Journal of Sacred Work

Days 109-113 - When Water Falls

  We began life in Water's womb. Her waves, or lakes, her streams are poems. Especially when water falls. 

    The link below takes you to a brief meditation on waterfalls including a poem that I wrote & narrated in the hope it would bring some serenity to your life. 

   May you enjoy the peace that a marriage to the water can bring. 

   Click on the link below:

https://youtu.be/MJZx5eNThng

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie from "When Water Falls" includes image of me with my mother.

Alums Refrain: "Seems like just yesterday..."

When RMH President Rob Cercek introduced me at Riverside's Nursing Scholarship event last year we noticed murmurs in the crowd. Many probably thought, "Erie Chapman. Is he still alive?

   No wonder. Forty two years since my first day there as CEO. "Seems like yesterday," a contemporary shared. 

   I spotted widely beloved retired nurse Kathleen Grannan, R.N.(right) in the RMH crowd and wanted to say that "just yesterday" line to her. 

  "Just yesterday" I interviewed world class Baptist ICU nurse Deadra Hall, R.N. (left) about her great caregiving. That was in 2001.

   All alums say another refrain. "Time went so fast."

   It did not. Why do we think it?

   Is time a telescope cutting the distance between us and faraway? Does memory pull that trick by cutting the distance between us and long ago?

   The retro-scope compresses a million other moments. Long ago feels closer than last week. Sometimes it is remembered better. 

   Sure, caregivers have terrible days. Wish I could rewind the clock to stop the tragedy of research tech Joyce McFadden; erase the memory of her facedown in blood on the lab floor. Same with her partner, Pat Matix, both murdered by Pat's husband and his partner.*

   But on THIS day, we celebrate your joyful recollections: Mom's shedding tears on first seeing their babies; family cheering when patient's were healed...

   God calls all to help others. You caregiver alums have a special blessing. You did that during thousands of your precious yesterdays.

   Thank you. 

-Erie Chapman

President, just yesterday, of Riverside Toledo, Riverside Methodist, OhioHealth, Baptist Hospital System...

*NBC's film, "The FBI Murders" tells how Bill Matix and partner were killed. 

   

 

   

   

Turning-Point - A Special Memory of Marco Bonta, M.D.

I.

   He was in his final year of surgery residency when we met. Young Marco was bight, capable, and the apple of his father, Dr. Joe Bonta's eye. 

   It was the mid '80s. Joe was still a surgeon at Riverside. I remember his warm smile and something else.

   Highly regarded by his patients and colleagues "Dr. Joe" had a trait not uncommon among surgeons then. He sometimes lost his temper in the OR. 

   "Some of the nurses are scared of Joe," the CNO reported. "Marco has started copying daddy."

    What could inspire Marco to begin his practice as a model of competence and compassion ?

   "Big trauma is what triggers big behavior change," famed cancer surgeon Dr. Bernie Siegel had told me on our Life Choices T.V. show." 

II.

   Young Marco entered my office polite and wary. Why is Erie calling me in? he surely wondered.

   "Marco, you're looking at a fine future," I observed.

   "Thank you," he smiled.

   "Following in dad's footsteps?" I asked.

   "Sure."

   "Joe's a good man with one trait we hope you won't copy."

    His eyes narrowed.

    "He's temperamental," I continued. "Mimicking his OR outbursts risks your graduation."

    Instead of calling my bluff his head sank. 

    "Gee. I thought 'temper' was typical with surgeons," he murmured. 

   "Drs. Jim Blackford, Bill Knerr and others are always respectful to OR staff. We want that to be 'typical' here.'"

   "I'll try," he said.

   I was doubtful. But I hoped the kindness you see in his eyes would triumph.  

   Fortunately, Marco experienced our talk as traumatic. The abruptness of his behavior alteration was startling and joyful. Over four decades he became one of Riverside's most compassionate surgeons specializing in, guess what, trauma! 

   Awhile back he sent a note: "Thank you for changing my life, Erie." 

   Clearly, he changed it, not me. All I did was affirm what he had not known. The best surgeons practice respect and apologize if OR tension triggers an atypical outburst.  

   By treating his work as sacred, Dr. Marco Bonta's not only saved lives but improved those of thousands. 

   Just days ago, at 67, he died.

Blessings upon him. 

-Erie Chapman 

Picture: OhioHealth   

The FBI and the Journal?

There it was, (six lines down in the blurry screenshot) just as Liz Wessel had advised me. Someone from the "FBI Criminal Justice Information System" (a daunting title) actually clicked in to check on, of all things, our Journal of Sacred Work! (Our system only tracks by geographic location or server title only.)

   Why us? Beats me. We are so not political that our Journal reads like a hospital newsletter. Except for this single column because I guess even we need to speak up. 

