The Summer is Ending

I hate the winter. When I tell people this they often point out to me that I moved to Baltimore from Boston where it is much colder. I am very grateful that I now live in a warmer place but I still wish that summer lasted all year long. I guess I just have to get over it.

But the change of seasons is a good time to reflect. I’ve been thinking recently about how much we have changed over the past seven years. I was reminded this morning on Lean Daily Management Rounds of one big change that we have made. When we were at the LDM Board in Family Care Associates, I asked the team if everyone had plans for the weekend and Dr. JoAnne Wills said: “I’m working”. Why will Dr. Wills be working as a primary care physician this weekend? Well, what if your daughter was sick and needed to be seen for something that wasn’t an emergency? Wouldn’t you want her to be seen in a timely way by a team that knows her and has her medical record, will treat her with kindness and won’t generate a very large bill? This is why Joanne will be working and it shows that we have changed and become truly more patient-centered in our advanced primary care offices. Thank you Dr. Wills!

We all know that just about every clinical outcome that we measure has improved over the last seven years because of our adoption of continuous performance improvement as the way we do our work. We are not perfect, but we get better at getting better every day. So maybe it’s good that the summer is ending and I will be spending less time outside…I’ll have more time to work on helping our healthcare system move faster towards our vision.

Labor Day
As our country celebrates the hard work of the American people, this Labor Day holiday, many of us will enjoy a three-day weekend.  But, many of my colleagues (like Dr. Wills) will be working. Please let me thank all of the phenomenal people of the GBMC HealthCare System for their labor towards our vision. Let me thank all of them for what they will do this weekend and every day to serve our community. Let me give a special shout-out to everyone who works in the Emergency Department for all that they do especially dealing with the opioid and mental health crises in the face of a nursing shortage. What makes a healthcare system truly outstanding is not the technology or the facilities, but the people.  I want to thank all of you who make our health system strong because you go to work every day and work hard serving others. Thank-You!

Tragedy in Texas
Our thoughts and prayers are with all those that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. Watching the news, you can’t help but feel sorry for all the people who were harmed by the storm, lost loved ones or who had devastating property damage.  It is very sad to see so many homes destroyed. We Americans, the descendants of people who built this country often under adversity, are a resilient lot. I have no doubt that all the cities affected by Hurricane Harvey will rise up again.

Please join me in donating online using this link. You can also text “HARVEY” to 90999 to make a donation of $10. The GBMC HealthCare System is very good at helping those in need…let’s show the people of Houston and the other affected areas that we stand with them now! Thank you.