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We sat down with Debby Crull and Carolyn Jennings to learn about gift shop volunteers at KVH Hospital. Both women have an employment history that includes working at west-side grocery chains. One of them was a jail cook. One was encouraged to work here by her son and daughter-in-law, who are both KVH employees. One worked in the hospital kitchen, and now also volunteers with Hospice Friends. You can find out who did what by engaging them in conversation at – where else? – the KVH gift shop. (Photo, L to R: Carolyn and Debby, and their trademark smiles.)

Ladies, you have something besides Safeway in common: clearly, you like to stay busy.

BOTH: Oh yes, definitely.

Tell me about the work that you’re doing in the gift shop.

DEBBY: We wait on customers. We receive order shipments, pre-price them and put them out for sale. We work with the manager [Jonna Hiner]. And wait on the public, and the employees that shop at the gift shop.
 
Do you work different hours when there’s a special sale happening?

DEBBY: We had a Pajama Party night. That was exciting.

CAROLYN: And then we’ve got a Garden Party coming up on May 4th. We’ll be serving tea and shortbread.

Have either of you volunteered in other areas besides the gift shop?

DEBBY: I stock the patient care kitchens and department kitchens on Wednesday afternoons. And I’ve been doing that for almost 12 years. I saw it in the paper, you know, about volunteering here. And then I knew somebody that volunteered here out on the desk. 

Is there anything that you feel people misunderstand about what it’s like to be a volunteer?

CAROLYN: Well, I know I didn’t understand what a volunteer was until I started. While I’ve been here, I’ve watched the courtesy desk folks across the hall from us. They take care of patients really well, and make sure they get whatever help they need. They’re always polite and nice. But I just wanted to learn how to make coffee! (Laughs)

DEBBY: When I retired from the kitchen, I really wanted to go into the gift shop and then do the coffee, also.

What are the challenges of being a volunteer?

DEBBY: If you’re brand new, it can be confusing to learn everything, especially the register.

CAROLYN: Yeah. I’d say about the same thing. I don’t have a computer at home. So learning the automated sales system was challenging. That’s why I went to two days a week, to get more experience. The more I do it, the easier it becomes. Jonna is really helpful to us, and so is Debby, if I have any problems or anything like that. That was one of my concerns and one of my fears, but everyone has been great. You never once made me feel inadequate or incompetent or anything.

CAROLYN: Used to be, I was in the coffee shop and I’d wait on customers when they came. But in the gift shop, I can answer questions. I can help. There’s been some days we talk with customers and they wind up buying out the store. That’s fun.

DEBBY: It’s fun to communicate with them and they come in with stories for us.

CAROLYN: Usually everybody’s real happy to be shopping. That helps.

DEBBY: It’s good to be around people.

CAROLYN: You get all kinds of people shopping here. Some are happy, some aren’t. Some are having troubles, and, you know, we got that thing (HIPAA) where we can’t ask them any questions. Some of them come in, you know, their hearts are broken, they’re hurting. And so you have to judge carefully, so that you don’t ask inappropriate questions, but at the same time you give them the encouragement and the help that they need.

That’s one of the things that makes what you’re doing different than if you were doing it somewhere else. Having it in a healthcare environment, where all these things are going on.

CAROLYN: I think it’s more personal with healthcare. When I worked behind the Safeway counter and dealt with people, you just said “Hi, how are you doing?,” and asked them what they needed, and then they left and went their way. But here, you get more interaction.

CAROLYN: I think the gift shop is very important to the hospital. It gives an opportunity for people to relax, and have that emotional safety. Many times for the folks who come in, there are really serious problems with their families and whatnot. So this way they get a chance to be in this space and focus their minds on something else for a while, if they want to.

Thank you for sharing that because I’ve never heard that before. And that’s a big deal.

What are the rewards of working where you do?

CAROLYN: Oh, we have too much fun. Too much fun. I mean we enjoy the people, we enjoy each other. And working with Karen Schock is great, too. I’ve been with her for 10 years.

DEBBY: It’s a fun little job –

CAROLYN:  – and you go home, relax –

DEBBY: – you’re not stressed out…

I think I’m gonna come volunteer in the gift shop. (Laughter)

So, what does it take to survive a day in the gift shop?

CAROLYN: Well, just enjoy what you’re doing.

DEBBY: You have to be outgoing and friendly and you have to enjoy people.

CAROLYN: And you have to not be afraid to ask them questions.

DEBBY: “Are you looking for anything special?”