   Since this administration (fact not politics) is banning Maya Angelou's poetry, temporarily removing a Jackie Robinson exhibit, harassing America's universities, disrupting our healthcare system with threats against both Medicaid and recklessly leaking our nation's defense secrets why not come after a tiny, non profit journal supporting tired caregivers since 2006.

   We are not only not controversial, but it is impossible to even imagine any kind of federal violation. I should know. I was a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice for three years. The FBI I worked with investigated bank robberies, kidnappings, extortion plots... What are they up to now?   

   Welcome to our new America. Okay. Many months ago I posted a column about how bullying leadership in hospitals threatens caregiving. Is that why the FBI is checking? Go ahead. Arrest me. 

   Our President is NOT Hitler.  But is our government using some kind of dictator's playbook?

    If so, the current administration is getting even more reckless with their intimidation tactics. If so, legitimate charities and our best caregiving organizations are vulnerable. If so, not just free speech is at risk but so are all of our precious freedoms.

   If it is true that the FBI after us, God help you! 

-Erie Chapman

 

Why Was Baptist Hospital Sold? Secrets of How Nashville's Largest Hospital Changed Hands

Background

What if your arrived as new leader of Nashville's largest hospital expecting a successful organization. What if you then discovered apparent corruption, tens of millions in losses and a toxic culture created by your predecessor?

     That was the truth I saw in October, 1998 as new President and CEO of Baptist Hospital System.

    Over two decades have passed since Nashville's largest hospital underwent the nightmare of near bankruptcy under a longtime leader some described as misguided or dangerously malevolent.

   The story of former Baptist Hospital System's David Stringfield and its flagship's terrifying problems was briefly covered then. Scandal makes good copy. But some untold facts are more riveting.

   At 81 and before it is too late, I decided, as Stringfield's successor, to reveal important secrets about what I believe destroyed the identity of a proud hospital and the stunning recovery that almost saved it. Before Baptist changed hands and after Stringfield was ousted thousands of dedicated caregivers and their leaders pulled off a miracle.

"King David's"Disaster

   On July 3, 1997 Nashville Scene headlined a shocking story, "King David - Power and Paranoia at Baptist Hospital."* The essay by investigative journalist Willy Stern featured (the late) David Stringfield, President & CEO.

   It was a devastatingly negative portrayal of the person I would soon replace and questioned the financial viability of the hospital. It was extensively researched and, sadly, turned out to be remarkably accurate.

   I never saw the story until it was too late. Thus, in 1998, I was optimistic on my first day as Stringfield's replacement.

   Nashville Scene's article had been a thunderbolt. If true, it contained numerous warning signs. The attacks on Stringfield's quirky personality were one thing. But the assault on the hospital's stability startled anyone who read the story.

   "For four years Baptist has been the focus of an ongoing Internal Revenue Service audit that could result in the revocation of Baptist’s tax-exempt status," the story reported. "Documents filed in U.S. Tax Court last year say IRS officials conducting an audit at Baptist “reviewed evidence that indicated that the hospital failed to operate exclusively for charitable purposes and that portions of the hospital’s net earnings inured to the benefit of private individuals.” (emphasis added.)

   "The same documents stated that 'such facts, if established, would cause the Hospital to fail to qualify for tax-exempt status.'”

   The paragraph held another shocker: "The documents were filed in U.S. Tax Court as part of litigation resulting from an audit of David Stringfield, not the hospital."

   What did the audit say? We never found out. Stringfield's lawyers managed to keep that quiet. Was the hospital suffering from epic mismanagement at best and criminal behavior at worst?

"Skeletons in the Closet"

  "Don't worry," new board chair Stringfield told me, "When you get here, you won't find any skeletons in our closet. Instead, we're going to report a bottom line of $10 million dollars."

   He was $83 million off! Worse, Baptist Hospital System was littered with "skeletons." 

   Stern had been right. If anything, he had underestimated from the outside the trouble I found inside...

Part II Continues soon

-Erie Chapman

*Screenshot of Nashville Scene article. To see the full content of the original article go to: https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/king-david/article_0f38532d-cc94-5624-8ff1-99af1a9bdc2c.html

Disclaimer: Erie Chapman Foundation, supports Radical Loving Care in healthcare and the arts and supports the general, though not necessarily the specific, content of this article.

Survivors

   Beyond their dedication and devotion to caring for those in need, the alumni of Riverside Methodist, Baptist and the now-closed Riverside in Toledo, all hospitals I was privileged to lead, have already accomplished something else. They have survived. 

   When CBS Sunday Morning (the best program on television) described the 25th anniversary of the "Survivor" today, I thought of you. You did not play in some pretend t.v. show. You did the real thing.

   After that segment, CBS profiled a Fox reporter who survived a bomb blast while covering the Russo-Ukrainian War. His two partners did not.

   We have seen such segments. This one seemed different.

