Blogs

December 12, 2011 -- Party debrief and house guests

Dec 12, 2011 by Marc Strode, CEO
Folks,
Merry Christmas!  It's here!  Hard to believe, and if you are like me still lots to do before Santa makes his way to Del Rio next Saturday night.  For those that made it out to the Christmas party on Saturday evening, we hope you had a great time.  I had a blast, and I now know when I want to go out dancing, who to turn to!  If you were working up here while the rest of us were dancing the night away, thanks so much for providng the coverage.  I hope you enjoyed the goodies we sent your way.  I did hear one concern today that all the "good drawings" were at the party and the night shift raffle items were "inferior" to the other prizes.  I guess that's all in the eye of the prize winner as we all value things differently, but we'll stay focused on that for next year and make sure we have some TVs and the Apple stuff in both buckets!

Once again, Dr. Lindsey took the honors as the Physician of the Year as chosen by our team that cast their votes.  I believe since the inception of the award around 1999, he's taken the honor all but one year, according to him.  I really like working with the guy--obviously as you do, too--and I appreciate his common sense approach to medicine and taking care of patients.  And I marvel at his work ethic.  Well deserved.

As for employee of the year, my hat is off to Darcy Blair, your 2011 VVRMC employee of the year.  Our house sups are the night CEOs, and I sleep well at night knowing that Darcy is in charge.  She has the attitude, spirit, service and critical thinking to make her the best at what she does.  Be sure an tell her "congratulations" if you see her around this week.  We've put an exrta $500 in her paycheck as a small way of saying "thanks" for her service and leadership.

We had some special guests last week here at the hospital.  First, for the little people.  Cub Scout Troop 202 came by last Monday and got a good look at the inner workings of the hospital.  Word has it they all wanted to drive Ram's ambulance!  Thanks to Cookie for being a super tour guide for the scouts and the troop moms and dads who accompanied them. 

Then on Friday, we hosted Leadership Del Rio.  This is a selected group of 20 community leaders that make up the 2nd graduating class of this endeavor.  2 of the 20 are VVRMC's own Adrian Larson and Mari Acosta.  The rest of the make-up ranges from bankers to Border Partol to City Government to small business to retail--all leaders in our community.  We showcased VVRMC all day long, and I know they were genuinely impressed with not only what they saw, but more importantly w/ the people they interacted with who gave them a true sense of the spirit and genuineness we have about taking care of patients.  When they asked me what they could do for us, I simply said, "trust us.  there is no need to leave town for the majority of Del Rio's health care needs.  and to the extent you can help spread that message and bear witness to where we are headed based on what you have seen and heard today, you will be doing us real good!" 

And this week and next we've got carolers here, string sextets, and next Monday morning the Del Rio High School Band!  Keep an ear out for the tuba player doing Jingle Bells! 

It's just a great time of year, and I hope you are able to slow down for just a bit and enjoy it!

Keep the Spirit,
Marc