Nova Scotia Largest Hospital CEO Speaks Out

Call To Action

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A Message from - Chris Power, President & CEO, Capital Health
January 30, 2009

We did not have a crisis last week. We have been in a crisis for much, much longer. I believe it is a crisis when we do not have the agility to make the changes we are being called to make to meet the needs of our patients; when we do not listen when our colleagues call to us for help; when we lay blame with others for our lack of will to change; and when our own politics become more important than people.

We have allowed ourselves to be paralyzed by our internal politics, our fears, our structures and our personal agendas. We are not incompetent and we are not uncaring. And yet we have come to accept the crisis that has emerged around us.

We did not have a crisis last week. We had a wake-up call.

The time for internal politics, fear, structures and personal agendas is over. Every person who works within Capital Health is here to serve others. Don’t read into this message something that is not there - we are not overlooking our academic mission or our research agenda. We are drawing a line in the sand - a line that says if we cannot see our way clear to focus on doing what is right for the health of our patients and our communities - then we should rethink our reasons for coming to work here.

This past week I have experienced more frustration, anger, fear, sadness and disappointment than in any other time in my career. I know many of you felt the same way. I’m not going to choke that down and get past it or pretend that we are powerless to change it. I am choosing to carry it with me so that we learn from it and we take actions to change it - actions that begin right now.

At the meeting of the senior executive team (“LET”) this week there were some decisions made that directly impact the situation at the QEII Emergency specifically, and the district as a whole. Some of these changes will bring new energy, ideas and relationships to those areas. Others will set new direction and a new level of accountability for LET, our physician leads and you. You will hear more about these in the days to come.

I was clear about my expectations with LET - and I am being clear with you now - what happened last week is not the fault of physicians in our community, the inappropriate use of health care resources by the public and it is not a problem of the Emergency Department. There are challenges and there are shortages. That isn’t going to change. What is going to change is that we are going to stop talking about what we can’t do and start doing what we can do.

In case you have any doubts, I will be very clear about this as well. The changes we are making are not optional.

We have a responsibility to raise our line of sight and demonstrate the agility, the wisdom, the courage and the compassion required for the changes we are being called to make. I know we can do this because I see glimmers of it today in pockets of our organization. If I did not believe we are capable of doing better, I would not be here. So if you’re still feeling numb, or thinking this is a problem that someone else is going to fix, it’s time to wake up and look around. We are the system - you, me and everyone else who comes to work at Capital Health. We have work to get done.

Take care
Chris

"Take Your Heart to Work Day" Experience

Hello Sheila,

I'd like to share my experience with your focus card on 'Take your Heart to Work Day' Jan 27th, 2009.

I'm not new at writing inspirational little notes to myself, but I hadn't actually done it for some time. So I printed off your great focus card and filled it in (just for fun). I was soon reminded of the powerful effects of defining and committing to, what is "really, really, really important". I carried the card with me and came across it several times when I was reaching for something else. Soon, my focus message automatically came to mind before every encounter. The use of the card really helped me to clarify my focus while letting the 'rest of the rubble' of mindless thinking drift into the background. I felt a flow and ease as I interacted with others and it greatly contributed to the helpful and positive results I experienced.

At the end of the day, I couldn't help thinking what our lives, our work and our world might be like, if each one of us took a minute before we started our day to collect our thoughts and focus on what is really at the heart of the matter.

Thanks for the great reminder!

Sincerely,

Theresa Tomilson RNCP

Two Teens Turn Tide Against Bullying by Wearing Pink Shirts

Two Nova Scotia (Canada) students are being praised across North America for the way they turned the tide against the bullies who picked on a fellow student for wearing pink.

The victim — a Grade 9 boy at Central Kings Rural High School in the small community of Cambridge — wore a pink polo shirt on his first day of school.

Bullies harassed the boy, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up, students said.

Two Grade 12 students — David Shepherd and Travis Price — heard the news and decided to take action.

"I just figured enough was enough," said Shepherd.

They went to a nearby discount store and bought 50 pink shirts, including tank tops, to wear to school the next day.

'Sea of pink' support

Then the two went online to e-mail classmates to get them on board with their anti-bullying cause that they dubbed a "sea of pink."

But a tsunami of support poured in the next day.

Not only were dozens of students outfitted with the discount tees, but hundreds of students showed up wearing their own pink clothes, some head-to-toe.

The two Grade 12 students show off the pink shirts they wore to school.
(CBC)

When the bullied student, who has never been identified, walked into school to see his fellow students decked out in pink, some of his classmates said it was a powerful moment. He may have even blushed a little.

"Definitely it looked like there was a big weight lifted off his shoulders. He went from looking right depressed to being as happy as can be," said Shepherd.

And there's been nary a peep from the bullies since, which Shepherd says just goes to show what a little activism will do.

"If you can get more people against them … to show that we're not going to put up with it and support each other, then they're not as big as a group as they think are," he says.

The students' "sea of pink" campaign did not go unnoticed outside the province. U.S. talk show host Ellen DeGeneres expressed interest in their story, and other schools are talking about holding their own "pink day."

"It's been totally overwhelming for us. I mean we're just two local boys and I mean we're getting calls from like Alaska and e-mails. It's just phenomenal the support that we've gotten from across the globe," said Price.

The school principal, understandably, was flush with pride.

"You're always hearing about the youth of the world and how bad things are. Well, they're not that bad," said Stephen Pearl.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2007/09/18/pink-tshirts-students.html?ref=rss 2007

Acting From The Heart

This blog has been created as a place to share stories about what can happen when we return to values that are held in the heart, when we are inspired to step out of the box that says 'this is the way it is done, when we have the courage to be vulnerable and 'real.'

Please ... share your story or someone else's.