   The explosion blew off his right leg, nearly did the same to his left, and blinded his left eye. It was not just his courage or persistence. It was his matter-of-fact recounting of his profound suffering.

   A doctor tells him on camera, "We're going to remove your left eye now."

   "Sure," the patient says, as if headed to lunch. "Let's go."

   No dramatization. No self-pity. Beyond surviving, he was thriving. 

   If you cared for patients, you know suffering. If you worked in the ER for 45 years like Riverside's Sue Finefrock, R.N.(picture) or Donna Mason, R.N. (Baptist) you treated countless trauma victims. Thank you! 

   After my mother turned 105, people kept asking her "Trick." "Genes" she would say (actually, she walked three miles every day and lived moderately.)

   Her survival advice when I was in distress was never pity.  "One foot in front of the other, Chip Chapman," she would say as matter-of-factly as the wounded journalist. 

   Congratulations on surviving your caregiving career, especially those days when you thought, "I'm sick of the suffering, dying, bad smells, screams, thrown bed pans..."

   No one knows if they will live to retirement. You did!

   How fortunate for everyone around you.

-Erie Chapman

 

Happiest Hospital Building Opening Ever

    At the center of Liz Wessel's gorgeous watercolor in the weekend Journal are the words, "Everything done with love is true."     A

    When you lead with love, lovely things happen.

    February 10, 1989, was an especially joyful day for caregivers at Riverside Methodist Hospital. The happiest place inside a hospital celebrates birth. On that winter day, the happiest place outside Riverside was the new on campus daycare center.

   You can see fun in the picture. You cannot see numerous innovations that made the center magical. Adjacent to the usual adult entrance, is, surprise, a little-kid-sized door for students! 

    No "Sick Room" there. Instead, the "Get Better Center."

   Taking care of the people who take care of people means seeing the workplace from the caregiver's, not the executive's standpoint. That is what Senior Vice President for HR Mark Evans, his associate Carole Stanley, and the rest of the team did.

   Thirty six years later, I remain so grateful for the thousands of things the HR team did under Mark's leadership by improving the work environment.

   Yes, that was a happiest opening I attended. It even got funny .  I asked 5-year old Hillary if she was excited by the opening.

   "Nope," she deadpanned.

   But her brother, 3-year old Andy, saved the day. He immediately picked up his plastic shovel and handed it to me. 

   Hillary and her brother are now 40 and 38. I bet they remember that place and its custom front door. And I bet their parents loved Riverside as a place that cared for its caregivers. 

-Erie Chapman

 

 

     

 

Is There Ever At "Good" Day in a Hospital?

 "There is never a good day in a hospital," the late Marian Hamm, Chief Nursing Officer at the first two hospitals I led, wrote in a poem she penned for caregivers. She was right in one way. Hospitals are the only places where every occupant (except the pregnant) is sick.

   It was the caregivers for those sick where my attention flowed. I never felt I could do enough for them.

   In high school we learned the following lines and 1802 Wordsworth poem.  They often haunt me: 

  "The world is too much with us;.../Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—/Little we see in Nature that is ours;"

   Wordsworth was worried about materialism, not hospitals. But every caregiver has of felt the weight of the world.   

   Faith never seems more important than when we are sick, exhausted or fearful. I write today in the wake of deaths in my family and threats from without it.

   Where does hope reside? Wordsworth imagines this in his last lines as he surveys his life and speaks our dreams.

"...So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;..."

   What about nature? Can she be "ours" once again?

-Erie Chapman

 

The Best Career Partner Ever

 "The way you know you've been in a relationship a long time is that you have the same argument over and over," Prince Rainier said. 

   Careers are like that too. We want harmony at work, too, but have the same arguments repeatedly with long time colleagues. 

   I have been lucky in both places - especially during my 12 years at Riverside Methodist.

   Of the thousands I have worked with over my ridiculously diverse career, the woman pictured is the finest partner ever. Without her, my life would have failed. 

   My older sister, Ann, nailed it: "Of all your decisions, Chip (my nickname), marrying Kirsten was absolutely the best!"

   She is a natural caregiver. The word empathy was created to describe the texture of how some respond to other's pain and joy. "Sympathy" was inadequate. When a Riverside leader's wife got breast cancer Kirsten rose many dawns to drive a basket flowers to her front door. I have never met anyone who is so genuinely pleased by other's success and so deeply stunned when they are hurting. When people what my wife does, I say, "She is a full time caregiver for every family and friend she knows."

   Millions may do that. Kirsten is rare because her empathy creates exquisite sensitivity. 

   Spouses of leaders get "stuck" having to attend endless events. Whenever she arrived separately, my energy always shot up when she entered the room. 

   We met at Northwestern sixty years ago. The third daughter of a doctor and a school teacher she began her career as a teacher before I began mine as a trial attorney. Later, for twenty-one years, she penned a human interest columnist for The Columbus Dispatch. Twice, she was picked Ohio's best. 

