Category: Appreciation

I am curious when you knew you wanted to work in diagnostic imaging and what drove your decision to join the profession. My introduction to diagnostic imaging was in middle school, the day my brother, Ed, and I found two bullets and decided that hitting the bullets with a hammer was a good idea (not our brightest moment).  The outcome as we bent over the shell, pounding it time after time with the hammer, is obvious—it went off. It missed important body parts but struck my brother in the arm and sent my mother flying out of the house to see what the noise was all about. While Ed didn’t have to have X-rays, a portable machine stood tall in the corner of the room, and the nurse answered question after question and showed us the film of a shoulder. From the days of film to the technology we have today, diagnostic imaging remains doctors’ go-to tool to examine a patient thoroughly.

You are so crucial to the treatment of our patients. X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds have become clear in a much safer and less invasive way. It gives me a genuine appreciation for modern technology and causes me to reflect on how physicians depend on the work you do. 

I am sure you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 forced you to do more with less, work hard while adapting to new circumstances, provide results with challenging procedure standards, and save lives while risking your own You had no option to work from home. You are always essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your genuinely heroic actions. You were there before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our patients.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and image after image. The healthcare profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means so much to our physicians, team members, patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever. Thank you for being there for the child in middle school who broke a limb or pounded a bullet with a hammer.

Thank you for choosing to work at Kettering Medical Center.

Warmly,

When I think of phlebotomists, my mind instantly goes back the what seems like the late 1800s when I first made the jump into health care. Oh, the stories we tell of “the old days.” I have worked with phlebotomists working in their field for more than 50 years and always enjoyed hearing stories about their experiences: the days without computers, old methodologies, outdated lab equipment, and manual testing. Listening to these stories always makes me think about just how far we have come. It gives me a genuine appreciation for modern technology and causes me to reflect on how physician depends on the work you do. 

I am sure that, as a phlebotomist, you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 pushed you to the limits as you learned to do more with less, work hard while adapting to new circumstances, provide results with challenging procedure standards, and save lives while risking your own. No option allowed you to work from home. It is good to be essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your truly heroic actions. You were there before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our patients.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and draw after draw. The health care profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our physicians, team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever.

Thank your for choosing to work at Kettering Medical Center.

Warmly,

The news is all about respiratory care. And while the information is about COVID-19, we understand that, at its most basic level, COVID-19 is a respiratory issue. Over the last year, you have played a crucial role in our response to the pandemic, with the influx of patients experiencing breathing problems. You are the guardians of a crucial piece of equipment: the ventilators that help our patients battling COVID-19. You have intervened countless times for the patient with chronic conditions, flu-like symptoms, or COVID-19, preserving their ability to breathe.

Not only are you called to treat their disease, but you are also there to give them a hand and someone to talk to—even holding the hand of someone who’s going through the end of life. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve had respiratory therapists help patients FaceTime their families when they couldn’t come in and see them. Despite challenging circumstances, you find ways to support not just the physical, but the emotional needs of our patients.

From high-risk deliveries to cardiac arrests and traumas, the cases you respond to are often during the scariest time in a patient life: when they can’t breathe. I sleep better at night knowing that you are on the front lines as a highly trained professional, helping patients overcome their respiratory illnesses.

I am sure you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 pushed you to the limits as you worked hard while adapting to new circumstances, provided results with challenging procedure standards, and saved lives while risking your own. No option allowed you to work from home. It is good to be essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your truly heroic actions. You were caring for patients before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our community.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and treatment after treatment. The healthcare profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our physicians, team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever. Thank you for being there for the mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers who needed help catching their next breath.

Thank you for choosing to work at Kettering Health. Thank you for keeping our patients breathing easier.

With gratitude,

I love the ability to write letters of thanks to our hero’s within the hospital. I am offended ask how I come up with what is within the letters. It comes from the heart. I will include some notes that I have written to different staff hero’s.

While COVID-19 may have put a damper on gatherings, the Laboratory has reason to have a whole-house celebration, with the remodeling completed and new automated equipment installed. Today, the lab is humming with professionals and machines working together, producing diagnostic results faster than ever to better serve our patients and our teams. 

There is a sense of solidarity in bringing answers that drive patient treatments. While you work behind the scenes, you are a vital member of the Kettering Medical Center family; you are essential to the course of treatment and length of stay. You are indispensable to our patients, nursing teams, and physicians. You are the unsung heroes of clinical laboratories. You are called to work against the clock, underground and under pressure.You understand that every yes and no, every positive and negative, truly every result can change a life. You know that good is never good enough, so you check your work and ensure that accurate results are delivered. 

Although it can be a tiring job, you do with an unfailing commitment day after day and test after test, because you know just how much is riding on your work. The health care profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. We want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever. 

Thank you for choosing to work at Kettering Medical Center.

2021 has arrived, and as leaders, we have the opportunity to rededicate our lives to lead people. Whenever we see the pain in either the business or in a person, we do whatever they can to ease it. Leaders dedicate themselves to their calling to lead. The focus and commitment to leadership is an inspiration to me.

As a leader, we serve more than those with whom we come face to face daily. We help our employee’s families and those whom we may never meet. We must remember the people we serve have faces, families, hopes and dreams, and stories.

They are our community, and by that alone, they deserve our commitment to being better leaders.

When I think about partnerships, I look for the potential for immense positive impact. Collaboration is when the endeavor is genuine. As a leader, search for real alliances to change the community or your department. Here is an example of an initiative that was genuine for our community with the Grimm Family Education.  

“I’d like to thank you for your incredible partnership and advocacy for the Grimm Family Education Foundation and the Edible Schoolyard Kern County. Without your generous support, our Mobile Kitchen Classroom might still be a blueprint, and the KGET Channel 17 Wellness Wednesdays only a good idea. Your support for the CSUB’s micro-farm also provided energy around and validated an excellent idea with measurable community impact.”

—RJ Valentino

A post by Monsignor Craig Harrison sent me searching for the definition of a friend. One of his best friends passed yesterday. His post sparked a desire to write a blog about leaders being friends. Google defines a true friend is someone who has your back, no matter what. A true friend will always have your best interest at heart. They will never purposely lead you into choices or decisions that aren’t good for you.

I went on to search for the qualities of a good friend and easy to see they are also the desired qualities for a leader.

• Honest. Among the traits of a best friend (leader), honesty is easily one of the most significant. …
• Accepting. Great friends (leaders) are accepting, even when their lives diverge from your own. …
• Low-Maintenance. …
• Non-Judgmental. …
• Loyal. …
• Respectful. …
• Trustworthy.

Could we, Leaders, decide we were going to be friends with our staff?

Could we, Leaders, stop the snarky comments and share the joy such as kids’ graduations, family news, awards won, or Facebook messages.

Could we, Leaders, have each other’s backs.

As a leader, are you a true friend?