CEO Message

by John G. Hill, president and CEO

I enjoy welcoming new employees to The Medical Center of Aurora and Centennial Medical Plaza during new employee orientation each month. Recently, I was briskly making my way through the lobby to share the mission, vision and values with a new group of recruits when I was stopped by a member of our medical staff.  He noticed my haste and inquired about where I was headed in such a rush.

“I am welcoming new employees to the organization and sharing the purpose of why we exist and how we do things here,” I quickly replied.

“Ah, you’re going to brainwash the new recruits, well, good luck with that,” the physician responded with a skeptical smile.  I apologized for having to rush off and continued on my way when the physician asked, “Is this where you talk about the five key whatever you call ‘em?”

“Kind of, but we tie it all together with other stuff!” I responded back across the lobby, “You are welcome to join us if you want to know more.” 

With a polite smile and an expression of regret for having asked the question, the physician waved goodbye and left.  I laughed and went on to “brainwash the new recruits”, mildly satisfied that at least one member of the medical staff remembered something about our 5 Key Indicators of Success.

I am encouraged by our inquisitive medical staff colleague that we should communicate more about the strategic foundation of the hospital. The direction of our organization is guided by a mission of “caring for and improving human life”.  This is our shared purpose and the reason why we come to work every day. The vision, or desired future outcome of our combined daily efforts, is to have “every employee and physician provide an excellent patient and family experience”.  Values are another way of stating what the expectation is of the organizational culture.  In other words, what behaviors are highly valued and expected from all stakeholders in the organization.  Our values are: we recognize and affirm the intrinsic worth of each individual, we treat others with compassion and kindness, we act with honesty, fairness and integrity in all aspects of our lives and we treat one another with loyalty respect and dignity.

I can only imagine our medical staff colleague looking at me, with shallow breathing and a glazed look saying, uh huh, okay, but hurry and get to the five key whatever you call ‘em. The indicators are:

1. Patient Loyalty
2. Employee Pride
3. Physician Engagement
4. Financial Commitments
5. Community Trust

At the core of the strategic foundation of TMCA/CMP are the five goals or indicators, with their associated objectives, strategies and tactics. As an example, the strategies associated with Physician Engagement are: Communication, Collaboration and Convenience. Each strategy has its own tactic and implementation plan and performance metrics that indicate success or opportunity. Furthermore, all functional departments in the organization are coordinated and directed at a common set of goals: to engage our physician partners by improving communication, collaboration and convenience.

 The 5 Key Indicators of Success propel our organization in a direction with clarity and purpose by focusing on five specific measurements of organizational success and ignoring the minutia that quickly drags an organization into the weeds. I regularly share with our new employees that “evidenced based” success in the five indicators actually validates that we are achieving real results and not just aspiring for results.  By doing so, we move closer to achieving the vision of creating an excellent patient and family experience, and ultimately fulfilling our mission by caring for and improving human life.

Who knows?  Perhaps the next time our medical staff colleague stops me in the hallway we will engage in a meaningful dialogue about the mission, vision and values.  Okay, maybe not.  I would be equally thrilled to just hear the physician say the words 5 Key Indicators of Success.  In the world of hospital administration, it is the small things in life that make it spectacular!

Please know of my personal gratitude for the partnership and effort of our medical staff to move us forward along the journey to achieving our vision, experiencing world class success and most importantly, in blessing the lives of our shared patients.