‘Tis better to give than receive.

That’s the spirit of this season. Afterall, we celebrate Christmas in honor of the best gift humanity’s been given: the Christ child, our savior.

While that spirit is quite clear to us as adults, it’s often a harder one for our children to grasp. But a group of elementary kids here in Kearney blew me away with their understanding of the importance of giving, and it’s on their note that I send you my sincerest Christmas wishes. Thanks go to Dana Welsh in the Cancer Center for helping me out with the background on this story.

A few weeks ago, the counselor at Northeast Elementary Terrie Maloley, read parts of the book, “Christmas Jars” to students. This book is based on a true story about anonymous giving. The students at Northeast decided they wanted to raise money with their own Christmas jars and they wanted to give it to a family who needed help. Through our Cancer Center, they found a family whose mom was undergoing cancer treatment and also spent some time as an inpatient.

The students spent the last few weeks bringing in change and other money from home in the hopes of doing good for the family they adopted. Dana and Shanna Gilming went to Northeast yesterday for their official presentation of the Christmas jars, and I was astounded to learn those kids raised more than $1,500 for that family!

Oh yes, those kids understood the spirit of giving and seeing that spirit through their eyes, well THAT is the magic of Christmas. I can’t really put into words how hearing about all of this warmed my heart.

See these amazing kids for yourself on the news story courtesy of NTV.

On behalf of everyone in Administration, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May the spirit of this season be with you and yours.

Mike

I’m a sucker for holiday decorations—especially the loud obnoxious ones. So, naturally, when I saw a funny little gingerbread man at Hallmark who not only sang once but also EVERY TIME his motion sensor went off, I told my wife that I was adding it to my Christmas list. Well, I received an early Christmas gift in early December.  Yes, it was that talkative gingerbread man!

And I couldn’t just keep it at home; I brought it in to my office to spread LOTS of Christmas cheer!

According to my assistant Cheryl, she and our other administrative officemates, Dr. Edwards and Jan Wagner, had enough Christmas cheer courtesy of the gingerbread man after about…2 minutes.

In order to share the so-called cheer (and preserve the working relationship I have with Cheryl, Jan and Dr. Edwards), we decided we’d pass the gingerbread on for other departments to share—starting with Nursing Administration next door.  Well, it wasn’t long and they too had enough.  They passed it on to 2 North. Patty Seevers was kind enough to keep track of the gingerbread man’s GSH journey and, in true healthcare fashion, our staff creatively cared for (I think that’s the best way to put it) the gingerbread man in the following ways:

§  2 North started gave him a Foley catheter and an IV.

§  OB gave him a baby hat and diaper.

§  Inpatient Rehab set him up with a walker.

§  Diabetic Educators took his blood sugar and decided he was too sweet.

§  Administration provided him with appropriately placed Nebraska Husker logo on his hat and inappropriately placed Iowa Hawkeye logo on his diaper……….

§  Nutrition Services gave him a plate, silverware and cookbook and put a toothpick in his hat.

§  Emergency Services put in a chest tube and put him on a backboard.

§  PCU hooked him up to telemetry monitor.

§  Then he took a break at the coffee cart and got a coffee bean.

§  In Human Resources he applied for a job—they’re currently checking his references.

§  And then he swung by Corporate Communications where he shared his compelling life story in the hopes of appearing in one of our future ad campaigns.

After ALL of that, THIS is what he looks like today:

HA!!! I’m glad everyone enjoyed my gingerbread man (enjoyed is the correct word, right?) and helped him along what appeared to be a very acute journey here at GSH.

Mike

I just heard our grand totals from Project Snowflake and couldn’t wait to share them with all of you: Almost $10,000!!!!!

I am thrilled—and so proud of our employees—that we gave so generously to our community at this special time of year. On its own, Project Snowflake brought in roughly $9,660 in non-perishable food, paper products, toys and cash donations. Awesome! And on top of that, the Maintenance open house on Thursday brought in another $150 and 140 pounds of food donations. That’s very close to $10,000 and an amazing outpouring of support.

This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the madness that is an unfortunate side-effect of the holidays. It’s even easier to get focused on all the things we need to do just to get ourselves ready to celebrate. Your donations are a reminder that the true meaning of this season extends well past our doorsteps; that to give is truly better than to receive. I am humbled by your generosity.

If you’re wondering how this year’s donations compare to last year, get ready to be impressed. Last year, $7,600 in donations was received—and that was the most we had totaled in years!

