I’m a fan of things that go—cars, trucks, riding lawnmowers, and now I’m adding to my list…riding vacuum cleaners. Have you seen the riding vacuum at GSH? I’ve been eyeing that thing for a while as it makes its way up and down the hallway outside my office (with a driver, of course). Truthfully, I haven’t just been eyeing it. I’ve been DYING to get my hands on that thing.

So the other day, Jamon from EVS was kind (and brave) enough to let me take it for a spin. He gave me a crash (no pun intended) course on how to run it and then it was FINALLY my turn!

I won’t lie: It was pretty cool. I have to say, though, in the immortal words of Tim the Toolman Taylor: It needs more power! A souped-up engine and maybe some glasspacks on the exhaust would really give that thing some presence!

On a more serious note, this riding vacuum is a perfect example of how we all come together to further our mission here at Good Samaritan. New technology isn’t limited to the ED or the OR—EVS needs the best tools to do their jobs too. We ALL have an important role to play in this organization and it’s our personal contributions that combine to further our common mission.

And finally, please do me a favor: Don’t tell my wife about this vacuuming thing. It’s not nearly as fun at home when you have to push the vacuum around.

Mike

Here’s the $64,000 question at GSH right now: Have you taken the Performance Culture Assessment yet?

I’m sure you’ve at least heard a little about the PCA by now. It’s our annual employee survey. You take it online. It takes about 5 minutes. Really. Just 5 minutes. I was told this by some employees who hadn’t done the survey because they thought it would take a lot of time!

When I originally sat down to write this, our participation rate was hovering around 75 percent. That was a lot better than last year; I’m told it was 50 percent. Yikes! And now as I post this message, I’ve learned that our rate is just over 85 percent. That’s really great progress! But that still leaves about 15 percent of you—almost 200—who haven’t been heard from. Still too many!

I’ve been here at Good Samaritan for coming up on 9 months now and I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you. But despite my best efforts (remember, I really like rounding), I haven’t been able to talk with each and every person on our team here. That’s why the PCA is so important. I want to hear from everyone so I can get a clear picture of how you feel about our workplace. If there are things that need fixed, I want to know about them. I want to make them better. But it’s hard to do that if I don’t hear from as many of you as possible.

Please. If you haven’t had a chance to take the PCA, go right now to this link http://www.healthstreamsurveys.com/PCA2011 and take it. It takes just a few minutes, but the feedback that you’ll be giving is so valuable.

And to those of you who have taken the PCA: THANK YOU! I appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts about our working environment here at Good Samaritan.

We’re in this together. Let’s hear from everyone!

Mike