Journal of Healthcare Management - September/October 2016 - 308

J o u r n al of H ealt H care M anageMent 61:5 S epte Mber /o ctober 2016 Before being screened for competency, every job applicant, including volunteers and physicians, is screened for values. HCM's strategy map is displayed throughout the hospital and on our website. We do this because our strategy doesn't stay in the executive suite-our entire team has ownership. At orientation, I walk new employees through our strategy map and share our objective to "deliver high-quality outcomes through our team of champions." Our department directors conduct quarterly coaching sessions with each of their employees, and every team member knows how he or she affects the hospital's strategic objectives. Team members focus on how they contribute to their department's "always" goals. They also participate on team councils or in strategic breakthrough initiatives, which keeps them engaged and allows HCM leaders to respond strategically and quickly to challenges each quarter. Most important, our always culture represents how we live our mission and vision, which brings us back to our founders and the primary reason our workforce is willing to go through a continuous cycle of improvement. Dr. Kash: What are your views on effective leadership as CEO of a community hospital? Ms. Pope: When visitors walk through HCM's doors, they can sense that people genuinely care. Our founders built this community hospital so that people wouldn't have to travel miles and miles to a big-city healthcare facility. My role as a leader is to ensure that we create the systems, processes, and structure so that the communities we serve never consider that option. As leaders, we are accountable for managing system resources and looking at the big picture. We need to remove any obstacles standing in the way of medical staff, nurses, and other care providers so that those at the point of service can provide the highest-quality care. HCM's leadership team continuously looks for ways we can improve. The hospital's patient experience rating is in the 97th percentile according to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, but we continue the climb to achieving zero harm and exceeding patients' expectations. My mantra is to make heroes out of others, to shine a light on the people who make a difference in the lives of our patients and their families, as well as in the community. I view my role as being able to highlight the work of team members in the billing office, wellness center, acute care hospital, and so forth. I believe strongly in councils made up of those who make decisions at the point of service because they know their work better than I will ever know it. Communicating with team members is important so they have the right information and the right evidence to make good decisions based on their day-to-day work. HCM's vision to "empower others, create healthy" is at the center of my efforts to empower the team. I want team members to empower our patients, to empower 308

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - September/October 2016