   We came from great families. It was predictable that she would be a world class spouse and parent. She thought I would be too. But I am unpredictable as a tornado.

   My bizarre diversity of interests has made me a dizzying partner: healthcare, trial law, t.v. and radio shows, book-writing, prison ministry, and a passionate commitment to filmart, poetry and music composition...

   Kirsten has never been a pushover. "Okay, Mr. Radical Loving Care," she has sometimes said when I get irritable. 

   Whenever I changed jobs, she was steadfast. Opportunities came to us because of her quietly magic presence. The startling success of kids and grandkids is traceable to her. Her friends are legion and loyal. 

   Every crisis I faced, murders, hostages, hospital bankruptcies and more, she faced also. Each time I was hospitalized for Crohn's disease, or, more recently, suffered depression, she suffered with me...and cared for me like an angel. 

   Her resiliency is a miracle. 

   We want love in marriages and work. Perseverance, laughter and courage. Celebration, support and inspiration.

   We hope for stability but know that we can be fired from marriage or job.  

   I have been fired from jobs. But never where the heart lives - at home. 

   Gratitude is a small word for Kirsten's great gift. Her modesty is such that she is unlikely to see this tribute.

   But I want you to know. She has been and continues to be the best.

   I hope you have found that in your partner as well.

-Erie Chapman

Photo: Kirsten at 74

   

 

   

When a Doctor Kills A Patient

The Lightning Strike

October 7, 1977. Mary Kopek* checked into Toledo's Riverside Hospital** for a routine hysterectomy.

Easy to imagine the morning of October 8: Nurses awakening Mary at dawn, preparations for surgery, family smiling, "We'll see you soon."

Instead, "soon" Mary would die on the operating table.

Why? Did her anesthesiologist accidentally kill her?

1977. The Mafia-like "White Coat Code of Silence" meant doctors did not "squeal." Mary's husband and small children would never know.  

Caregivers understand the separate pathways for food and air. To confuse those during intubation can be fatal. Yet, Anesthesiologist Hector Gomez, M.D.* made exactly that mistake.

As the surgeon's scalpel hovered over Mary's belly, Dr. Gomez inserted the oxygen tube down her throat...into the esophagus. Air meant for her lungs now raced toward her stomach.

Seeing Mary's belly inflate, an OR nurse exclaimed, “Doctor, the tube is in the wrong hole!”

“Nonsense. I’m the doctor!” Gomez said arrogantly.

Belatedly, the surgeon noticed the nurse was right. “Pull the tube, Hector!” he ordered.

Lightning ignited crisis! Mary's children would grow up without her. 

Aftermath

Hours later CNO Marian Hamm walked into my office with a blunt account: “Erie, Dr. Gomez just killed a patient.”

Although thirty-three and just months as CEO, I knew leaders have no luxury for excuses.  

"I'll tell the Chief of Staff," I responded.

"The White Coat Code," she said with disgust. "He won't act."

Still, I insisted the Chief investigate. Weeks later, reported, “Dr. Gomez says: "Patient overweight. Short neck. Case closed."

"Really?" I challenged. "Is that it?"

"We'll keep an eye on him," he glared.

"Told you," Marian said later.

Incompetence and Arrogance killed Mary Kopek. The Chief's closing the case and my refusal to persist describes the culture of 1977.

After that, I learned to fight harder. Much harder.

If you are a veteran caregiver, you have seen bad mistakes and will see more. Would your stories help others in crises?

-Erie Chapman

Excepted from: After the Lightning –  Stories of Crisis Leadership 

*Pseudonyms 

**Since reopened as St. Ann’s

The Quarterback, the Comedian & Superbowl XIII*

 How do leaders find calm and caring in crisis? Legendary leaders are universal students even though Winston Churchill said, "I'm always ready to learn, although I don't always like being taught."

  Still, he always watched how others fielded crises. Churchill would never say, "I can't learn from a conductor because I'm not a musician." or, "I can't learn from sports. I hate sports." 

Joe & John

   A comical learning occurred at Superbowl XIII when iconic quarterback Joe Montana, using five words only heard by ten men, suddenly made famous comedian John Candy a team member!

   January 22, 1989. Cincinnatti Bengals versus San Francisco 49ers (a fellow Ohioan gave me tickets.)

   3:10 to go. Bengals up 16-13. 49ers have possession but on their own 8-yard line. 

   A 49er said later, "Unbearable tension...92 yards to pay dirt? Impossible...Then Joe entered the huddle." 

   Stop! What would you say? 

1.    "Stay calm."
2.    "Here's the play."
3.    "Don't panic."

   Instead, Joe pointed to the crowd. "Hey, isn't that John Candy?" 

