Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2018 - 2

CHECKING IN EDITORʼS NOTE

Goals donʼt have to stink
Inspiration can strike during unexpected moments.

E

very year, I make the same resolutions:
eat more vegetables and be more productive. There's something about starting
the New Year with a clean calendar and a
blank notebook that inspires productivity.
There is nothing about starting the New
Year that inspires more vegetable eating.
But every day, things can occur that get
in the way of achieving those resolutions.
There are no vegetables I like, and when
skunks knocked out power to CHA's Kansas
City office, I was prepared for my productivity to take a hit. You read that right: Two
skunks dug their way into the building's
high-voltage electrical box, causing enough
damage to decommission it-and all of our
electronic systems. This resulted in our
office going dark. No phones, email, internet
or data servers. This made me twitchy. How
could I function without my calendar and
task list? What deadlines did I have today?
What meetings did I need to prepare for?
But wait. No email? No interruptions? This
could actually be the best day ever. I soon
realized productivity does exist without
technology. Minus the digital distractions, I
spent time thinking creatively and planning
for 2018, things I had been neglecting to do.

Winter 2018 | Vol. 26 No. 1

Before I knew it, the day had come to an end.
Our stinky situation was resolved, and our
systems were up and running.
We often give things our attention because they are immediately in front of
us, flashing their lights and making their
noises, even if they are truly not important.
This makes it easy to put off the tasks that
help us achieve the bigger picture or the
things that are just as important but not
screaming for our attention.
Luckily, you don't have to wait on skunks
to knock out your power and inspire you
with creative ideas-we've done that work
for you. In "Steal these ideas" on page 18, we
compiled eight, easy-to-implement ideas
that your hospital can "borrow" and kickstart the New Year to achieve great results.
We hope you find inspiration in these hospitals' real-life success stories.

AMANDA BERTHOLF
magazine@childrenshospitals.org

We want to hear from you! What ideas
are you most excited to implement
in your hospital in 2018? Email
magazine@childrenshospitals.org.

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Managing Editor
Amanda Bertholf
Art Direction and Design
Eric Gapsch
Deanna Yesko
Contributors
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Darcie Reeson
childrenshospitals.org/cht
Ben McClanahan
Natalie Webster
Editorial Advisory Council
Paul Dworkin, M.D.
Rick Majzun, FACHE
Wendy Sue Swanson, M.D., M.B.E.
Kelly Wolfe
Karen Wolfson

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Association. Copyright 2018. This
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