Change

    

“The only thing that stays the same is change” 

                                      - Melissa Etheridge 

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

     I will be attending a "going away" reception later today for one of the administrators of the last hospital I worked at. He is staying within the big network our hospital was a part of, and moving on with a well-deserved promotion. Tomorrow there will be another reception for another administrators at the same hospital who is moving on, outside the network we worked for, in a job that will more closely fit her passion for quality improvement. For both of these people, this is a big step and an exciting new chapter in their professional lives-- much as retirement was for me. Huge change!

     It got me to thinking about change, how inevitable it is, and how it is good most of the time. Sometimes we seek out the change and embrace it, other times we see it as a threat and try to avoid it. As I have aged, the pattern in my life of change has spread itself out so I can see how each big change worked to help me grow in some new way.

     The hospital I retired from is a great example. Clarian West Medical Center (now Indiana University Health West Hospital) was started 8 years ago as the first suburban hospital in a growing network of healthcare providers in central Indiana.

 I was very fortunate to have been chosen to be a part of the team of department directors who planned the hospital. Not the building itself-- that had been planned and was in the final phases of construction. We planned the workings inside the building. All that stuff that goes on behind the scenes when a patient comes to the hospital for care. Such things as the admission process-- where the patients would park, what door they would come in, who would greet them, how would we complete the registration process, what information would be obtained when, what if it was an emergency and the patient could not provide any information? What if they came in through the Emergency Department instead of regular admissions? What if they needed lab work? Imaging like xrays? All of this had to be planned out in excruciating detail. The layout of supplies, what supplies, how many, the reorder process all had to be figured out. I had to determine staffing needs and then recruit, interview and hire an entire new staff. It was a huge job, and I spent many, many very long work weeks-- often exceeding 70 hours in a week and no days off to accomplish. I worked very closely with the other department directors. We often sat in meetings of two, three or four of us, hashing out the details of a particular process. We worked long and very hard together. Additionally, the CEO of our new venture had the remarkable idea that we could create an environment in our new hospital that he called "a sanctuary of healing".

The grounds included this atrium garden, complete with waterfall!

and a rose garden!

     I may write more on this subject in another blog, but the end result was there was as much emphasis placed on the way West felt to work at or be a patient at as in the medical details. For the new department directors, there was a huge emphasis on working together and supporting one another. A remarkable work environment developed that had an esprit des corps unlike anything I had ever experienced. We all grew very close as friends as well as coworkers.

The original OB nursing staff at Clarian West-- that's me in the lab coat upper right

     The hospital opened a little over 7 years ago. Excellent care was rendered, the word was spread that this was a great place to go for care, and the hospital grew by leaps and bounds. My little unit, the OB department, had 4 building expansions in the first 4 years we were open. As time passed, the network we were a part of also grew. As it grew, it not only built new hospitals, but "partnered" with other hospitals looking for help with finances and resources. It continues to grow today, and is the largest health care network in our state.  And, over time, each of those department directors, VP's and our first CEO have almost all either left for retirement or gone on to other jobs. Of the 15 or so directors, I believe only 2 remain. The rest of us have either retired or gone on to jobs elsewhere.  Two have been promoted to a VP level. Of the original 4 VP's, only 2 remain. Our original CEO is gone too. When you have turnover like that, the hospital itself will change too, and of course it has. There are lots of changes there.  I think back and remember my days at West fondly, and find myself sad that the original group is no longer there. Everything feels different when I walk through the building... even though it looks the same, I realize I am not a part of it any more. Clarian West was in my life for a season and a reason, but it has moved on, as have I.

Bragging a little... here we are (myself in middle and most of my leadership within the OB department) accepting the JD Power & Associates award for excellence - national recognition only 6 years after we opened!!

      There are other events like this-- graduation from high school is a time of dramatic change. We have all seen kids who flourish in what comes after and others for whom high school was the pinnacle of their lives. College, military service, moving from one town to another, even divorce, are all life events that bring about huge change. We have all known people who couldn't make the break, move on to something new-- people who keep taking college courses their entire lives, people who spend all their time after the military with veterans' groups reliving old glory days, people who return to the town they moved from for too frequent visits, people who cling to a marriage no matter how awful. From my perspective, not embracing the change that is inevitable can lead to a less than full life. Reliving old moments of glory to the exclusion of experiencing new moments means we miss out on all that our lives can offer us. Not for me!!!

     So, I will return to West and bid my old friend a fond farewell and a hearty congratulations. It will be good to see old friends and relive a few old memories, but I will return to my new life as a retiree knowing that my new life holds great adventure and promise. I am not afraid of this change,  I embrace it. A new season, a new reason, and new people to meet-- what a wonderful way to look at life!!