Amazed. Impressed. Thrilled. I’m all of that right now. We have so many reasons to be thankful, and to see the very visible way we shared our blessings with others, well that makes me just a little sentimental. To wrap things up, it seems appropriate to borrow a few words from Tiny Tim:

 “God bless us. Every one.”

Mike

It was great to see many of you at the annual employee Christmas parties at GSH and RYH on Tuesday. It was fun to take a few moments out of the day to enjoy some holiday cheer with one another. It was even more fun to walk around the hospitals that day to see how the Christmas parties spilled over into just about every work area thanks to…festive sweaters!

Oh my. When I read that there would be a “festive sweater” contest, I wasn’t quite sure what we’d end up with. Lucky for us, our staff go above and beyond in their work AND their play; we were treated to some eye-popping fashions that couldn’t help but bring a smile to your face.

You may have already heard about the winners, but I included them here too—with pictures! You can check out all the pictures from the GSH party by clicking here and the RYH party pics are here. Go ahead and click the Facebook logo to get to the pictures, but don't worry, you don’t need a Facebook account to see them.

DALE BRUMMER, Radiation Therapy

Grand Prize Sweater Winner GSH

Dayd Stauffer, RYH Recovery Specialist

Grand Prize Sweater Winner RYH

BRIDGET MOSTEK, RYH Recovery Specialist

Biggest Bling Sweater Winner

CODY GOODRICH, Respiratory Therapy

Full-Blown, Four-Alarm Holiday Sweater Winner

RANDY DEFREECE and his Foundation, Gift Shop and Volunteer Services Reindeer

Nuttiest Department Sweater Winners

CAROL O’NEILL, Cancer Disparities Outreach Coordinator Cheesiest Do-It-Yourself  Sweater Winner

If that doesn’t put you in a festive mood, I don’t know what will!

Oh, one more thing! We don’t have the official totals in yet from Project Snowflake, but I have to say that I was once again overwhelmed with the generosity of our employees. Rooms B and C of the Conference Center were stuffed to the gills with donations of toys, canned goods, paper products, clothes…all to help others in our community going through a rough patch.

Between THAT and the sweaters, I’ll be smiling for months!

Mike

Earlier this fall, you may have read about the new format for the upcoming Employee Recognition Banquet. Things are changing for the 2012 event and I wanted to give you some insight to why we’re going to do things a little differently.

First, let me say that I really did have a good time at last year’s event. Quick recap:

• Totally ‘80s theme.
• Employees dressed in their ‘80s best. And I do mean BEST.
• Site: Buffalo County Fairgrounds.
• Entertainment by big hair band.
• Everyone who worked here 5 years or longer invited.

I’ve been told that this has been the format for the event for the last several years—casual theme, light meal, quick listing of honorees. And since it’s essentially been “the same” for quite a while, it was my idea to change things up a bit.

When I picture an event that honors employees for their significant years of service to our organization, a more formal event comes to mind. That doesn’t mean “stuffy room full of tuxedoes and ball gowns where no one really enjoys themselves” formal; it means “a nice venue where the honored guests enjoy a meal and an evening focused on our appreciation of them.” It also means slightly more formal attire than spandex pants. J

I really want this event to be focused on the employees whose work anniversaries we’re recognizing. That’s why the invitation list will be limited to those celebrating 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years of service to Good Samaritan in 2011 and their one guest. No one will need to purchase tickets for their guests to attend. Administrative Team, the Board of Directors and department directors will also be there so we can do the recognizing of those who have been so dedicated to our mission.

I think it’s also important to note that by making these changes, we are in no way trying to discount the anniversaries everyone else is celebrating in between the years listed above. After all, 8 or 17 or 39 years of service are nothing to scoff at. With this new format, we’re placing more emphasis on the major years of service that the event was already recognizing similar to the ways couples make a big deal out of their milestone anniversaries. And even though the guest list will be more limited for this occasion, we’ve added some fun events for all staff over the past few years—like the End of Summer Celebration and Good Samaritan Day at the Movies—to provide more opportunities for all staff to enjoy each other’s company along with their families.  We continue to look for ways to make events like those better, as well.

A significant work anniversary is an occasion, I think, deserving of some dedicated fanfare—more than your name in a program and quick walk across the stage. I want you to leave feeling truly honored and appreciated for the time you’ve given to our organization. I hope this new way of doing things accomplishes that. And if it doesn’t, we’ll do something different. But in the meantime, let’s give this a try.

Mike