Journal of Sacred Work

American Healthcare SOS! Part I - Key Solutions

Culture determines behavior. Leaders determine culture. What happens when leaders allow caring cultures to deteriorate?

Veteran hospital caregiver Terri Ackison Douglas shares publicly what she saw upon taking her ailing husband to the hospital she once served: 

"I am so sad. The pride and heartbeat of the Riverside that I knew is nowhere to be seen.
I loved that hospital. I grew up there. Some of the best people on planet earth worked there. We were a family. I miss it." 

Terri's heartbreaking sentences suggest part of the answer: Cure culture rot by restoring a culture of care. Her fellow caregiver, Amanda Pesamoska Monaghan, wrote, "Some of (the problem) is not because of the staff. It's because of the staffing, lack of adequate orientation time with skilled and veteran staff to support and supply it..."

I agree with Amanda, and over 3,000 of other veteran caregivers that populate their Facebook site: RMH (Riverside Methodist Hospital) Alum. 

Terri, Amanda and others know this: The staffing/orientation/training issue lies in the lap of leadership.

Healthcare leaders coast to coast blame everything on what I call the "Short On Staff" Syndrome (Yep. SOS!). While they bemoan SOS and jump to quick fix cures, they miss that SOS is a disease whose root cause is clear: Culture rot. 

Who are the CEO's "patients"? They are not the sick and wounded. The are the caregivers.

Successful treatment of SOS means every CEO demands that every leader: Take care of the people who take care of people. Leaders look in the mirror: YOU are the cause of culture rot and your can be the source of the cure. Get out of your offices, cancel half your meetings and all golf games. 

If you want better patient care, help caregivers give it!  And get this clear: For caregivers, it is NOT all about the money.  

This culture cure works! I've practiced it while successfully leading three hospital systems (including Riverside Methodist and founding OhioHealth) in three cities.  I known hundreds of CEOs and consulted with many who use this approach successfully.

The best example is the best hospital CEO in America, Chris York (pictured.) His own book, Set the Standard, says it all. "Why get out of bed every morning to be average?" he challenges. Riverside Methodist and any other large hospital, "set the standard" by hiring him now. They better move fast. Chris is currently leading a five hospital group and is in high demand because leaders like him are rare.

When it comes to Riverside, I'm with Terri, "I loved that hospital. I grew up there. Some of the best people on planet earth worked there. We were a family. I miss it."

So do I. So do hundreds of current Riverside caregivers and doctors. I pray for the day when the best of the old joins the excellence of the new. 

That is why Part II of this series will continue. 

-Erie Chapman
President Emeritus
Riverside Methodist Hospital   

   

Don't You Know Yet? Days 84-85

“No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the Light unflinchingly.” – J.R.R. Tolkien –

“Light is always light no matter the vessel.

Do not put pressure on yourself to shine in a specific form. Light can be big, small, loud, or a whisper but it is always light.

Allow your light to take its own unique light, we have the power to bring healing energy and clarity to any situation.

Light allows us to see things for what they are so that we may proceed with understanding, compassion and grace.

We can navigate our journey with much more confidence when we see the world through the light we shine on it.

And be sure to keep your light bright and shining- you never know how many people you may be a lighthouse for.

You never know how many people find their way home, even in the wildest storms, because you are there.” By Cleo Wade, “Heart Talk”

Pope Francis spoke of when Jesus told his disciples “You are the salt of the earth”, “you are the light of the world”. We must be salt and light, but never self-serving: salt must add flavor and light must illuminate the other.

“Don't you know yet? It is your light that lights the world.” Rumi

For Reflection: As you read these thoughts on shining your light and on being a light for this crushingly beautiful and wounded world what feelings stir within you?

Offered by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Photo source Pixaby

Wildly & Widely Interested - Days 79-83

 If you, like most Journal readers, have been a career-long caregiver you have lived numerous exhausting days. Nothing seems more appealing than to finally sit back and relax.

   Why not? You have earned it. 

   Just make sure "relaxing" does not kill you. Food, exercise & meaningful goals matter even more to the aging. What does a retired white guy look like? Seek a picture, I Googled "retired man." Uh huh. 

   A lifelong characteristic has made "relaxing" impossible for me. I am wildly and widely interested in everything. At least what seems meaningful. Which is almost everything.