CAROLYN: Some days I do really good at that and other days I forget.

As a team, what qualities do you all possess?

CAROLYN: Well, for one thing, we’re patient with one another. I mean, there’s times I get real nervous with the cash register and they’re always kind, and suggest, “Well, let’s do this, and let’s try this.”

So you show each other some grace when you’re struggling.

CAROLYN: Yeah. I guess that’s the word. Grace, and we giggle together a lot. We just have fun. It’s definitely teamwork. We don’t get nervous with each other, we don’t get upset –

DEBBY: We thank each other for everything.

You’re like your own little family.

DEBBY: Yeah. We have our own little family. And by the way, we need more family members. We still have some days that need four-hour volunteers.

Okay. I’ll make sure to include that.

We recently sat down with HIM employee Cindy Ness to discuss the history and value of medical records management.

Photo: Her coworkers affectionately refer to Cindy as “mother hen,” texting her when they they’re late or not coming in to work. She’s also the only HIM staffer who can keep plants alive, as evidenced by the row of (everyone else’s) plants on her desk.

Okay, let’s talk shop. What is health information management?

First we were Medical Records (MR, or “mister”). Now we’re Health Information Management (HIM).

We’re responsible for coding charts, which are turned over to the insurance companies, then returned to us as revenue. Our coders play a huge role in financial wellness of the organization. And I don’t know if enough people really understand that part of it.

Three techs on our team analyze charts to make sure they’re complete before they get to the coders. If there’s something lacking, like the provider forgets a progress note or didn’t sign something, we apply a deficiency to ensure the provider completes what they need to.

Then we’re able to pass things onto the coders. They can do their job and just code. Back in the day when we had paper charts, the coders would flag all the deficient places and hand wrote the codes. We didn’t have computers. Everything was done on ledgers, on paper. When the hospital got its first fax machine, it was in our department. They wanted a secure location for it, to protect privacy.

And that’s another part of what we do. Privacy. Cynthia Kelly, our department director, is the KVH privacy officer. She investigates potential health information breaches. Plus, she keeps us ducks going down the stream in the right direction.

Release of information. That’s another big thing we do. A patient asks for copies of their record, they fill out a release of information and we provide the copies.

I also do birth certificates. That’s really changed over the years. Before you had this big long form, you put it on a typewriter and typed it out. If you made a mistake, you start over. Now there’s a website where you securely submit the information.

Health information management is multi-layered. There’s a lot to us. We’re small, but we’re mighty.

So things come to you from various areas, departments, clinics, including external clinics?
 
Yes. If they have privileges here, we often process their paperwork, because they don’t have an electronic connection with us, so to speak. External providers can chart here in the hospital electronically, but if they have office notes that come over, we scan those in. Also, any external provider who wants lab or imaging work done and their patient chooses to have it done here, those are paper orders also, so they need to be scanned in. Anything that comes from the nursing home or even from providers from Seattle or Yakima or Spokane, if the patient lives here and their specialist wants specific tests done, we can do them here. Saves the patient from having to go out of town.

Where is HIM in the flow of patient information? You’re the last stop?

Pretty much. We really are.

And you’re housing the information, so it needs to be complete because you are retaining the record?

Right. And, if something happened incorrectly upstream from us, we catch it and then we have to figure out what happened and how to fix it, and hopefully get everybody on board in the same direction.

Now, am I misremembering that you used to do transcription?

You are correct. I used to do transcription. That was what I was hired for originally.

And was that within medical records?

I’ve been in the same department my entire career here. Which is 31 years and two months.

But who’s counting?

Exactly.

Transcription was done with a typewriter and a transcriber and a micro cassette. The providers could use the telephone. There was a series of tapes. One would kick over for recording, it would get four dictations on it and then it booted over to the ready to transcribe side. And so they were able to call from pretty much anywhere, into the dictation system.

Then it progressed to a display typewriter, and then to our first computer. Then we ended up with speech recognition. We’d read along to make sure we caught everything, cleaned it up, made sure it was accurate and everything was spelled correctly, and then that was the final product. So basically we were the gatekeeper, making sure everything was pretty and nice and correct. Then we went to physician documentation, and my role was to create the templates that the doctors used and set them up to gather all the information that was needed to make the record complete for coding and other purposes.

I miss doing transcription. It was always a challenge. I learned something new every day and I enjoyed it very much. And I know the doctors really appreciated the quality of work that we put out. That’s really rewarding, providing a product that’s correct and accurate and readable, and even though we weren’t providing direct patient care, we were that checkpoint to make sure it was accurate.