   It worked. He knew his players were scared and how to settle them. With 39 seconds left, he fired the victory pass.

   Forever after, Montana was known as, "Joe Cool," underscored when Bengal's opponent Chris Collinsworth reported, "At the 45 yard line I saw Joe's eyes. I knew we were finished."

The eyes.

    Ten years later I re-learned the power of calm eyes. Baptist Hospital System's accountants delivered a fear-triggering shock shortly after I became CEO. I had been told the bottom line would be 10 million. The hidden truth was a $73 million loss! Bankruptcy was imminent.

   "Are you okay?" Chief Operating Officer Paul Moore asked me mid-crisis.

   "Yes. Why?"

    "Some employees told me, 'We saw Mr. Chapman walking through the cafeteria looking worried."

   Darn it! Other expressions besides panic can signal trouble.Leaders never have the luxury of showing fear or worry.

   The great news? A record-breaking turnaround. That story later.

-Erie Chapman

*This story will reappear in my forthcoming book currently titled, After the Lightning - Stories of Crisis Leadership

**Photo: Joe Montana and John Candy (Outkick)

How You Can Honor Caregivers Who Died

The finest twenty minutes on Television occurs each year's end when "CBS Sunday Morning" honors the famous among us who have left us.

   2024 was Quincy Jones' last year on this orb. If you remember his genius, including his production of "We Are the World,"* it was because you were among the millions joining hands and voices for a few moments of unity in 1985.

   James Earl Jones acting lit up the screen (e.g. Field of Dreams.) His stirring bass announced CNN and voiced a powerful cartoon caregiver, Mufasa and Mufasa's ghost in the Lion King. Now a "ghost" himself, he can still comfort us.  

   As I write this news comes of the passing of the peanut farmer who became President. Jimmy Carter was a loving soul whose leadership won him a Nobel Peace Prize and, post Presidency, brought us Habitat for Humanity. 

   Missing from the list, of course, are a million humble caregivers worldwide who passed away. They spent their careers easing our pain, delivering our babies, bringing us curing medications and healing us with their presence as co-workers. 

   If one of them is someone you knew, please reference them in a comment, below (your email will NOT appear.) That will honor their name to hundreds who read this column each week and help us remember all who spent their careers dedicated to meeting need with love. 

-Erie Chapman

*Co-written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie 

The Universal Santa

  My earliest friend appeared in 1946 when, at three, I met my neighbor, Jill. We are still friends! (1951 photo by my dad)

   Because her family had a Christmas tree and gave presents, I did not know she was Jewish until about eight - or even what that meant.

   Christians, raised like I, childishly thought that our holiday, bearing our savior's name, must be the best. Even Jill's Jewish family celebrated "our" holiday. Therefore our religion must be superior.

   Then at twelve, we moved from L.A. to Toledo, My new best friend, Greg. was Catholic.    

   "You're going to hell," he said before Christmas.

   "What?"

   "Only Catholics get heaven,"* he said confidently. 

   "You mean being Methodist is not enough?" 

   "Nope," he said.  

   Greg was a year older and I looked up to him. It was like he was saying, "If you don't believe in Santa, no presents!"

   I asked my Mom. "Oh, those Catholics," she said dismissively. 

   When we moved to Nashville ("The Buckle on the Bible Belt") a hospital board member shook my hand, leaned in and asked in a loud whisper, "You're a good Christian, right?"

   "I'm trying," I answered, "and since you're a Christian,  how are you doing praying for your enemies?"

   His laugh signaled he did not take that teaching seriously. 

   Today, as an ordained minister, I follow Jesus and his teachings. Many Christians believe that Jesus spoke literally when he said, "You can only come to God through me." 

   My deepest belief is that God is Love for all, not just Christians. Why would a non-Christian who lives love go to hell?

   Love is the universal Santa. A patient's religion plays no role in treatment. Living love assures a sacred and magical holiday. 

   Merry Christmas from my family (including our five grandkids) to you and yours.

-Rev. Erie Chapman

Photo: 5 Grandchildren - by Tia Chapman. 

   

  

A Double Drowning: Lightning Leadership During Trailing Thunder

When and how are crisis behaviors learned? Childhood experiences are early teachers. 

Balboa, California, Summer, 1951 Dad and I (pictured in 1949) strolled with my little sister along its beach. Suddenly, "lightning" struck. A pair of unconscious teens was being dragged from the water.

A crowd gathered. The boys, blue-faced, were dropped on towels. 

“They’ve drowned,” someone said. 

My seven-year-old heart was racing. Was anyone going to do anything?

Everyone just stood there except one.

“Watch out for your sister!” Dad ordered. Racing forward, he cradled one boy, then looked up at the crowd.

“You,” he commanded another adult. “Take the other boy and copy what I’m doing.”

The startled man obeyed.

