The Wright Stuff: You are our best resource

A message to the WVU Medicine-WVU Hospitals family

Christine Williams, an occupational therapist who helps many of our patients recover from injury and disability to a level of functionality, probably never thought she’d add “motivational speaker” to her list of skills. But she became one at a recent “Breakfast with Albert” when she made some remarks about the challenges our patients face and how we can ease their concerns as employees and as an organization.

Her words about the care and treatment of patients and their families really resonated with me.

Christine has been involved in patient care for around two decades, the last four years with WVU Medicine. She has seen the unprecedented growth here in the last few years and is very proud to be part of our mission to provide the highest quality care to the citizens of West Virginia and surrounding region.

At the breakfast, she reminded us that a high percentage of our patients are from small towns. They’re used to knowing their neighbors, and seeing friends and familiar faces on a daily basis. WVU Medicine is a big place with a lot of employees, a lot of “wheels in motion,” and negotiating your way around can easily be a source of intimidation or frustration. As Christine says, despite our surroundings, we need things to “feel small” for our patients.

A warm and personal approach improves the patient experience. A kind word from a nutrition care assistant delivering a meal or a nurse providing medication -- any form of interaction that you can make to connect with our patients and families makes a big difference.

Sure, we have the latest technology, and offer the most advanced care and treatment, but our best resource will always be you – the employee.

Anything you can do to personalize our care will improve it. It’s that simple. I can’t stress enough how Christine’s words hit it out of the park.

Creating a family-like environment is also something we strive to accomplish for our employees. Tomorrow’s Employee Appreciation Picnic is your chance to spend some time with the broader WVU Medicine-WVU Hospitals team. Please take some time to come out and enjoy the festivities from 12:30-3:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The event is being held on the WVU Health Sciences Center campus, near the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute.