Thoughts for a New Decade

Good morning and Happy 2020!

I’m excited about this new year and the promise represented in this new decade of the Twenties.  I have a feeling 2020 is going to be a banner year for UMMC, and I hope you will join me in my optimism.    

We have good reasons to be optimistic:

• After several years of financial headwinds, we’re in a more stable period and our finances are on budget halfway through the fiscal year. Unlike last year at this time, our expenses are under control and aligned with the revenues we’ve projected.
  
  
• We are getting a handle on some of the operational issues that have frustrated us the last few years in the clinical setting. Capacity issues, patient length of stay, documentation and coding, among others – we have identified some near-term solutions and have begun to implement them.  Now we just need sustained follow-through.
  
  
• The Children’s expansion is becoming a reality before our very eyes. On time and on budget, the project is slated to wrap next fall and we have begun mapping the transition into the new space.  The opening will mark a glorious end to a long and sometimes daunting process.
  
  
• We continue to make steady progress on clinical quality – our top strategic priority – and on our other priorities related to education, research and the development of a statewide clinical network.
  
  
• We have assembled experienced leadership team members who work well together – from the executive cabinet to the department chair level to the middle management ranks. In this respect, I feel we are as strong as we have been in many years.
  
  
• Last but not least, our wonderful faculty and staff are what makes this huge machine go. Nothing happens in the absence of your passion and commitment.

What gives me confidence is that these are all factors that are more or less under our control.  Faced with challenges in the past, we have demonstrated the ability to work together to overcome them.  Having set goals as an organization, we have diligently worked to achieve them and have made measurable progress in doing so. 

Working together, I’ve learned, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. 

With another decade now in front of us, I’ll leave you with a few of my “go-to” thoughts that keep me focused and inspired.  The first is Proceed with Courage.  It comes from my readings of noted author Mary Anne Radmacher, who writes:

"Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

The next is Be Persistent.  I learned this from the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, who said: 

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

The last is Demonstrate Grace.  In this sense, grace can be defined as “courteous good will,” and speaks to humility, gratitude and an inclusive embrace.  

The world around us can be both beautiful and, at times, terrifying.  We alone can’t solve its problems; we can only do what we can do.  But to a great degree, we can create the destiny we want for ourselves and for this wonderful organization that is doing so much good for our state and its people.