Berini: Building a better work environment together

Deborah Berini, president of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, emailed Hershey Medical Center clinical faculty and staff on Aug. 29:

Dear Colleagues,

Each week I spend two hours shadowing various departments in the organization so I can stay connected with our faculty and staff, experience the work environment and see firsthand the challenges we face while learning what is working well. A few weeks ago, I shadowed Nathan who recently completed the RN Internship program and joined the inpatient Pediatric Acute Care team. It was a very busy morning, filled with complicated cases and a recent admission. Nathan did an amazing job of making each interaction with his patients seem as if they were the only ones he was caring for – which was very impressive given the business of the morning.  I also saw Nathan’s supportive teammates jump in and lend a hand, making sure that all patients received the care they needed that morning.

As I read through the comments many of you wrote as part of the employee engagement survey, I reflected on what I have observed while shadowing and the themes of your feedback: what makes working at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center so wonderful is the people. We have a community of faculty and staff who love what they do, the people they work with and the role they have in providing care to our patients.

Your responses also sent a strong and clear message that as an organization we have a lot of work to do to create an environment that motivates and empowers every employee to give their best to our patients and co-workers and return home each day feeling appreciated and fulfilled.

A number of you wrote that you were concerned that the results would not be shared or contribute to any improvements. Your senior management team and I have taken the time to read through the thousands of anonymously written comments and suggestions you provided and your overall ratings of the work environment. We are listening and changes will follow.

Last week, we shared the results with the managers and directors and have given them access to the departmental-specific results. These results will be shared with you during your routine staff meetings and used to begin a dialogue about what could be done to improve the work environment. Your feedback from these discussions will be used to create improvement plans for your individual work unit. These plans will be put in place at every level of the medical center – from individual units to administration ― and we hope you will take an active part in making your area and this hospital an even better place to work.

As I reflect upon the past 11 months since my arrival, it is clear to me that the people and talent of this organization are second-to-none. More than 71% of our staff and 41% of our faculty took time to share their feedback, and for that I am grateful. Your comments and the survey results allow us to respond and focus our improvement work on what needs to be done to create an engaging and empowering work environment. Please know that I am open to your thoughts anytime – whether through email, a phone call or in line at Starbucks or the cafeteria.

Sincerely,

Deborah Berini
President
Hershey Medical Center

P.S. – Look for the release of the 2019-2020 Operating Plan very soon. The Operating Plan will be another tool in providing a clear roadmap on achieving our goals for our patients, our people and our community.

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