No CPR back then. My father used the “Holger-Neilsen Rescue Method.” Riveted, I watched him turn the dying boy onto his stomach, lean his own body weight forward, and push down rhythmically on the boy’s back. No response.

  “Keep at it,” dad called to his partner. So the other man persisted.

  Amid the thundering crisis, lightning struck again. The dead boy coughed up volumes of water, and opened his eyes.

   “Okay?” dad asked raising him up.

   “Yes,” he sputtered.

A miracle! I thought. Death into life.

The other boy was still “out.” Dad rushed over, eased the other helper aside, continued life saving to complete a second miracle.

Without dad, the boys would have died.

---

The lightning of that crisis struck the crowd equally. In the trailing thunder only dad stepped forward. Only he found the courage to lead.

Head of the Hollywood YMCA and already my hero, he had shared other stories of life saving. I had never seen him do it.

Many freeze in post-crises thunder. My father showed me, again, what leadership looked - including with his final act that day.

“Let’s go, kids” he said, leading us offstage.

As we walked away, I studied the bystanders. No one patted my hero father on the back. He did not need that. 

Humility, common in caregivers, rare among leaders, needs no applause.

-Erie Chapman, III

The Day I Won The Lottery

 

Naturally, I recall that day's anticipatory joy.

   The memory evokes a seven centuries old sentence: Dante's opening to, The Divine Comedy,*: “Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path."

   The sentence matters because we wonder: "Where am I in my life?" Or, when older, "Where have I been?"

   In the middle of my life I won the lottery. No dark wood but a sunlit dream.  Greeks coined such epiphanies Anagnorisis**

   The day the prize was delivered, July 1, 1983. At thirty-nine, I walked through the doors of not just any hospital, but Riverside Methodist, the largest in Ohio. I was too immature to imagine the depth of the victories ahead including becoming a top ten hospital and reshaping RMH into a flagship as founding president of OhioHealth.

   Thousands of other caregivers walked through those same doors. I was their CEO. What an incredible privilege it was...and remains so to this day.

   Ten years later, my son said: "Dad! You are at the top of your career!" Still not getting it, I told him, "No. I must go higher."

   Such ambition blocked my grasping that good luck in the moment. Yes. There were more successes, mixed with agonizing personal defeats. Yet, my son was right. 

   Some say in the middle of their lottery-winning days, "Thank God it's Friday." Or, "I can't wait until retirement." 

   If you are any level caregiver today and hear yourself wanting "out" you have "wandered off the path" or are under-appreciating your riches. Each day you awake in the middle of your chance to help heal others.

   Realizing your calling is better than winning the lottery because it is a lifetime gift. I finally appreciate that. We tried our best to help thousands. And did.    

-Erie Chapman

Photo: Riverside 2024 and circa 1980s

*Also contains Dante's Inferno describing the nine circles of hell. 

**Anagnorisis a moment in a play...when a character makes a critical discovery...recognition not only of a person but also of what that person [or moment] stood for. 

Radical Hope Starts With Reality

 "Hope starts with reality," Dr. Clay Stauffer intoned, "and Fear is a bad advisor."

   I would have said, "No. Dreams father Hope." Clay is right. The launchpad for dreams is made of concrete. 

   Hope and Fear dominate most lives.    

   Easy to hope if we are healthy and safe. How could cancer's reality bring buoyancy? What about betrayal? What about any loss, especially when hopes for national unity seem distant?

   No depressed person says, "I feel so hopeful." When flattened by life, optimism was as unattainable for me as Pluto.

   Radical Loving Care^® ("Radical," meaning love beyond expectations) encompasses radical hope. Both live outside the box.   

   Caregivers know what once startled me. That many cancer say, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me."

   Miles* (pictured), a profoundly mature 20 year-old also surprised me recently by reporting, "My parent's divorce was one of the best things in my life."

   These radical hopers found joyful surprises beyond the box. How?

   The cancer survivor said, "I learned fearlessness." Miles (pictured) acquired "two great new step-parents and three siblings."

   These two show us the path to Life's fountainhead: Hope. 

-Erie Chapman

*Miles Chapman, my oldest grandson - 9/23

  

Does A Hospital Leader Matter?

     A month before I departed as CEO of Riverside Methodist Hospital (RMH) and OhioHealth, questions arose about new leadership. As a lame duck CEO, I was powerless to delay layoffs initiated despite the system's booming bottom line and sky-high morale.

    I asked a doctor his thoughts.

   "Not sure the leader matters that much, Erie," he said.

   Months later a colleague called, "Did you hear about Marcy?"

   "No, how is she?" I answered.

   A thirty-year veteran, Marcy Alton* (pictured) whose HR role was organizing events, was one of RMH's most well-loved employees. Her perpetual smile raised everyone's energy. 

   "She was fired," my friend reported.

   "What?" I said.

