May 26, 2023

‘Doing the right thing’ at the bedside and beyond

There are a few moments in my career that will be etched in my mind forever. One that I think of often is from a night working alongside Luis Rubert, a certified nursing assistant, when I was volunteering to help out during the height of the pandemic.

In just one interaction that evening, Luis served a patient in a way that embodies our vision of being the best. As I think about how we tie our strategy to the stories taking place throughout our health system, Luis stands out as an example of doing the right thing for our patients – a key part of our strategic plan’s ambition statement.

During the pandemic, I was lucky enough to volunteer in the hospital. It was a chance to see inside the clinical work that goes on in our organization every day.

It was on one of those nights on the eighth floor at Cox South that I met Luis.

The charge nurse gave me a list of duties, showed me how to do them and then let me go. The next thing I knew, I was in patient rooms, answering call lights, and to be honest, feeling pretty self-conscious.

Who came to my rescue? Luis. He was there, asking me what I needed, checking on me, and offering me encouragement.

Midway through the night, he had a patient he needed help moving. I joined Luis and a nurse in the room to help a gentleman who had suffered a stroke. The gentleman was in a vulnerable position: he could barely speak, he had difficulty moving, and he needed assistance with toileting.

As we worked at the bedside, the teamwork and the selflessness on display was astonishing. Luis explained everything he and his colleague were doing. Even in moments of distress, the patient could not have been treated with more respect.

The act of compassion and professionalism that I witnessed is just part of a regular routine for Luis. Those of us who don’t work in clinical care rarely get to see moments like this – moments when one of our colleagues combines the clinical skill of patient care with the compassion to truly do what is right for a patient.

Our strategic plan’s ambition statement calls for CoxHealth to be an employer of choice by cultivating an environment where it is easy to do the right thing.

I think about the way Luis brings that part of our ambition statement to life each day in the work he does. He told me that it is the support of his colleagues that helps make it easy to do the best for our patients, even on nights that are challenging. And I know this is true because I have seen firsthand the support he gave me, a lanky goober just trying to help out on a patient floor!

Luis was kind enough to share his story and talk with me about his journey in health care in our latest Minutes With Max video. You can see our conversation at this link.

I want to pause and thank all of our team members who take the time to do the right thing for our patients and for one another. They are making our vision a reality every day, and their efforts make us great.

Forbes names CoxHealth one of America’s best employers for new graduates

With graduation season upon us, we were thrilled to receive a well-timed honor this week: CoxHealth was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers for New Grads for 2023.

Of the 300 companies recognized across the country, CoxHealth ranked in the top 30 among companies in the Health Care & Social category and No. 162 overall. CoxHealth is also the only health system headquartered in Missouri to rank in the Health Care & Social category.

The list is based on a survey of early-career professionals working for companies with at least 1,000 employees.

As we actively work to grow our workforce pipeline for the future, I am so proud of everything our teams have done to make CoxHealth a great place to begin and build a successful career.

We have invested in a variety of programs that support employee growth. Our CoxHealth Young Professionals is an internal group focused on fostering business, personal and professional development. Other formal efforts, through our Center for Professional Development, offer education and resources supporting career growth.

Andy Hedgpeth, our vice president of Human Resources, points out that the survey also reveals how engaged our leaders at all levels are in growing our teams.

“We scored in the 86th percentile nationally on our engagement survey for ‘My supervisor encourages my career growth,’ which we were thrilled to see,” Andy says. “It shows that our focus on career growth goes beyond programs and initiatives and permeates the day-to-day work of our colleagues.”

This is exactly what we hope to achieve as we work to grow our workforce for the future, and it bodes well for what is to come. You can see the full list from Forbes at this link.

Our annual ‘We Want To Know’ employee survey is now underway

Each year, the “We Want To Know” (WWTK) survey gives us valuable insight to our teams’ daily experience at CoxHealth. As we work with an outside vendor, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., it reinforces to our colleagues that this is their opportunity to give us honest, anonymous feedback.

We know a lot has changed for health care in the last few years, and this makes the survey answers so valuable to our success as an organization. As we prepare for the future, it is more important than ever for CoxHealth’s leaders to listen and hear our teams’ feedback.

I am excited to see what our colleagues have to say as we work on constant improvement, both for our teams and to be the best for those who need us!

MASH camps being held at Cox College and Cox Monett for high school students

Many think of “MASH” as a TV show, but MASH has taken on a new meaning for our workforce pipeline as the Missouri AHEC Science & Health Camp. The MASH camps are for Missouri students interested in health care entering grades 9 through 12 to learn more about science and careers in the medical field. For two days, campers will get to engage with health care professionals and hands-on lab activities!

At Cox College in Springfield, the event will be on June 6 and 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. At Cox Monett, the camp with be on June 13 and 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. Lunch and snacks will be provided for all campers.

If you know interested high school students, they can register before May 30 at this link.

Voice of the patient

Adapted from inpatient feedback at Cox Springfield: “An excellent experience during my medical emergency. I will always remember the fantastic care I received. Thank you to AJ, Christina, Dr. Tiedemann, Dr. Brad Smith, Kim, Dr. Gerron, Aiden, Andrea from cardiology and many others!”

Thank you for all you do,

Max

Direct Line from Max Buetow for 5/26/2023