Our thanks this year

The Thanksgiving quilt is being displayed throughout Community General Hospital. This is a graphic tapestry displaying expressions of gratitude by employees, volunteers, and other members of the Community family.

Leading the things for which we are thankful, as in past years, are the love of family and friends (almost one-half of all comments), our jobs and coworkers (about one-fifth), and our faith, life, and health (about one-fifth).

Others are thankful for men and women in military service, for our doctors, for Community's partnership with Upstate Medical University, for the Syracuse University football team's bowl prospects -- as well as for baseball, for ice cream, for doe permits, and for the copier machines!

There are three Thanksgiving quilts posted throughout the hospital so be sure to see them all. You can read the individual comments by clicking on each of the three displayed here.

This is the fourth year we've displayed the quilts at Community General, and we borrowed the idea from Peter McGinn, past President of UHS in Binghamton, NY.

My thanks. . .

Two years ago, Community introduced the Thanksgiving Quilt, after I borrowed the idea from my friend Peter McGinn, who was then President and CEO at United Health System (UHS) in Binghamton, NY.

Here is my submission to this year's Quilt:

My thanks to Peter McGinn, who taught us lessons in life and lessons in death with dignity -- and for the gift of "the Thanksgiving Quilt."

"Please read – all the way through"

Some three years ago, Peter McGinn told his colleagues about a Canadian pilot who died from a hospital-acquired infection. He copied the man's obituary in an email sent to the management staff at United Health Services (UHS), where Peter was President and CEO.

“Someday,” Peter wrote, “we may look back at this (obituary) and say it represented a tipping point in public consciousness.” He advised his managers: “Please read this very carefully – all the way through.”

It was typical of Peter to stay in touch with his managers, to bring them relevant information that might help them understand or perform better, to bridge the human and the technical.

Last Monday Peter died at Massachusetts General Hospital from complications of amyloid disease. The disease had damaged his heart, and he was in Boston for a possible heart transplant.

On Saturday he wrote:

I learned yesterday that the amyloid disease has infiltrated my lungs. I cannot safely or successfully have a heart transplant.

In the meanwhile, I have been kept alive with high doses of heart medication and kidney dialysis. We are going to stop the treatment soon. After that, my heart is not likely to continue to work. . . .

My family is here. We’ve had a chance to talk with each other. I am at peace with what comes next. I have been so moved by the expressions of support and the outpouring of prayers that I cannot begin to convey the comfort that brings me as I go to my next step.

While in Boston, Peter kept in touch with family, friends, and colleagues using CaringBridge, a website for communications and support during illness. His first journal entry was February 21. When he died 178 days later, his journal had been visited some 9,000 times. That’s an indication of the people who were touched by his life and his leadership.

Peter was a PhD psychologist, and throughout his career at UHS and at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, he was always a teacher, a colleague, a coach, and a friend. When he retired from UHS two years ago, he formed Leadership Impact, a management consulting firm.

On Sunday his nurses organized a picnic for Peter and his family, a last time together in the sun. After returning to his room, Peter declined his medications and said goodbye to the doctors and nurses who had cared for him.

This is from the last entry in the journal, written by his wife and daughters on Monday:

When we remarked to him that we were touched by his generous spirit even now, he said the important part of being kind is to share specific, meaningful details about what people mean to you. It was one last lesson he was able to teach us.

The Thanksgiving quilt

A year ago I wrote about “the Thanksgiving quilt” that was compiled by Peter McGinn[1], who was the CEO of United Health Services (UHS) in Binghamton. It was patchwork of thoughts, reflections, and aspirations reflecting the spirit of the UHS workforce.

With thanks to Peter and his colleagues at UHS, we at CGH borrowed his quilt idea this year. Yesterday posters went up, showing how the Thanksgiving quilt will look and offering instructions on how to participate. The Thanksgiving quilt is also displayed on all CGH computer splash screens.

Through November 12, members of the CGH family may drop handwritten messages into boxes that are located next to the poster displays[2]. Or simply send a brief e-mail message to ThanksgivingQuilt@cgh.org.

Feel free to share thoughts about family, friends, and work. Share something that makes you smile, warms your heart, or helps you meet the challenges of life.

Your messages will fill the squares of CGH’s Thanksgiving quilt during Thanksgiving week.

[1] Matt Salanger is the current President and CEO of UHS.

After his retirement from UHS last year, Peter McGinn, PhD, founded Leadership Impact “to help leaders and organizations excel by bringing out the best in people and aligning their talents with the goals of the organization.”