From your perspective, what are the challenges of health information management?
 
Accurate and adequate documentation. For the coders to do their job, they need to have specific items within a document in order to assess the appropriate level of care that the provider provides. And so if they miss one of those pieces, it lowers the level of care value.

What would you consider the rewards of working in health information management?

I work with an absolutely fabulous team. Everybody is so positive and upbeat. We have a real cohesiveness and it’s fun to go to work. It’s neat to watch my younger teammates grow in their careers. To see people grow and learn new things. Health information management is not static. That’s for sure. It’s ever changing. And it keeps changing.

What qualities does it take to do well in HIM? Is humor important?

Oh, yeah. When we’re reviewing charts, some of these things are pretty sad. And if you don’t have a sense of humor to balance that sadness, you’re going to be in trouble.

I would think attention to detail is important.

Yes! You have to really be on it, and don’t be afraid to ask questions to find out what’s going on.

Working in HIM, seeing all this patient information you have, you have to be a trustworthy group. You have to keep things confidential.

Let’s put it this way. My husband quit asking me, “How was your day at work?” Because I couldn’t tell him.

You were here when HIPAA laws went into effect. Was that a big change in how you did things?

No, because we already worked hard to protect our patients’ privacy. Prior to HIPAA, if you had a friend who was admitted to the hospital, they’d say “Come by and see me.” So, I’ve explained to people, “I’m trying to respect your privacy.” You have to be very careful. I’m not on Facebook anymore, but when I was, I never said anything about anybody that I saw in the hospital. You just can’t. It’s a fine line of working in a healthcare facility and being a member of a community; it can be difficult at times.

We recently sat down with Jenn Strater and Marlo Willis, the two most veteran members of KVH’s Human Resources team, to learn about the function and flow of HR in a healthcare environment.

What is human resources?

Jenn: In some form or fashion, we are responsible for employees before they walk in the door until they walk out the door. Everything that happens in their life cycle here at KVH, HR touches.

Marlo: HR is employee oversight. Personnel files. Benefits, wages, compensation, policies you’re held accountable for. Retirement documentation. It’s the ultimate record of your time here at KVH.

HR has a lot of moving parts. Do you cross train to cover each other, or how does that work? 

J: It’s unacceptable for somebody to come in and say, “I want X,” and for our answer to be “Sorry, Marlo’s gone.” Nobody responds well to that. So all of us know how to do the basics. We can at least give the person a place to start.

M: People who have been here a long time think, “I have to talk to Marlo.” Well, no, you don’t have to talk to Marlo. Cheyanne can help you.

Kind of like triage?

M: Sure. In a sense that’s what it is. She might be able to help the person right away.

What do you wish people knew about working in HR?

M: We’re not a party planning committee. I think people think HR just plans parties, but there’s a whole professional side of HR.

You have to know a lot in your day-to-day work.

J: And be prepared for anything. You never get the same day twice. You have no idea what’s going to be walking through that door.

M: People come and go. And so you deal with all of it. Employees concerned about leaves and sickness and whether their pay runs out.

J: These are important aspects of a person’s life and career, and HR is woven into that. So we are a place to go, whether things are going well or they’re unraveling.

You’re the safe place for a lot of people, right? Or, when you don’t know where to go, go to HR.

J: Right. Anybody can come into our office, share their joys and frustrations, and know we’re going to treat you the exact same way the next day.

And how do you support each other?

J: Things can feel incredibly overwhelming if you don’t have people that you trust there with you. We allow ourselves those “offstage” moments with each other.

M: I don’t think it’s any secret, Carrie, Jenn and I have worked together for a long time. We have to find people like Cheyanne and Dan and Karen and Babbi, who have been good additions to our team.

J: We’re a balance of strong personalities, people pleasers, doers, and conceptualizers. It’s a good blend.

How did you get into HR, and what’s been your career path at KVH?

M: I was graduating from Central, and my husband loved the police department here. I didn’t have any experience, but I had a management degree. Andy Shock was the OR director. He hired me for an internship in the OR. (Thank you, Andy!)

J: What did you do?

M: I did clerical, nurse scheduling, time cards. Then I worked for the Foundation, Accounting, and Registration. Once they added an FTE to HR, I just fell into it. I was the HR assistant, then I took on payroll and benefits. We were small, with 167 employees. I’ve done everything in HR, benefits, coordinator, backup director… And now I’m at the end of my career. (Laughs)

HR has been a good fit for you.

M: I always felt it was good, because of the variety of roles I had at KVH. I could speak to an FTE situation, or about working the evening shift. I knew what all that meant because I’d lived it.

How did you get into HR, Jenn?

J:  I always knew I’d wind up in business. I don’t like math and I don’t like science.

There’s math in business.

J: Yeah. But the computer does it. I went to school for got my AA, then decided I didn’t like school and went into customer service. It was interesting, but there was no opportunity to grow. I thought, there’s got to be more to this thing called life. So I went back to school. I took a basic HR class, and my professor, James Avey, told us, “You have the ability to change lives.” That got me really excited. I got my degree, then I saw a posting at KVH for an intern to fill in whilst the HR assistant was out on maternity leave. I applied –

And they didn’t get rid of you.

Yeah, it was awesome. I had a lot of fun. Then when that individual decided not to come back after maternity leave, I applied for the full time position and haven’t looked back. I was HR assistant for eight years, and now recruiter for two.

How is HR different in a healthcare environment?

M: HR healthcare is the Cadillac of HR. A lot of companies have one HR person and they do everything but nothing in-depth. In healthcare, we have unions and so much going on, and specialties, we really go deep in our roles. Healthcare is a cool industry to be in and it changes so much. We’re constantly having to keep updated and really connect with other hospitals.

J: And we have a national organization for healthcare human resources. That’s not true for a lot of industries. I would hazard to guess there are more people in a healthcare environment because we don’t have just full time or part time, we’ve got per diem and –

M: We’re a unique environment –

And it’s 24-7-365.

M: It’s kind of fun to be in HR.

J: Yeah, it is. And we’re hiring people that have a direct impact on our community. We’re hiring the people that are going to take care of my grandma.

What are the challenges of human resources?

M: Actually, our main challenge is the same as the other areas of healthcare: the rapid pace of change.

And the rewards?

J: Every day that I get to extend a job offer, that’s a great feeling. You can’t beat it.

M: It says a lot that we have so many employees with longevity. The reward is that we’re a good employer and try to educate managers to support their staff. We have good policies, benefits, pensions. We have all of that. So employees want to stay.

J: KVH has a lot of people like Marlo who started in one area and worked their way to the next stepping stone in their career. That’s the case for all but one of our nursing directors, and many other KVH directors and managers, too.

What I would love about HR is that you meet everyone.

M: Yeah, we get access to everybody.

And it just feels good to know, hey, that person’s here and they’re taken off and they’re doing well.

M: I love that. And if you have a question, come in and ask the question. We’re not scary. It’s okay. Email us. What do you need? What might I be able to answer? At least I can point you in the right direction. You know, it’s nice to be able to answer questions. But it’s also fun to occasionally plan parties. (Laughter)

What do you put in your HR go-bag to survive day at work?

M: A cup of coffee.

J: And patience.

M: I have to remember not to react to anything, and just listen –

J: – and always remember that there’s two sides to every story.

Anything else you want to add?

J: Goodness Gracious. I think we’re awesome, but we couldn’t do it without the entire team.

M: We do a lot, and I think we forget to toot our own horn.

Maybe somebody needs to plan a party for you.

It takes a village. KVH Human Resources Division includes:

Dan, HR Benefits & Wellness Coordinator
Jenn, HR Recruiter
Marlo, HR Business Partner
Cheyanne, HR Division Assistant
Carrie, Director – Human Resources
Karen, Director – Volunteer Services & Cancer Outreach Coordinator
Arla, Staff Development RN
Babbi, Staff Development RN
Lacey, Staff Development RN

We recently sat down with KVH Chief Information Officer Jeffrey Yamada to learn more about the function of IT in a healthcare system.

While technology is a part of everyday life, it’s not usually the first thing one thinks of when talking about healthcare. What role does IT play in an organization like ours?

It’s always about the patient, and IT provides the technology and the tools to help patient care.

Just imagine yourself or a family member as a patient in an exam room, where the physician can’t access your records because the computer’s down, or your complete electronic record isn’t available. Our team works to minimize the impact on patients, and guides providers in their use of the systems.

It seems like there’s a wide range of responsibilities covered by KVH Information Systems. 

We have major systems, such as our Cerner Community Works system, that have multiple people working on them. These systems have ongoing changes and maintenance, and with new functionalities comes the question of access, training, and education, which we call change control or change management.

When users let us know their systems aren’t working properly, we manage those incidents through SR (service request) tickets, which feed into the Cerner helpdesk.

There are some 30 additional systems unrelated to Cerner, like HR, payroll, dietary – a mishmash of miscellaneous systems; two of our team members take care of them.

We have maintenance and infrastructure, which covers network and connections across the board, wireless, all the servers in our data centers – which includes the issue of backing up everything in one place in case something happens.

Then there’s IT security, breaches of systems, prevention and protection, and some user education, as well.

How do you stay on top of changes in technology?

Yeah, it goes by pretty fast! Actually, as an industry, healthcare is slow to take on new technology; you can imagine why, when regulatory agencies need to get involved, or there’s a concern that it could impact patients.

What about changes in relation to security?

It’s kind of a catch 22, the way things are currently, because everybody wants their information, and everybody wants it accessible, so how do you do that and still protect everything? Or do you get to the point where you’re so secure that you’re hindering your own people from trying to access information? There has to be a balance.

What are some of the challenges faced by IT?

Number one is user education. Everyone has their own way of using the systems, so guiding people through a standardized workflow is key for avoiding problems that could occur by not following a common process. Not all systems were built from a user standpoint, a lot of them are older systems that have just built upon themselves, so one of the challenges is obviously training and how to train providers and others to use it in the context of their patient care workflow.

There are a number of detailed IT systems – known in the industry as “best of breed” – which take into account the workflow of an individual area, like the emergency department. But what everybody’s going to these days are integrated systems, which connect to the entire enterprise.

The ‘detailed’ systems are more tailored and user-friendly, but the integrated systems allow information sharing, so that patients’ information can be accessed by all of their care providers across the KVH system. It’s definitely a challenge.

What are the rewards of being involved in IT?

We have a great team here, and if you’re focused on the patients, trying to help provide the best patient care you can, knowing that IT plays a big hand, whether the patient is here or even at some other hospital in Seattle, all of their information is available, and it helps the patient through their experience. That’s why we’re all in healthcare at some point.

What’s your background and how did you get here?

I’ve worked in hospitals for 36 years. As a student, I worked at both hospitals in Yakima. After getting my undergrad in Idaho, I went through the medical technology program at Central. It included a year internship in a hospital setting. I worked in the hospital during the day, in addition to classes. Just like other clinical areas, training and education led up to passing the board exams.

I’m originally from Hawaii, so I always said, “Nope, when I’m done, I’m going back, not even a question.” I said that for almost the entire year of my internship, until the lab director at one of the hospitals offered me a job after graduation. I thought, “OK, I’ll grab some experience, I’ll work a year – and then I’ll go back to Hawaii.”

One thing led to another, and I stayed for 36 years in that same hospital.

The lab was highly technical, a lot of electronics, a lot of robotic instruments. I got into that side of it as a systems manager, and implemented two LIS systems (Lab Information Systems). Then there was an opening for an IT director. I thought, “Well, I’m doing it for the lab, I can probably do it for the hospital,” and that was a big leap out of my comfort zone.

Several years later I became the VP CIO at Virginia Mason Memorial. We started with 18 employees, and by the time I left we had around 50 in IT, and some 29 locations. We were considered high tech for a smaller hospital system, and applied to be part of the Top 100 most wired hospitals. So it was a pretty big deal.

Coming here to KVH is kind of fun, because it reminds me of the older days. It’s the family feeling you get with a smaller environment. It’s a different vibe. I like it. So now we’re getting things rolling —

And at some point, it’s back to Hawaii?

(Laughs) Yeah, maybe when I retire.

What would you put in an IT “go bag” for a successful day at work?

Calmness. We have so much equipment, things just happen randomly, and just to be able to be calm and think through things is a great tool. You can go from ‘one thing affecting one patient’ all the way to ‘the entire hospital is down,’ and it’s just like a flick of a switch. You can come in thinking you’re gonna have a great day, and – you just never know. So the goal is to reduce those situations. They’ll still happen, just not as often.

Pack a good sense of humor, keep things light, be able to work as a team, and just be a great communicator.

It’s nothing like you think of a technology person, “I have to have a laptop and my smartphone.” I’m more the opposite. When people who sit next near each other start emailing back and forth, something’s lost by not having face-to-face conversation. In those cases, I say, “Forget the email and talk. Just talk to each other.”

We recently sat down with CEO Julie Petersen to learn more about her leadership role at KVH.

