Happy Thanksgiving!

I tend to focus on what is not going well and needs to be improved. With our current financial challenges, I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about ways to lower our expenses and increase our revenue. So, this being Thanksgiving week, I really need some time to think about what I am really thankful for. 

My family, especially my wife, Tracey, is a source of strength and comfort for me and I do not thank them enough.  

At work, I am blessed with an outstanding group of Senior teammates. I am truly thankful for them. And we are very fortunate to have the best clinicians of all types – physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, and other allied health professionals. Where would we be without them? I am grateful for all that they do.

The unsung heroes are all our support staff and volunteers. I am incredibly grateful for them and all the value that they deliver every day. I am grateful for our patients who give us a reason to serve. 

I must also thank everyone in the community who helps me in some way – from our police and firefighters to the people who work at my dry cleaner and the supermarket.

 It is a cliché to say it, but I have so much to be thankful for. 

So, to everyone who reads the blog: Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. What are you thankful for? I’d love to hear about it – please leave me a comment!

GBMC Thanksgiving Day Turkeys and the Community
As per our annual tradition, GBMC provided turkeys to our employees and volunteers across our healthcare system to share with their families during Thanksgiving. We do this to say thank you for everything they do throughout the year to move us closer to our vision. 

While many on our team receive their turkeys, many choose to donate their turkeys to local charities. Chaplain Joe Hart and his team oversee this work along with Richelle Tighe from our Human Resources Department, who organizes the entire turkey distribution. 

This week, I received a nice note from a local church thanking us for the donation of 60 turkeys that will be distributed to those in need with their holiday Christmas basket.

This is a wonderful tradition, and I look forward to sustaining it in the future. 

Kudos!
Please join me in congratulating Angela “Angie” Feurer, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, as the new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Angie has been serving as our interim CNO since July of 2022, and during this time she has made significant strides in our nurse recruitment and retention efforts. 

Angie has been a nurse for 24 years, the majority spent in leadership roles. In addition to her time as interim CNO, Angie has served as Director of our Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Medicine/Telemetry, SAFE, and the Stroke Program. She played a critical role as Incident Commander throughout the cyber-attack and COVID-19 and continues to utilize these crisis mitigation skills as we face other challenges.

In her role as CNO, she values and looks forward to continuing interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the health system. I am grateful for Angie’s stepping up as CNO, and I look forward to working closely with her. 

Congratulations also to Michael Stein, MHSA, FACMPE, who has been promoted to Vice President, Clinical and Support Operations. In this new position, Mike will oversee oncology, radiology, laboratory, volunteers, food and nutrition, environmental services, patient transport, and the Service Response Center. 

Since starting at GBMC in 2014, he has been a proven leader for our organization. As Executive Director of Oncology Services, he has done an exceptional job in enhancing the care of cancer patients at GBMC and has led efforts in fundraising, marketing, contracting, performance improvement, business planning, and strategy for the oncology service line. He played an integral role in the planning and design of the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion, the future home of the Berman Cancer Institute.

Please join me in congratulating Mike!