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    Champions and Legends: 
    The People Who Live the Values
     
    One of the ways that Baptist Health Care recognizes those who go above and way beyond to deliver extraordinary service is to bestow the title of Legend or Champion. Without prompting from a leader, these individuals took on projects, missions, and labors of love to help a patient, client, co-worker, or the community. The stories of these coworkers are shared and celebrated throughout the organization because they represent the very best of Baptist. These individuals are honored as...READ FULL ARTICLE
     
     
    HCAHPS Alert
    According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s Services (CMS) Value-Based-Purchasing proposal before Congress, hospitals performing at or below the 50th HCAHPS percentile are at risk of losing $82-$210 Medicare DRG reimbursement per patient. This is part of the new P4P (Pay for Performance) movement that will transform CMS from being a passive payer for care to an active purchaser of health services.
     
    In the future, the 2 - 5 % Medicare DRG payment incentive is at risk in its entirety for hospitals performing at the 50th percentile; and part of the payment incentive is at risk for hospitals performing below the 95th percentile. In other words, a few years from now, a hospital with 400 beds, 40% Medicare and 10,000 discharges per year is at risk of loosing between $328,000 and $840,000 per year. This is a conservative estimate.
     
    The Leadership Institute knows that healthcare organizations across the nation are struggling to utilize HCAHPS, and create a service-based culture focused on patient perception of care. We have solutions that will help position you for HCAHPS and CMS’ proposal for Value Based Purchasing. Contact: Becky Siegel at 850-469-7860 or E-Mail Becky
     
     
    July 2008 Employee Engagement Index


    Source: Gallup Management Journal 
     
    Coming Soon!
     
    The third edition of Best Practices Leading the Way to Cultural Excellence will be available through The Leadership Institute’s web site in December 2008.  Here are two excerpts from Chapter 2, Select, Engage and Retain a High Performing Workforce:
     
    The Green Sheet: Open Communication Best Practice
    One day, as Grays Harbor CEO John Mitchell was rounding in the organization, a couple of employees asked him a question that stopped him dead in his tracks:  “What is it that you and the senior team do all day?” Realizing that this was a great opportunity to foster open communication, he sought a way to share...
     
    A Celebration That Left Its Own Footprints:
    Employee Recognition Week
    Can you imagine the amount of planning that went into celebrating 6000-plus employees with a week’s worth of recognition activities? Just ask Dick Hatfield and Katrina Reynolds, co-leaders of the Employee Experience Team at University of North Carolina Health Care (UNC). They’ll tell you it took a lot of teamwork and diligence, but it was worth it...

    You can find the first two editions of Best Practices Leading the Way to Cultural Excellence in our online store.
     
    Question of the Month
     
    A new JCAHO standard becomes effective January 1, 2009.  What does the standard address?
     
     
     
     
    		    
    Real Insight

    QUESTION: As an administrator of a fairly large healthcare organization, I understand how important it is to reward people for doing a great job. However, it becomes increasingly harder to see greatness out there in the work environment. It seems to me that most of our staff is performing at a “fair” level and I have a problem with rewarding individuals for doing what they are supposed to do. Is there another viewpoint I am missing?
    Upcoming Conferences
     
     
    Creating a Culture of Excellence
    Nov 13-14; Pensacola, FL   Register 
     
    Living It, Sharing It:
    Real Tips for the Journey
     
    A tried and true way to express sincere recognition is to be specific. Don’t just tell employees that they did a good job – instead, be specific about what was good. If you don’t put thought into the recognition that you are giving, tying it specifically to the individual’s deserving behavior, the effect may be the opposite of what you intended. Offer detailed and relevant praise.
     
    • Reconsider saying, “Great job on the report”.
    Better way to say it: “Your careful attention to detail made your report excellent. The facts were clear and the material was error-free. Great job!”

    • Reconsider saying, “We should all thank John for his great teamwork.”
    Better way to say it: “John, you consistently go the extra mile when you are involved in a project.  Without your commitment to obtaining the information we needed, and staying on task, the team would have been unable to complete the project on time. On behalf of the team - thank you, John.”

    • Reconsider saying, “You did a good job with the Communication Boards.”
    Better way to say it, “That you put quality into everything you do is obvious when I look at our Communication Board.  The material is so well organized and colorful.  You worked hard to make it appealing and draw everyone’s attention.  Good job!”
     
    Being sincere with praise requires some forethought, obviously. It calls for leaders to be proactive in looking and listening.  Look for reward and recognition opportunities by focusing on what makes your department excel.  Is it teamwork, cooperation, hands-on patient care, fiscal watchfulness? Who can you recognize for their efforts to make the department shine?
     
    Listen to the employees with whom you work. Are they praising someone for a job well-done, talking about an individual who went the extra mile?  Let your employees help identify your means of sincerity in recognizing individuals.
     
    Here are some phrases of sincerity that ring true.  Embellish them by adding the specifics of the employee’s behavior.
    • Your dedication contributes to our success by...
    • The service you provided exceeded expectations when...
    • We recognize and sincerely appreciate your efforts that...
    • You took the time, and that made all the difference when...
    • You consistently go the extra mile by...
    • Your careful attention to detail contributed to the project’s success by...
    • You have a winner’s attitude that is demonstrated by...
    • You inspire others when....
    • That you put quality into everything you do is obvious when....
    • Your ability to listen carefully to what others are saying creates....
     
     
    Let Us Motivate Your Group to High Performance
     
    Speakers from The Baptist Health Care Leadership Institute are available to add value to any event. We customize our presentations to meet your needs, whether it is for a one-hour keynote or an in-depth, full day presentation. To explore this service, call Becky Siegel at 850-469-7860.