Excuses are often made because we simply don t want to take responsibility for our shortcomings. When making excuses we often focus on problems, regrets, and on things that just didn t work. When we take full responsibility for all failures and mistakes, we begin to gain confidence in ourselves and our own abilities. Therefore to eradicate excuses from our lives and our workplace, we must instead begin focusing on solutions, opportunities, and on the things that did work. Moreover, as employees, everyone should begin to feel empowered because excellent service and care is not accidental. It is very intentional and involves all members of the team. Our organization s success is not built upon luck or good fortune, but rather on our ability to successfully adapt to the changing conditions that are thrown our way. If you are unsure of how to react or respond in certain situations, I urge you to seek alternate perspectives by asking other team members and leadership staff for their opinions, comments, and feedback. Get an understanding of how they see the situation before you commit to making an excuse. TeamTalk NOVEMBER 24, 2014 Thoughts from the CEO If you find yourself in a situation where it seems natural to make an excuse, reach out for different perspectives and then commit to learning from the experience in order to better our organization for the future. Take some time and ask yourself these questions: What can I learn from this experience? What has this experience taught me about myself, my job responsibilities, our patients and our organization? How can I use this experience to do better in the future? Finally, to overcome your excuses, always cultivate patience, optimism, confidence and persistence. It is important to take responsibility for our decisions and actions. Bud I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse. ~ Florence Nightingale
THANKFUL Thoughts I would like to thank Varsey Humphrey in Home Health Rehab. Recently Varsey was off for a few days and I had to cover part of her duties. I never knew how many things she does that keeps our office flowing. Thanks for all you do! We could not make it without you. ~ Kevin Priddy I am thankful to have had the pleasure to work with such compassionate and dedicated nurses in the OB department for over 12 years. And now, I have been blessed with a new family, Education and Human Resources. I look forward to spending many more years with you all. Ladies, you are the best! ~ Claudetta Hatchett I m thankful for my incredible family at home and also at work. I have a wonderful husband, 3 great kids and supportive parents. At work, I can always rely on my co-workers for support, a shoulder to lean on, and most importantly, prayers. I m very thankful for ALL in my life. I am so blessed. - Tara Hanner, Cave City Clinic I feel very blessed to work with the group of girls in my department. We all work together as a team to complete our tasks and assist our patients in a kind and caring way. So thanks, Myra, Amanda, Mandy, Tonya, Tracey and Paula for always having my back ~ Kim Durham My nephew, Justin, and his wife, Heather, as well as our entire family are eternally thankful and grateful for Dana Carpenter (OB/L&D/Nursery). In May of 2011, my nephew and his wife had a baby girl, born here at T.J. Samson. Unbeknownst to everyone, including the doctors, little Aubrie had been born with a very serious, life threatening heart defect. Thanks to Dana s knowledge and attentiveness to the baby, within 12 hours of her birth her condition was initially diagnosed here at T.J. Samson. Aubrie was transferred to Kosair s in Louisville where she had Open-Heart surgery at 4 days old. Aubrie has had 2 more Open-Heart surgeries since the first surgery, and is now, at age 3 ½ a very vibrant, beautiful little girl. Thanks to Dana s actions, Aubrie s life was literally saved. On Thanksgiving Day, when our entire family get together at my niece s for Thanksgiving (and we have a houseful!), Aubrie will be happily playing with all of her cousins and the rest of us will be thanking the Lord above for all of our blessings! ~ Debbie Sanders
THANKFUL Thoughts I am thankful for the Blessings of Salvation, Family, & Health. I am thankful for having the opportunity to work with so many nice people and to be of service to those who walk thru our doors. I do have to name a person and that is Jania Johnson, my co-worker. She is special in so many ways. Thankful the Lord allowed our Paths to cross. Blessings to each of you and your families!! ~ Pam Browning I am very thankful for the people that I work with at the Cave City Clinic. I consider them all family, not coworkers. ~Andrea Riley I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to my T.J. Samson Family Medicine family. All of you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas. Love all of you all and thanks for being my family away from home. ~ Michelle Basham I realize daily I am a truly blessed individual! God has blessed me with two happy healthy babies, that my husband I waited and prayed about for 10 years! My heart could burst with how happy these babies make me! I am thankful for the Rehab Department and our director. Last year while I was pregnant, I experienced some complications and was placed on bed rest for a brief period. The whole experience was quite stressful. I was so aware of the risk due to the job I do working with children with special needs. The immediate team I work with and our Director, Shara Page, was very supportive and worked with me through this period helping to lessen the stress I was experiencing. I will never forget their kindness and support. I am very thankful to work with a group of individuals who are so passionate about our patients and their families and display great leadership qualities. My co-workers go above and beyond daily to support and meet the needs of their patients. I see it when they make special trips to Nashville to visit a patient recovering from heart surgery on their only day off. I see it when they request prayer for a patient and their family in our morning huddles. I see it when several staff members arrange their personal schedules to meet the needs of the patient outside their normal working hours. I see it when staff members think outside the box and come up with cute creative ways to reach patients, decorate our halls and walls to be inviting, show off what our patients can do, and many more ways too many to mention. I am thankful for my OB/GYN who is amazing individual and friend. I am in awe at what he can accomplish on a day to day basis, and forever grateful for his and his staff's support throughout infertility issues, two pregnancies, and births. ~ Stephanie Smith
Life Is a Special Occasion! As the holidays approach, I am so thankful just to be here to enjoy them. Last year, I was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma stage 3 breast cancer, which required chemotherapy and radiation. Challenging side effects of the treatments caused my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes to fall out and my toe nails and finger nails to change drastically. All through this journey, I worked as much as possible. I wanted to come to work with my wig on to show others that I was going to fight this fight and come out victorious. Life became a special occasion! T.J. Samson is a great place to work, because it s FAMILY! There were so many caring co-workers from Case Management and all the stations to the staff in IV Therapy who encouraged me and lifted me up on a daily basis. The kind thoughts of others via emails, texts, hugs and encouragement kept me going. A big THANK YOU to everyone for their encouragement and support. Kindness and a smile goes a long way! As you pass someone today, be thankful you are alive and well. Smile and try to say a kind word to the person that passes by during life s journey. You may just lift someone s spirit because of your act of kindness. Truly Thankful! Joy Barrick THANKFUL Thoughts
k n a Th ou! y SERVICE AWARDS The total number of years of service for the 126 employees that were celebrated at the 27th Annual T. J. Regional Health Service Awards is 2,065.
