My New Sense of Appreciation

I have worked in hospitals in various positions over the past 30 years and have been involved in healthcare leadership for over 23 years.  Over those years I have only occasionally thought about the founding leaders of the organizations where I was employed.  But, just as I gained a new appreciation for my parents after Sue and I had our first child (Sean), I have gained a new appreciation for those who “gave birth” to the many excellent healthcare organizations I have been privileged to work with. 

In the early days of every healthcare organization, there has to have been a team of committed leaders, staff, physicians and community members who worked together to “make it happen.”  It was not until I was given the opportunity to walk in their shoes that I realized the high levels of energy and commitment that are required of every member of the team.  That energy, commitment and ability to work together toward a shared vision are essential to create the positive organizational momentum necessary to develop a “top of class” healthcare team.    Our team has so many worthwhile things to do, so much to organize, to plan, to build, to communicate, and to re-communicate.  As we are working to set up our systems, staffing, contracts, education, etc., we cannot overlook something that will likely outlive us all, if we build it correctly.  That one most important thing is to establish our “organizational culture.”   Our SRMC leadership team is committed to establishing a customer focused culture of service and quality.  We believe establishing a solid culture of service and quality will help to distinguish us from the many other very good healthcare organizations in the country.  Our defined objective is to be within the top ten percent of hospitals across the country in the areas of quality, patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction and employee satisfaction.  Based on my past experience in HCA hospitals, such a goal is a big challenge; but it is achievable.   In less than seven months, our new hospital and our healthcare team will be serving our community.  I am very appreciative of the commitment each member of our SRMC team is making to consistently serve our customers (patients, physicians, employees and members of our community) with the highest levels of quality and service.

Tim Tobin, CEO

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center