[2] In CGH's main lobby, in the Diagnostic Center and outside the cafeteria.

What I am thankful for

Each year a colleague of mine at another hospital[1] solicits words of thanksgiving from the workforce, and he publishes their statements of gratitude in a text called “the Thanksgiving quilt.” That patchwork of thoughts, reflections, and aspirations got me thinking about things I am thankful for at CGH. I am thankful for:

• All who make our patients feel welcome, safe, and respected by their thoughtful actions and by the kindness in their voices.

• All who demonstrate leadership by their knowledge and expertise, by their example, by their hard work, and by their willingness to help with new ideas and new projects.

• All who show up on time every day, who pay attention to the details of everyday work, and who do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

• All who wash their hands consistently, who follow the “red rules” of patient safety, who assure safe practices.

• All who make new employees feel welcome, who teach proper procedure and who encourage employees to feel a part of the CGH family.

• All who celebrate the birthdays, take up collections, offer congratulations at the weddings and graduations of coworkers, and who are ready to help when there is an accident, illness, or death in another’s family.

• All those who volunteer their time, who donate their money, who share their stories, and who make time to listen to others.

• All those who say hello with a ready smile, who hold open doors, who are courteous, and who pick up after themselves (and others).

• All who return to school, continue their studies, and demonstrate progress within their jobs, their professions, and their careers.

• All who respect our doctors by showing their professionalism, responsiveness, and teamwork.

• All who forego gossip and comments that can be hurtful, unkind, or thoughtless.

• All the patients who entrust to us their safety and wellbeing.

• All the doctors who have confidence in our care for their patients.

• All who have good hearts, who can see when another feels awkwardness or worry or pain – and who make efforts to help.

• Our board of directors and board advisers who give their time, their expertise, and their personal funds solely for the purpose of making Community General Hospital a better place.

• For the opportunity to work hard, to solve problems, and to be of assistance to my colleagues every day.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.


[1] Peter McGinn, President & CEO at United Health Services, Binghamton, NY

A tipping point

“Some day, we may look back at this and say it represented a tipping point in public consciousness.”

That is a message I received yesterday from my colleague Peter McGinn, PhD, who is the President and CEO of United Health Services in Binghamton, NY. Peter copied me on an e-mail that he sent to his staff about an obituary that appeared in a Canadian newspaper five months ago.

In reprinting the obituary, I repeat Peter’s words to his staff: “Please read this very carefully – all the way through.”

On October 30, 2005, David Williamson Milne passed away at Kingston General Hospital after a battle with hospital-acquired infections. He was loved and is deeply missed by many.

David Milne was the kind of person that you got to know, and like, quickly. His friends were among society’s small and society’s great, and he treated each with equal respect and appreciation. His Scottish humor and laugh were infectious. Even in his last days he could make us laugh.

His family was the joy of his life and sustained him throughout. As the youngest of a large Manitoba farm family, he was his mother’s joy and primary recipient of her loving largess. He wedded his first love and childhood sweetheart, Catherine, who followed him from posting to posting, with one and then two children, Catherine Jr. and Jacqueline.

As a long-service pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces David Milne’s life was not without risk, but risk balanced in an equation with skill. His heart surgery was a risk, but it was balanced against the outstanding skill of Dr. Hamilton at Kingston General Hospital. The surgery was successful and Dave’s recovery was preceding well, thanks to the care of the KGH staff. Unfortunately, a series of hospital-acquired infections set back his progress and ultimately caused his premature passing.

Every year hospital-acquired infections cause or contribute to the death of more people than breast cancer, heart disease, and car accidents combined. Most of these infections are initiated by otherwise caring healthcare workers who forget or neglect to clean their hands.

And for each of those who, like our friend David, succumb to one of these unnecessary infections, there are many more who ache for their loss. These are not numbers on month-end reports. These are our fathers, our mothers, our children, and our dear friends, who are dying prematurely because of unclean hands. The little bit of extra time that it takes for healthcare workers to wash or to use an alcohol sanitizer is pittance compared to the waste of so many productive, loved and loving lives.

In honour and memory of David Williamson Milne a donation will be made in his name to the Community and Hospital Infection Control Association of Canada. His family and his extended group of friends openly urge those at Kingston General Hospital as well as healthcare workers everywhere to clean their hands before and after every patient contact. It is absolutely a matter of life and death.

Farewell to a dear husband, father and friend.