Congratulations on Retirement, Margaret! On Thursday, November 20, employees gathered to celebrate the retirement of Margaret Billingsley, CNO. Margaret was honored with a reception and gifts in thanks for her 36 years of service to T.J. Samson. Congratulations on Retirement, Becky! The Health Information Management Department hosted a retirement celebration for Becky Matthews on October 24, 2014. Becky was honored with cake, punch, and gifts for her nine years of service in the HIM Department. She is pictured above with her coworkers.
Christmas Sale! 20% OFF The Serendipity Gift Shop offers their loyal customers and T.J. employees a Christmas Sale discount of 20% off! Tis the Season T.J. Employees Making a Difference! Christmas Gifts for Nursing Home Residents Debbie Hensley is collecting gifts to deliver to local nursing home residents. If you would like to contribute in this great act of giving this season, the following items would be very useful items for the residents (new items only, please): Boxes of tissues Bottles of lotion for dry skin Non-skid socks Solid white crew socks Costume jewelry A box is available for donations in the Outpatient Surgical Services area. The deadline for dropping off your gift donations is Wednesday, December 10. Wrapping Paper Donations For the past three years, the Outpatient Pre-Operative/ Post-Operative area has collected wrapping paper that is used to wrap gifts for the elderly. The paper can be new or left over from last year. The collection will begin November 24 th and run through December 16 th. Wrapping paper may be left in the collection box in the Outpatient Pre-Op/ Post-Op area. Please contact Pam Robertson with any questions. Friday, November 21 st to Monday, December 1 st The T.J. Auxiliary thanks you for your support during the past year! Sale excludes flowers, books, magazines, consignment items, toiletries, cards and balloons. 2014 Christmas Challenge Each department is invited to decorate a clear Christmas ornament in our 3 rd Annual Christmas Ornament Challenge. If your department would like to participate, please visit the Rock House to get an ornament from the Marketing Department. Decorate your ornament in any creative way you wish! Ornaments will be judged on creativity, originality and unique design in two categories: Best T.J. or Department Themed Ornament Best Holiday Themed Ornament The 1 st place winners in each category will receive a prize! Entries should be submitted to the Marketing Department no later than noon on Thursday, December 11. Winners will be announced on Friday, December 12. Good Luck and Happy Decorating!!!
THE BUG STOPS HERE! Foley Catheter Securement Tips on Securing a Foley Catheter: Tape and Leg Bands do not meet CDC guidelines. They allow for vertical and lateral movement of the catheter. The Stat Lock device that is provided in your BARD Foley tray prevents the catheter from moving. Secure the Stat Lock to the catheter tubing with the arrow pointing toward the tip of the catheter prior to applying to patient s leg. Use the barrier wipe provided in the tray. Choose stabilization site (front of thigh). Leave no more than 1-inch of catheter slack. Ensure leg is fully extended to position catheter correctly. To remove, saturate the Stat Lock device with Alcohol pads or Alcohol based hand sanitizer. Gently, peel off anchor pad. The more alcohol used the easier to remove. Questions or Concerns? Contact Infection Prevention: Shea Wilson Ext. 4793 or Jodi Dubree Ext. 4463 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM The T.J. Samson Educational Assistance Program will open again beginning in January 2015. This program assists employees who seek professional and/or personal growth by providing financial reimbursement for approved courses of study. The hospital encourages employee development and professional growth by offering this program to employees who are interested in furthering their education in a healthcare-related profession. Please contact Human Resources for moreassistance information. For more information about the Educational Program or for details on how to apply, please see the attached document.