a little FUN to my summer reading.

My first Kindle purchase this season was The Vacationers. It’s a story of a family vacation to celebrate the parents’ 35^th wedding anniversary. It seems interesting but the cover caught my eye, so I’ll let you know when I’m done how it was.

My second purchase was Beautiful Ruins because it is set in Italy and that is where I celebrated my BIG birthday last year. 

On my radar for later in the summer is Sue Grafton’s new book X. It comes out on August 25 and I am impatiently waiting for the launch!

Since the summer months are in full swing, I’m going to need some recommendations. So, what are you reading this summer, and why?

Also, if anyone wants to borrow the Janet Evanovich hard cover books with Stephanie Plum – I think I have almost all of them!!! I am always in for a good book swap!