Regent’s Message – Spring 2018

Spring 2018

Greetings fellow ACHE members! I hope you are enjoying the beginning of summer and I also hope you are doing well. So, have you made plans for summer vacation? Hopefully you are not reading this and saying or thinking that you are too busy or I can’t get any time off work. The truth is, each of us needs a little time away from work to relax and recharge ourselves.

Several years ago, I learned a very valuable lesson about relaxing and recharging from one of the best supervisors I have ever had. The lesson he taught me was this… “Always take time to care for yourself and for the people you work with”. Let me set the stage for you. I was very busy as a young department director and had responsibilities working with several hospitals and many physicians. I was also enrolled in graduate school and had classes three times a week from 6-9 p.m….after working from 7:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. These were VERY LONG DAYS! One morning my supervisor noticed that I was really stressed out. He knew that I was in grad school and very busy. He could have simply said, “Chris, hang in there…it will get better” or he could have said, “we have all been there…you will get through this.” Instead, he did something that I will never forget. That very same morning, he called me into his office and said, you and I need a break. So, go home and put on some casual clothes and I will pick you up at your home and I will tell you what we are going to do when I pick you up. Even though I was very uneasy and still confused, I did as he asked. When he picked me up, he told me that we were going to watch the off-shore boat races for a while and then going to get something to eat afterwards. He told me that this would be fun and that it would be just what we both needed. Feeling very apprehensive about missing a full day of work, I told my supervisor, I can’t be gone that long and that I had meetings scheduled. He told me that his assistant had already taken care of them and that we were both cleared from our responsibilities for the day. True to his word, we went to the boat races, had a delicious dinner and got to relax and recharge.

As he dropped me off at my home that evening, he told me that he had a good time and he was happy that we spent the day relaxing. I thanked him and told him that I felt the same way. When I arrived at work the next morning, I was relaxed and ready to take on the challenges of a busy job and grad school. As I opened my email to begin my work, I noticed an email from my supervisor. It said, “thanks for spending some time with me.” He then told me the phrase that I shared earlier, “Always take time to care for yourself and for the people you work with. As you do, both you and your staff will be happier and more productive.”  I have reflected on this many times and I have also tried to take time for myself and, more importantly, to look for others on my staff who need to know they are valued…valued enough to encourage them or to help them take a break and relax and recharge when needed. I challenge each of you to remember to take time to care of yourself and those you work with. You will be glad you did…they will too!

Speaking of appreciating people, please join me in welcoming and recognizing the following new Chapter Members and to our recertifying Fellows in ACHE:

New Members 
Opal Brown, St Dominic Hospital 
Joyce Buckner-Brown, Jackson State University 
James Coleman, Jr., EdD, GA Carmichael Family Health Center 
Kelly Crawford, Summit Health and Rehab Services 
Larry Flippo, North Mississippi Health Services 
Don Harrison, Jr., Magnolia Regional Health Center 
Amber Hester, Health South 
Matt Huerkamp, Boston Scientific 
Ada Ratliff, Claiborne County Medical Center 
Christopher Rosamond, Premier Health 
Angelina Seglio, Ochsner Health System 
Carmen Steward-Sweezer, GV Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center 
Roberta Taylor, Choctaw Health Center 
Phoebe Thriffiley, Hancock Medical Center 
Kim Varnado, Hancock Medical Center 
Randall Wooten, Thomas Brothers, Inc

Recertifying Fellows 
Michael Adcock, FACHE, University of Mississippi Medical Center 
John Anderson, FACHE, Anderson Regional Health System 
John Dawson, FACHE 
Lester Diamond, FACHE, St Dominic Health Services 
William Heath, FACHE, Regency Hospital 
Richard Hilton, FACHE, Ochsner Regional Medical Center 
Norman Price, FACHE, Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center 
Trace Swartzfager, FACHE, St Dominic Health Services 
Michael Todd, FACHE, Magnolia Regional Health Center

Once again, welcome to each of our new members. We welcome you to ACHE and to theMississippi Healthcare Executives. More information about our chapter can be found at http://ms.ache.org/. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings.

In closing, I hope each of you have a wonderful summer and I encourage you to take a little time to relax and recharge and encourage others to do so as well. I also want to thank you for all that you do to provide the very best care to those who need our services. As always, I want to thank you for being part of ACHE and for being “Leaders who care”!

Best Regards, 
Chris