As we plan our Associate Recognition banquet and move into a busy spring season of ball games, track meets, and graduations, I am reminded of March and April 2020. We were making plans to celebrate Hospital Week in May and had ordered the decorations for our banquet. Many of us were eagerly anticipating conferences or important family events.

I remember a meeting with our medical staff in March as we tried to wrap our heads around the coronavirus and what it could mean moving forward. Dr. Walsh, who is not prone to speculation or hyperbole, said, “I don’t know – I have never seen anything like this.” Knowing him, it was chilling to hear. He was right: What came next was something none of us had ever seen.

Last week, I attended the American College of Healthcare Executives 2022 Congress on HealthCare Leadership. As president of the Kansas chapter of ACHE, I attended a luncheon with ACHE and MHA students from Kansas who received our chapter’s scholarships to attend the conference (see photo above). They reminded me that the future is bright. Also at the meeting, Wes Hoyt, the ACHE regent for Kansas, and I had a chance to meet with Anthony Armada, the Chair of the ACHE Board of Governors. We advocated for ACHE to embrace a more rural focus in their programs. It felt good to see people, talk about important issues, and attend presentations and events in person again.

Here at CHCS, we have our own in-person event to look forward to. Please join us for Associate Recognition on May 11. An RSVP link is below. Last week’s E-Connection explained the reasons behind our different approach to the gathering this year. We’ll be outdoors, and we will keep the event to two hours. It’s all an effort to take a small step toward the new normal even as we keep the experiences of the last two years in mind. Most of all, it’s an opportunity to celebrate associates who have reached service milestones, and to thank them along with everyone else who has persevered through a remarkable time. We have many experiences to share from living and managing through the historic events of the last two years, but perhaps more importantly, we’re ready to forge a path toward our new reality.

Patient Access is usually the first point of contact for a patient, and includes multiple departments and people, including Registration and Access Services. These departments work hard answering calls, scheduling patients, checking insurance benefits, and performing more additional duties than I could ever list.

Approximately 80% of the information on an insurance claim is gathered during the registration process, so what these associates do is very important to the success of CHCS. Registration and Access Services is a group of detail-orientated people who have a range of 1 year to 25 years of experience at CHCS. They work together to ensure the patient always comes first and that all patients' needs are met with a smile.

I want to thank all of them for their hard work, especially these last few years. Everything they do for patients and CHCS is greatly appreciated. Please see below for a few photos, and please take time to thank them this week!

Do you know of an instance in which CHCS associates delivered the WOW experience? If so, email it to Sarah Hancock or call extension 5133.

The LiveWell Committee has teamed up with WorkWell Kansas to design a wellness program with the goals of helping our associates feel valued and appreciated, manage stress and safeguard their mental health, and find ways to learn and grow in their work and in life. A survey we distributed last fall identified employee growth and development as the area in which we need the most improvement.

We pledged to offer quarterly activities to address this area. Our first activity is a game of Bingo, but you play only for yourself! The "Bingo card" below contains a number of research-based activities that can help participants embrace compassion and kindness (one of our Core Values!) for themselves and others, both at work and in life.

The card includes instructions on how to participate (see page 2, and don't worry--it's easy!) Associates have until June 3 to complete the activity. (There will be prizes!) Click the card to download/print and get going today.

The Birth Center welcomed four precious babies in March. Aren't they adorable?!

The Easter Bunny finds everything he needs to fill everyone's basket at the Gift Shop. Hop on in!