You’re the CEO. What does that mean?
My title is Chief Executive Officer, but I think of myself as an administrator. Because we’re a public hospital district, I’m also the superintendent, which implies responsibility for public resources. I administer operations and strategy for the district.

What was your career trajectory?
I consider myself an “accidental” CEO. I’m a certified public accountant. I came up through Finance. I was a controller for 15 years, and then a CFO. My skill set is in reimbursement and understanding the financials of the healthcare delivery system, so the transition to CEO came with a lot of surprises. 
What I learned in that transition is how to listen, how to be present.

And now that you’re in the CEO role?
I consider it my job to have a 360-degree perspective. I’m a community member. I’m also directly responsible to the Board. I have relationships with the Board, the senior leadership team, the physicians. I learn about their concerns, their pressure points. I learn why people come to work, and what keeps them awake nights. Whether it’s department directors talking about how to motivate their teams or share patient satisfaction information, or it’s physicians trying to balance their responsibilities to the patients and their responsibilities to their own families – I am privileged to be a part of those conversations.

When the organization comes to a decision point, I can put the people together that have like interests or are going to impact one another. People want to do what’s best for their patients and their department. And so I ask, “How does that decision fit into what the rest of the organization is doing?”, or “Who else needs to hear about this?”

What was your best real-world preparation for this role?
My mother was one of the most positive people in the world. It had an impact on me. One of the disciplines that I strive to bring every day, is to go into every conversation, every situation, assuming that people are coming from a good place, that they’re trying to do the right thing. It’s about listening to learn. People have a true and valid perspective they’re sharing. And I learned that from my mother.

What’s the hardest part of being CEO?
Being candid can be tough. We put a lot of stock in transparency, and that means that even when people would prefer the platitude, you still have to say, “No, this really is a hard job. It really is hard to make a margin in rural healthcare. I am talking about finance a lot. We do talk about patient safety all the time. We do have to follow policies and procedures.”

Sometimes it’s easier to be agreeable, but in reality, we’ll never be able to choose between high-quality care and cost efficiency. You don’t get to choose. You get to do both. People want to be told, “It will be okay.” And it will be – because we’re going to work really hard to make it okay.

What’s the funnest part of being CEO?
That’s easy. I get to buzz around the organization and talk to anybody I want to. I get to go into the lab and talk to the lab about what’s going on. I get to go down to the emergency department. I always feel welcome where I go.

Most people don’t get that experience of being able to say “What’s going on back here? What are your priorities? What happens when you’re busy? What happens when you’re not busy? What do you need most?” Being able to do that, and having people share what’s going on, or when I’m the person that gets to say to a patient, “Can I help you find what you’re looking for?” – that to me is a great day.

What’s most meaningful to you about being CEO?
I truly believe in community healthcare. When you look at a strong, local community, you can feel energy around the schools, the arts, the neighborhoods, and downtown. The community with a community hospital has an extra element that makes them whole.

The great thing about community healthcare is that you become whatever your community needs. For some community delivery systems, it’s more long term care and primary care. For us, it’s a pretty broad spectrum. That’s the glorious thing about community healthcare: it’s not just about healthcare, it’s also very much about the community.

What do you hope to accomplish as KVH CEO?
Every person who’s had this job has built on the work of the person that came before them. And all of them have built towards the future, so you have to thank everyone who’s ever held this job. When I came to KVH, I looked around and realized that I was seeing problems that the industry is delivering to all hospitals right now. This was familiar territory. I was ready to start fixing the problems.

I’d like to see KVH advance down the path of our strategic plan. That means providing more access, and more engagement with the community. I want this community to be aware of the relationships we have with larger systems. We remain independent, but we get bench strength and get clinical strength from our deliberate relationships with other organizations.

What would you pack into a CEO “go bag” to get through the day? 
I would take a name tag so people knew who I was. I’d also pack a coat so I’d be sure to hit the clinics and go outside the building to touch base with other people, rather than waiting in my office for them to come to me to talk, which can take a lot of courage for some people.

I’m not someone who carries my phone with me everywhere. I don’t even carry a pad and pencil. Being single-mindedly present with whoever you’re talking with is something we’re not very good at, and it’s really rewarding.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Every community hospital is unique, but when I look at the elements in Ellensburg, it’s all there: the hospital, a strong school system, a state university, the flow of I-90, and the presence of county and city government. We are an incredibly dynamic healthcare delivery system. It’s a dynamic community. And it’s a pretty darn special place to work as a CEO.