Guest Blog: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
The following is a guest blog from Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC:
I was reading the publication The Week when I came across this blurb.
"A mystery donor left nearly $200,000 in a clothes-recycling bin outside a Red Cross charity shop in Denmark. The cash was neatly divided into 10 envelopes, each closed with two rubber bands, and left in a garbage with a note saying, ‘To the Danish Red Cross, from anonymous. Have collected for 40 years.'.... Police, though, have asked the donor to come forward so they can confirm that the money isn't linked to criminal activities."
Before I got to the last part, to me, this was a feel good story. Then it was tainted. Just like the trust in our healthcare system. Most everyone is suspicious and cynical.
- Providers are suspicious of government.
- Healthcare employees are suspicious of their employers.
- The public is suspicious of healthcare entities in general.
I want to address the second bullet because it is the one most in control by providers. In this checklist, requirement-driven healthcare climate, it is easy to lose yourself more in charting than caring. And through this the provider and the employees have sometimes forgotten why they are in healthcare.
In his book, The Accidental CEO, Tom Voccola lists six levels of engagement with employees in order to realign them to the mission, vision, and values of the organization. They must be addressed in the order presented. Notice what is last:
- Spirit
- Identity
- Values and Beliefs
- Capabilities
- Behaviors
- Environment.
However, before committing to a common organizational purpose, employees must rekindle the passion for what they are doing. Connect the employee to his or her own purpose. Then connect it to the organization. That has been missing. And that takes some soul searching around those first three bullets above - connecting with their spirit, identity, and values and beliefs.
Healthcare has to heal itself first before it can hope to have a fighting chance at creating sustainable patient/resident experiences. Witness the case in Seattle where a nurse who was fired after committing a medical error that resulted in the death of a child then committed suicide herself. And yet the employee healing aspect is given short shrift.
When you rekindle the passion, anything that comes after in terms of programs and services will not be viewed so much as a mandate as it is a fulfillment of one's calling to service.
And when you understand that the healthcare worker is far different than most others, you understand how important it is to know the world of healthcare intimately when you are looking at this important issue.
Anthony Cirillo is the about.com expert in assisted living. A speaker, health care consultant, senior advocate and blogger, he consults with long-term care facilities and is available for management retreats and association keynotes. He is the author of "Who Moved My Dentures?" His company, Fast Forward Consulting empowers organizations to change the healthcare experience and leverage it in their marketing. For more information go to More at www.4wardfast.com and www.anthonycirillo.com.