   My cousin, Terry, seems to share that view. Theoretically, both of us are "retired." That word can be dangerous if it signals, as it does to too many, not just relaxing but almost giving up on life. I stopped using the word when I noticed how rapidly people marginalize not just old people but anyone who is "no longer working."

   This sense of marginalization can, itself, cause illness if we let it. Anyone who thinks they do not matter becomes vulnerable to depression and its potential sequelae: alcohol, over-eating and drug abuse.

   Perceived disdain from others can weaken self esteem and accelerate dependence. Simultaneously, incessant curiosity has its own risks, e.g. difficulty relaxing and driving others nuts with too many questions. 

   All of this is meant to inspire, not to judge. Why not live ever minute until our last?

   Michelangelo's last words were, "I am still learning." Perhaps, that was the heart of his genius. 

-Erie Chapman

Did you know? Days 77-78

 

In celebration of St Patrick's Day I was fortunate to attend a live performance with artist Deirdre Ni Chinneide, "A Journey to the Thin Places" with Celtic song and poetry last evening. It was held at the intimate and beautiful chapel of the Sisters of St Joseph. What an incredibly life giving experience, especially to share the experiences with others. I would like to share a little of the experience with you by playing one of her beautiful songs.

                                                                                                 

May you take a few minutes to take in the beauty of Deidre's voice and message.

 

I leave you with these thoughts by John O'Donohue: "There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves. "  

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Mandala by ~liz

When Love Hides Her Face - Days 72-76

[This column appeared in the Journal exactly a decade ago.]

"If being beautiful in the eyes of the Creator means being ugly in the eyes of the created than it's worth it." - author unknown

Made "ugly" by a neurological condition that riddled her face and body with bumps, Lois was one of the most beautiful caregivers I ever met. Each day she brought smiles to the people she encountered in her cashier's job.

She calmed distressed family with her soothing voice and touch. And she shared with each of them her "joke of the day" as they filed past her in the hospital cafeteria.

No one ever seemed to mind their wait in line because Lois, for a moment, parted their clouds of worry.

A glance at Lois might have left some people feeling that the face of God had been hidden from this woman. Instead, Love's light shined through her eyes.

She seemed to know this - that she was beautiful "in the eyes of the Creator." And she soon began to look beautiful to those who experienced brief but sacred encounters with her.

Lois was not a nurse, a physical therapist or a lab tech. The "line" people waited in before they encountered her was the checkout line in the hospital cafeteria. "Everyone is a caregiver," I always taught at the hospitals I was fortunate enough to lead. 

The good of the world is dependent not on the speeches of the great but on the ordinary actions of each of us. It is in your "ordinary moments" that you have the chance to bring kindness to strangers and friends alike. Then, as Love flows through you and circles back through your heart, you feel Love's grace.

What of the hard experiences you endure? Can you love the old man who is throwing his bed pan and cursing you? Can you rise from your fatigue to help the woman suffering down the same hall you have already traveled dozens of times during your shift? Can you sustain patience in the presence of a mean-acting supervisor?

Your endurance depends more than any thing else on one thing: Do you see Love in your mirror?

Only self-love - the acceptance of God's Love - can enable us to give Love when the world leans on us with all of its weight. Only Love enables us to see Beauty in a broken fence, an angry stranger, or in a face pockmarked with disease.

-Erie Chapman

Image: "Broken Fence" by Erie

One Family: Days 70-71

 

I was reflecting back on childhood days, specifically when I  (or my siblings) did not want to finish the food on our plates. My mom would always say, “Don’t waste food there are people in other parts of the world who are starving!” We would glibly say, “How about we send it to them” lacking any real empathy. Honestly, I had no concept of the poverty and suffering of so many people, which seems to have worsened exponentially in these times.

These past few years my eyes have opened to the unbelievable suffering of others due to poverty, war, corruption, and oppression that have caused millions to flee their homelands.

As I look back over the years, I am grateful for the many formative experiences I’ve had to help widen the lens through which I see. So many mentors along the way who have helped to reshape and influence my awareness and understanding in cultivating more compassion. My heart swells as I think back over my life and all the people who have helped to form me. I could write a long litany of people from my early family to you, my dear Journal of Sacred Work family and many, many others.