   "It gets worse. Several employees saw security escorting her to her car. Staff-cut," he said with disgust. "Every eliminated employee is escorted to their car."

   "If they treat Marcy like that, what about me?" staff wondered. Instead of saving money, the bottom line went down as did patient/employee satisfaction.   

   Culture determines behavior. Leaders determine culture. Only the board can remove them. Staff, including doctors, have no vote. 

   Sadly, this story returned eight years later. As I prepared to turn over the reins of Nashville's Baptist Hospital System** to a new President, a neonatologist saw my dismay.

   "Don't worry," she said. The leader doesn't make much difference."

   "What about workplace culture?" I asked

    She shrugged. And was wrong.

   Once again, my successor needlessly cut staff. Once again, satisfaction scores and finances tailed down. 

   Like it or not, every leader, like every parent, store owner, coach and President, impacts energy. Radical Loving Care^® matters. 

   We ignore that truth at our peril. 

-Erie Chapman

*Marcella "Marcy" Alton (1948-2020.) I told her story in 2021 and retell it today.

**Renamed St. Thomas Midtown

NOTE: Please support our mission of loving care via http://www.eriechapmanfoundation.net  or by check to Erie Chapman Foundation, 112 Dunham Springs Lane, Nashville. 

   

Change or Revelation?

   Near the end of a long and unusual career, it is affirming when caregivers say, "Erie, you changed my life. You discovered a strength I didn't recognize."

   Today, I realized those two sentences signal very different processes. The first implies "changing" another. The second honors what was already there. 

   The second approach rings truest today.   

   Kirsten, my profoundly encouraging wife of 58 years, elicits my best. Her ability to expose my weaknesses highlights better paths. 

   The best aspects of parenting our children Tyler and Tia, honored their potential. Luckily, that offset some mistakes. 

   We are grateful rather than proud of them and the parents they became.  We did not change them. We encouraged. 

   Good leaders, like OhioHealth's first HR Senior VP Mark Evans, mirror good parenting. He focused his team's energy on strengths rather fault-finding. 

   For years, I have campaigned for leadership that catalyzes positive powers. This Journal contrasted this Presidential campaign's leadership styles as a learning for all leaders.

   In fact, this election taught a huge lesson I did not foresee. 

   President-elect Trump, the same leader who incited a mob to stop the Senate from certifying his loss, recognized that America's frustration was not a trickle but a raging river. He opened the floodgates for Americans, who were "mad as hell and wouldn't take it any more!"*

   Anger's energy can be converted for good. What Trump does with the immense resource of American's frustration is far more important than winning the election.

   Will he lead like President Theodore Roosevelt who saw the potential of America's natural resources and founded our national parks. Or, had he been President then, would Trump have envisioned the Grand Canyon as a real estate development?

   Will he change our lives by revealing our best, like Lincoln, or incite our worst like Jefferson Davis**? 

-Erie Chapman

Photo: National Park Service/M. Quinn

*Paraphrase from "Network" (1976) 

**President of the Confederacy

 

      

Charity Toward All, Revenge, or Bless Them, Change me?

I. "Bless them, change me"

   My friend, perfectly named Ed Goodrich, changed my life today. He knows my distress amid our national leadership crises and how it may impact caregivers.  

   "There's a four word phrase that could help," he said. "When insulted, pray: 'Bless them, change me.'" 

   Instantly, I felt better. No more saying "I'll pray for you." That sounds like I'm asking my God to change your "wrong" into my "right." Bless you. Change me. 

   Beware of political brain fog. Because we support Trump or Harris does mean we ARE either. 

II."With charity toward all"

Cursing fellow Americans while refusing to practice love can be deadly.

  "We are not enemies, but friends," our most admired President told 25,000. "We must not be enemies," he begged; passion may strain friendships, but, "it must not break our bonds of affection."

   Listen to "the better angels of [y]our nature," Abraham Lincoln implored.

   The crowd agreed and fatally failed to heed.

   It was March 4, 1861. Just thirty-nine days later, April 12, 1861, Confederate soldiers fired on Fort Sumter. Deafness to the new President's appeal triggered the most tragic display of homicidal idiocy in American history.

   March 4, 1865, precisely four years later, a victorious and heartbroken Lincoln, appealed once more to the best angels among his 40,000 listeners. Millions had died or suffered other unspeakable loss. Northerners wanted what men's darkest demons always seek: Revenge. 

   Lincoln, would have none of it. "With malice toward none, with charity for all" he told the startled crowd "...let us bind up the nation's wounds, care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan...do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace..."

  April 14, 1865 the calendar again tolled tragedy. Four years and two days after Rebels fired canon balls into Fort Sumter, a revenge-poisoned Rebel fired a single bullet into the head of our finest President.  Lincoln had joined the list of the Civil War dead.

