"Who wants to get out of bed in the morning to be average?" hospital President Chris York asks in the draft of his new book, Setting the Standard.

   How he answered this single question during his tenure creating cultures of healing at two of Baylor's hospitals led to his selection as 2019's Healing Hospital CEO of the Year by Erie Chapman Foundation. 

   Imbedded in Chris' question is, Maybe it's okay for some people to be "average," But, nor if you are a team member delivering Radical Loving Care. His leadership sets the standard. 

   He knows that no caregiver wants to say, "I work for an average hospital with average caregivers & I do an average job." Yet, average, by definition, describes the majority of hospitals & caregivers. 

   Most people lose their way on the path to excellence. The number one cause is both personal &  cultural. One hundred percent of the leaders who have run average hospitals are average themselves.

   I faced that challenge with the first hospital I ran in the 1970s. An inner city organization with a below average medical staff, discouraged caregivers & a patient population that struggled on the edge of poverty. 

   Culture determines behavior & leaders determine culture. We raised the standard with a laser focus that demanded high competency & deep compassion from caregivers. The leader's new challenge was to take care of the people who take care of people. 

   Many leaders were replaced with those who could advance this new standard. Work became a calling, not just a job. Leaders learned to honor caregivers & never condescend. 

   When I left to lead Riverside Methodist, Ohio's largest hospital (& to found the eleven hospital OhioHealth system) the total human experience had changed. Patient & team member satisfaction had soared as had quality scores & financial performance. 

   On July 1, 1983, I became president of Riverside Methodist Hospital & we planted the seeds of Radical Loving Care. In 1984 I became founding president of OhioHealth. Success came through one core achievement: creating a culture where the human experience was dominated by high competence, deep compassion & total commitment.   

   Why rise each morning to be average? Love calls us to excellence. 

-Erie Chapman

Photo: Erie Chapman & Chris York – Baylor Public Relations Dept.