Highlands-Cashiers Hospital, Eckerd Living Center teams grateful to serve connected community
At this time of year, do you find yourself counting your blessings and focusing on gratitude? With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we focus on all we have to be grateful for, from our families to our health.
One thing I appreciate most is the work I love here at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital (HCH) and Eckerd Living Center (ELC). I feel I can speak for the entire team when I say that we are deeply thankful to this community for depending on us for their care. Our dedication to delivering the best, most compassionate care is at the heart of our culture.
The special people who work in healthcare are proud to serve where we feel we can truly make a difference. We help patients and families during some of the most critical moments of their lives.
Since we are community members ourselves, our work — which is truly a calling — is that much more significant. As I often say, we treat everyone like they are part of our family.
My first job as a Registered Nurse was at a large teaching hospital, and I rarely had a prior relationship with the patients I cared for. Here, it’s common, which makes these relationships far more meaningful.
There are many joys to working in healthcare, even though its challenges are often highlighted. We care for your loved ones, frequently during the most trying times in their lives. As you might imagine, this is demanding on our team on so many levels. It’s difficult to just “leave work at work.” In my opinion, there are few jobs more stressful; however, it’s also the most rewarding work, as our teams make a profound difference every day.
At HCH, we have the opportunity to witness helping patients reach recovery, walking them through every aspect of their care journeys, and sharing so many special moments and milestones.
One example from the past year that touched many of us at HCH was a patient who suffered serious injuries in an accident. He received emergency care to address multiple broken bones, and there were doubts he would ever walk again. We admitted him to our swing bed program (skilled services we offer in our hospital that focus on intense rehabilitation) and over months, he learned to walk again and regained strength. This patient’s recovery is truly miraculous, and it has as much to do with his grit and determination as it does with the care we provided.
We all cheered when our much-loved patient walked out of this hospital on his own. This is just one example of the rich rewards we receive from building relationships with patients and accompanying them as they heal. We’re grateful to serve and connect with patients in this way.
As I reflect on our team, I want to take this opportunity to recognize everyone who contributes: physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, nurses, radiology technologists, patient care technicians, laboratorians, pharmacy staff, and all those who support the caregivers at both HCH and ELC. This includes those working in the food services, environmental services, facility maintenance, and administrative departments. I also need to recognize and thank our volunteers who provide valuable support on many levels, and our board members.
I’m thankful too for HCA Healthcare’s consistent investment in our hospital — and our community. HCA Healthcare was pivotal in helping us continue providing care through Hurricane Helene last year, which I talked about in last months’ column. HCA also enhanced our services by investing in our new imaging technology, enabled the recruitment of new providers who allowed us to reestablish previously dormant services, and more.
During my four-decade career in healthcare, I feel privileged to have witnessed so many advances in healthcare delivery. It’s amazing when you compare how we treated heart attacks, cancer, or strokes in the 1980s to how we address them today. I have also been involved with sweeping changes in our industry, including the evolution of Medicare and Medicaid, the rise of personalized medicine, telemedicine, and the use of electronic health records (EHRs).
Our work’s greatest rewards, however, may be the seemingly small but significant moments we share with patients, whether that’s giving an encouraging word, a hopeful hug, or taking the time to truly listen to a patient’s concerns. This is the heart of being a healthcare provider, regardless of your role.
We at HCH and ELC appreciate serving in these ways. Gratitude fuels our work and service.
I hope our community enjoys a wonderful time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. There’s really no better time of year.
Tom Neal, RN, MBA, MHA, is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Highlands-Cashiers Hospital. Neal is a proven leader with more than 30 years of progressive healthcare experience. Prior to his role at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital, he served as Chief Executive Officer of both Berwick Hospital Center in Berwick, Pennsylvania, and Greenbriar Valley Medical Center, Ronceverte, West Virginia, which are each part of Community Health Systems (CHS). Tom has an MBA from the University of Louisville, MHA from the California College of Health Sciences, BSN from Regents College of New York and an ADN from Jefferson Community College.