III. "Ultimate and absolute revenge"?

  The same revenge-devil that poisoned Lincoln's assassin now darkens the voice of former President Trump. Increasingly over recent days he has repeatedly promised "ultimate and absolute revenge" against anyone, including Republicans, who opposed him. The list grows by the hour and now includes not just Harris and Pelosi but numerous former members of his own cabinet. A few days ago, he said former Republican Congressman Liz Cheney, should be "shot in the face" by a 9-person firing squad.  

   Will we choose a champion of "Charity toward all" or break "the bonds of affection" by choosing an advocate of violence by Americans against Americans?

   Yes. Trump remains a child of God. May God's blessing quiet hate from both sides, and change us. 

   Meanwhile, why wait for leaders to unite us? Regardless of party, why not heed the voices of our better angels?

-Reverend Erie Chapman, M.T.S., J.D. 

 

   

 

Can Hope Conquer Fear?

   Every patient wants from every caregiver confidence and hope. Every caregiver seeks the same from every leader.

   During my many years leading Riverside Methodist, founding OhioHealth, leading Baptist Hospital System and several other healthcare organizations this has always been my goal. Strategies unfold from caring about caregivers and the work they do and building cultures that sustain that.

   Leadership is sacred work. Trump's approach is threatening to undermine this kind of leadership. 

   How does a leader impact your energy?

   March 4, 1933. 91 years ago. Imagine it today. Americans were terrified. The stock market crash and Great Depression meant America was drowning in an insidious disease: Fear. 

   On that day, President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) delivered a massive dose of what every American required to cure Fear. Hope. 

   One line rings Hope's bell today: "The only thing we have to fear," FDR intoned, "is fear itself." 

   FDR's energy exudes from the 45 second video. As he spoke I imagine "Fear itself" shrinking. (click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjhPozIeyoY )

   Across the sea Germans, drowning in the same Depression, heard the opposite. Hitler's message: Germany is falling apart. Only I can save you!

   Sound familiar? In 2016 Trump, painted an America in ruins (he still does) and declared, "I alone can fix it."

   In 1933, Fear found a foe in America and an ally in Germany. In 2024, Fear found a criminal ally in America - Donald Trump. Hope found Kamala Harris. 

  "America is strong. I believe in us," Kamala Harris says, like Reagan, Obama, Clinton & most Presidents before. 

   Harris is Hope and Love. Trump is Fear and Hate. 

   Experts say fear is more powerful. Prove them wrong. 

   Cowards prefer bullies.The courageous always choose hope.

   Good leaders always bring out the best in us. Bad ones elicit the worst. 

   If Trump wins, I will, like Kamala, still lean into love...And dread the firehose of hate, lies and fear-mongering he will pour on our country.   

   Should Kamala win, Hope will make "A Comeback.

   That is what happens when Presidents lead with love. 

-Erie Chapman

Poster: Artist unknown

    

News Flash! You Can Leave Your Presidential Ballot Option Blank!

   The two wildly contrasting pictures share an odd relationship. The first is from the riveting opening scene of World War II film "The Resistance Fighter." It shows a mother, arms around her 6-year-old, shivering in both snow and the fascist presence of a Nazi officer. 

   "There is only one right way!" the officer shouts at her. "Pick!"

   "I don't understand," the young mother stammers.

   "We will decide by a coin flip," the officer says, as the mother realizes she must choose Hitler* or be shot.

   The second image is just a snapshot of me playing peek-a-boo with my mom. But it is from the same time period, 1944!

   I sat safe because Americans had chosen democracy and were fighting to save it. Millions of other children sat terrified because Germany had chosen a fascist, Hitler.  

  On October 22, Trump's longest serving Chief of Staff, Marine General John Kelly told The New York Times, "Trump fits the definition of a fascist."** 

  Meanwhile, I discovered a flaw in counting "undecideds." I kept hearing Republicans complain about Trump but thought they had to vote for him.

  Finally, I asked one: "Why not leave the top spot blank?" 

  "If I could, I would!" he answered.

   "You can," I said. "So, you will!"

   Over the past two weeks, I found ten more college-educated men who mistakenly thought you had to check a box for each race. One was also fuzzy about what fascism meant.**

   After I explained it he laughed, "Now, I can say I didn't vote for the fascist!"

   He joins seven more of that ten who will leave the top spot blank. Could there be more?

   Americans currently face no punishment for their voting choice. Millions living under dictators today do not have that luxury. 

   Trump's handling of COVID and his false FEMA conspiracy theories threatened caregiver-safety. This tells me Harris is best. Others now know another choice: neither. 

 -Erie Chapman

*"VP Nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance has previously called Trump, "America's Hitler." 

**"Under fascism, a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people in that society, and allows no dissent or disagreement." - Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

NOTE: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, General Mark Milley, agrees with Kelly.