Direct Line From Max Buetow For 1/20/23

Jan. 20, 2023

Aligning with our governor on partnerships and workforce development

I am routinely surprised at how, in this role, I get to interact with people I would have never dreamed of meeting. I had one of those moments last week, when I was able to speak with Missouri Governor Mike Parson during his visit to Cox College.

It was our first visit, and I was so grateful to hear about the governor’s passion for health care, and to see how aligned we are on our commitment to workforce development.

Gov. Parson met with Dr. Amy DeMelo, president of Cox College, and four current Cox College students. After the students shared their background and talked about what motivated them to study nursing, the governor shared his own personal health care story.

He told the students about an experience he had a few years ago, when he was serving as lieutenant governor. A medical episode resulted in him being hospitalized at Cox South for several days.

Over the course of his treatment, 109 of our colleagues were involved in his care. After his recovery, he came back to visit the hospital and personally thank our team members.

Gov. Parson’s story speaks to the work that takes place inside our walls, and to the importance of every role in the health system.

After meeting with the students, we sat down for a great conversation about health care and the governor’s vision for the future. We were joined by Andy Hedgpeth, our vice president of Human Resources, and Teresa Coyan, our vice president of public affairs.

I was impressed by his genuine interest in our field, and I was excited to hear his vision for workforce development. The governor is committed to making proactive investments in the future, and he is particularly interested in creating education capacity for people who are seeking careers in health care.

Currently, there is a window of opportunity to create collaborative relationships – between the public and private sector, and between education and health care. Those collaborations will be key to developing the future workforce, and they align with legislative priorities.

I believe you always get farther with collaboration. Steve Edwards used to reference an African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

This has never been truer than at our current point in health care and as a state. At CoxHealth, there are things we can do nimbly as an organization to create change. However, the longitudinal change we are going for is only possible with a high level of community collaboration.

I was glad Governor Parson shared his vision, and I loved the fact that we are so aligned.

It meant a great deal to me that he took the time to make a connection and build a relationship with our organization. As he was leaving, he offered what he called “a nickel’s worth of advice” for me: Surround yourself with incredible people and let them work to the top of their abilities.

As I stood with him – and next to Andy, Teresa, and Dr. DeMelo – I was reminded of how fortunate I am to already have that with our great team at CoxHealth.

After all we have been through since 2019 – as a health system, a community and a state – there is real excitement now about leaving those challenges in the rearview mirror and focusing on the future.

CoxHealth is blessed to have such a talented team all rowing in the same direction. Our state is fortunate to have leaders who are committed to investment and collaboration. I am excited about where we are going next, together!

Meeting with our EVS leadership team

This week, I was able to meet with our Environmental Services leadership team, which covers our EVS crews, patient transport, our hotel, and our linen services. Ronnie Lightfoot, director of EVS, brought the group together for an all-day, off-site leadership development event.

These roles touch many parts of the patient experience, and they are the entry point to health care for many of our colleagues. As I joined the meeting, I was struck by how our leaders are investing in their teams – both as colleagues and as people.

One speaker shared the story of two brothers who started in EVS. One became a physical therapist, and the other pursued a career as a respiratory therapist. It made me think of how much departments like EVS are the roots of our organization.

We want to invest in our people, and I appreciate how EVS leaders are eager to make sure we are opening doors for those who want to build careers at CoxHealth.

That desire to invest also extends to the EVS leadership team itself. Tuesday’s event didn’t focus on traditional leadership topics, like “crucial conversations,” or management advice from the latest book.

Instead, Ronnie brought in speakers to talk about nutrition, exercise and spiritual well-being. I loved to see this. It is as an approach that invests in our leaders as people, not just as professionals.

In health care, our people are so consumed by taking care of others that they don’t always take care of themselves. It takes all of us to serve our communities, and to continue growing as an organization. It is truly great to see us investing in our teams and supporting one another so we can be our best selves.

Nursing leadership changes at our rural hospitals

In my years at CoxHealth, I’ve seen colleagues time and time again grow into new leadership roles for the organization and knock it out of the park, and two nursing leadership changes we announced this week are no exception.

Heidi Clark has been named the new administrative director of nursing at Cox Monett Hospital, and Jenny Watts has accepted the role of administrative director of nursing at Cox Barton County Hospital. Both leaders have served in their roles phenomenally on an interim basis since November of last year and accepted the position permanently this month.

They will both play an important role for our rural hospitals and will be key to maintaining the high-quality, award-winning care that each hospital been recognized for. I’m looking forward to seeing their impact and progress from their leadership. You can read more about their background here.

Cox Air Care: 34 years of taking flight

No matter where you are around Cox South, it’s easy to hear when our Cox Air Care team takes flight. This team celebrated its 34th anniversary this week, and each time we hear the helicopter take off, it reminds all of us of the impact these colleagues have had every day since 1989.

You can also see their impact in the comments of the Facebook posts about the anniversary, where several people expressed gratitude for the ways Cox Air Care saved their life or the life of a family member. Reading these types of stories always makes me proud to work with such outstanding professionals. We shared a social media video on Monday highlighting the team’s efforts through the years – you can see the video at this link.

Voice of the patient

Adapted from inpatient feedback at Cox Branson: “Everyone was so very kind, caring, loving very thoughtful. Best care I've had.”

Thank you for all you do,

Max