Many Thanks for a Successful First Year!

Today is a special day for me as it marks my first anniversary as the President and CEO of Jewish Hospital. The day was made even more special by having the opportunity to host our semi-annual system leadership Summit at the Expo Center. To share the day with 500 of our leaders across the system was a great reaffirmation of what lead me to seek this position in the first place - our people!

This past year has been one of many changes for me and my family. With taking on a new job, a new city, a new home, and a new baby, one of our team members asked if I was trying to set a new record for the amount of stress one person can pile on at the same time. All I can say in response is that I am extremely appreciative for having such a great team around me to help me through it all!

As I look back and reflect on my first year, there are so many people for whom I owe a great deal of gratitude. For starters, my boss, who has taken a personal interest in helping both me and the hospital to have a very successful 2008. Having a supportive supervisor who took the time to get to know me as a person, who set clear goals, and gave me regular feedback made all the difference in the world in terms of my personal satisfaction and effectiveness in doing my job.

Next is my leadership team - our executives, directors, and managers have risen to the challenges that we faced throughout the year and pushed each other to achieve our goals and then some. Their open minds, flexability, and willingness to change have propelled the hospital to see marked improvements in areas ranging from core measures and infection rates to revenue cycle, supply utilization, length-of-stay, productivity and many other areas in between.

I am also grateful for our corporate team and my peer CEO's within the system. This is the first organization I have worked in where I genuinely feel that everyone around the table is truly committed to each other and our collective success.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you to our team members. So many of you have gone out of your way to welcome me, accept me, and support me in leading our great hospital and for that I am extremely thankful.

I am sure that I have probably forgotten many as there are truly more people to thank than I have room to list, but please be assured that your efforts and support are very much appreciated. So here's to a wonderful 2008 and an even better 2009 - Thank YOU!

Many Thanks for a Successful First Year!