However, today I wish to share just a few, to include the Sisters of St Joseph and our Wisdom Circle, my years serving in a faith based organization, Pope Francis’ transformative knowing as expressed in the encyclical Laudato Si, and oddly enough, PBS news hour, NHK Japan, Democracy Now, Amanpour and Company, BBC News. As I transitioned away from the popular US news stations and began watching PBS news my world view expanded. Sometimes I wonder how can Amy Goodman can keep reporting on all the injustices in this world as it is hard to take in so much suffering in. Yet, for myself I don’t want to turn away, or turn a blind eye to the suffering of others and of all creation. I've learned that I can help starving people around the world with donations, I can change my habits to help the environment and I can be there for a vulnerable friend in her time of need.

What fuels my hope is all the brave souls in this world who are speaking out against the injustices and are even willing to risk their lives.  There are so many people working to find solutions to our world problems as well as making a difference in the lives of others and as Mother Earth cries out cautioning us, pleading with us to awaken.

My awareness of being part of a global community was significantly heightened with the tragic start of the Ukraine war when I became keenly aware of how interdependent we all are on one another. We truly are one human family but how far we have drifted from this truth. Let me leave you with this inspired song to hearten your spirits as there is so much the light and goodness that will triumph over despair and darkness, for we are one family.

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Artwork by ~liz

The Best Line I Ever Heard About Energy - Days 65-69

 Romans saw Venus and Mars (painting) as the source of energy. I look to God, whose wisdom tells us, "Where attention goes, energy flows." Everybody likes that rhyming line. Nobody, including me, absorbs it until they consult certain life experiences.

   I sure didn't get it at seven when my dad, watching me act like a jumping bean, said, "I hope you never lose that enthusiasm, Chip." My teachers, however, frequently expelled me from the classroom. 

   Across high school I was a "three-sport" jock because Maumee Valley was small. Football and basketball were fun. Track was not. But, "Chapman's don't quit!"

   Why no fun? My body type doomed me to an agonizing event: the mile. 

   To ease my suffering I adopted a three-part strategy: first lap fast, middle laps slow, final lap run like crazy. My coach hated it. "Chapman! Where was your energy in the middle laps!" he always complained, even though I won come-from-behind-to races so often that I set the school record. 

   Where was my energy? My attention on pre-race fears of pain kidnapped it. It also stole appreciation of many spring days.

   Today, people still ask "Where do you get such unusual energy." adding a shadowed qualifier, "at your age?"

   Part of the answer? This is the final lap or final hundred yards of my life's mile run. No one would say I loafed through the middle laps. But I'm running like crazy now. 

   Ringing in my head is another life-changing line: Viktor Frankl's reminder, "He/she who has a why can bear almost any how."*

   Mine is the caregiver's "why." To serve. Even though I have often over-served myself, so long as health remains I will use my luck to help those who have lost it.  Sometimes I even overwhelm others.

   The hundred yard dash is not a run. It is a sprint. 

-Erie Chapman

*quoting: Friedrich Nietzsche 

Venus and Mars, Metropolitan Museum,  Paolo Veronese, 1570s

Honoring National History Month: Days 61-62

 

Note: This reflection is by my esteemed colleague and guest contributer Roxie Nammour, Chaplain

March is Women's History Month. It's a time we set aside to honor women's contributions in science, business, sports, social movements, and so many other fields for centuries. In America, women's contributions in these fields were often overlooked. As a result, they were omitted from history. That's why we celebrate Women's History Month, and the opportunity gives us all to get a more complete picture of our American history.

I don't know about you, but I loved that video and there are a lot of people I hadn't heard of before and so I just thought it was a great way to start Women's History Month. In gratitude for the many women in our lives who make a difference, I recognize that today we come together in our healthcare ministry because of the foundation laid by the Sisters of Saint Joseph and by the Sisters of Providence. Strong women forward thinking, compassionate risk takers.We are here because of them and we are also here because of the strong women we serve alongside, our leaders who continue to empower us and lead the way. And we are so grateful.

The past few years have also highlighted many of the problems in society that need to be addressed, such as racial disparities, continued discrimination towards various groups, and hurdles to dreams of diversity. Many have become more aware and open to hearing previously unheard voices during Black History Month, which we celebrated in February, or celebrating the accomplishments of women with excitement.

Love calls us to serve all and to put into action, our values such as compassion. Thunder wakes people up and crackles with energy, and this can be called justice. So perhaps we make this year a year of compassion and of justice, and we hope together, as I close with the ending of Maya Angelou's powerful  poem.

Out of the huts of history’s shame 
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise
I rise
I rise.

 

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel