We are still family wherever the road leads us

This week I dedicate this post to a dear friend who is fighting for his life, Robert Porter.

Robert wasn't at HMA very long but made an impression on many who got to know him.  I was part of a group text this week and learned that he was in the hospital.  With each day, we have gotten updates and he has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

His needs rallied the HMA family and put us into action.  Through prayers and monetary support we are helping Robert get from Naples to Nashville so he can be treated by his doctors there.  A website was created to raise the money for the medical transport and I encourage all of you to donate towards the cause whether you know Robert or not.  Donate online at http://www.gofundme.com/8fx5x4

Through the generosity of my fellow HMA'ers I am reminded that we are still family wherever the road leads us.  Please keep Robert in prayer for a full recovery and consider donating towards the cost of his medical transport.

Week 1 in Review

Last week was my first week at the new job, Chief Reimbursement Officer for Providence Health & Services.  Providence is a not-for-profit Catholic health care system with services that includes hospitals, physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other services across Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington.  The system office is located in Renton, WA.

I have been charged with uniting 4 Reimbursement departments and creating a consolidated corporate reimbursement function that will be responsible for monthly net revenue calculations for $12B in annual revenues, annual cost reports and reimbursement-related regulatory filings for 31 hospitals.  We also communicate changes and trends to the finance team, serve others by proactively providing timely updates as new regulations are implemented and ensures that all Providence entities are compliant with existing Medicare regulations.

Now that you understand the scope of my role, let me tell you about my on boarding process.  On my first day, I was given a full day of orientation.  I received my email address and got computer training on all of the various systems.  What fantastic tools I have access to!

For the rest of the week, I wandered around a bit lost.  Even though I had email, I did not have access to much.  Each request required a help desk ticket.  I was pretty frustrated as I am used to walking over to my friends in IT on the 4th floor at HMA and getting help immediately.  Those were the days!

On Thursday, my team hosted a lunch in my honor to welcome me.  I got a chance to meet the 15 FTEs I have here in Renton.  We went around the room and I asked them to introduce themselves by telling me their name, a little about themselves, and I challenged them to share something about themselves that nobody knows.  They seemed to really enjoy the exercise and it was fun to get a glimpse of each person's personality.

By the end of the week, I was set with an office, a laptop, and access to the system.  On Friday, my supervisor hosted an introductory call to meet my direct reports located in Oregon, California, and Alaska.  Looks like I will be doing some traveling very soon.

One of the guiding principles at Providence is to "Ease my way" and it was quite evident this week.  It was a great first week.

Not quite sure I got the full story about the weather here.  The sun has been shining everyday since I got here and I am smiling.

See below for a meditation left on my desk day 1.

First days on the new job

Monday was my first day at the new job and I spent it in orientation.  I was grateful for the time to absorb the policies and procedures, make my benefit elections, and review the code of conduct.  Even though much of the information is not new to me, it is insightful to learn it through their culture.  At the start of the day, the facilitator opened the meeting with a reflection.  

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." - Alan Cohen

Beginning meetings with a reflection is something new I have to get used to working for a faith based organization.  I must admit, the reflection helped calm my nerves a bit.  

Orientation was scheduled for the entire day.  When I left, I had my email address and could access the system and all of the various tools.  I am amazed by all of the tools available and have my work cut out for me to get up to speed using them.

Today was my first day in the office.  I started the morning meeting with my boss.  He helped me lay out a plan for the next 30 days to meet key stakeholders that I will work closely with in my role.  He is putting out a system wide communication to announce my arrival to help facilitate these first meetings.

I began reviewing the intranet and they have a wealth of information available and many applications are self-service designed.  I noticed there was a bulletin announcement with a call for singers and pianists so I had to open it.  It turns out that there are times when there are liturgical services at the office for various events and there is a volunteer group of employees that sing.  I went ahead and sent an email to the organizer to indicate my interest in joining the group.  I was quickly added to the group Celebration Singers and I am already signed up to sing this Thursday at a dedication ceremony.  It is only two songs and one of them happens to be "We Are Called" by Marty Haugen.  I have only sung that song in church about 100 times.  What a great way for me to get to know people and give back during this introductory period where I am taking a lot!

I spent the majority of the day sending email introductions to key leaders to request meetings to get oriented.  Calendar is filling up already.

Tomorrow, I meet all of my peers in my first department managers meeting.

Getting settled in my temporary home

Yesterday was a long day of traveling, but I made it to Seattle safe and sound.  Every time I share with someone I am moving to Florida, they quickly tell me it rains a lot.  When I arrived to Seattle, the sun was shining and it was in the 60's.  I was fortunate enough to find people to help me with my 5 suitcases along the way.  When I got to the rental car counter, I realized that all of this luggage would not fit in the car so they upgraded me to a jeep.  When I arrived to the apartment complex, the leasing agent helped me bring my bags upstairs.  I am staying in an efficiency apartment with a small kitchenette and washer/dryer.  There is no separate bedroom but it is nicely decorated and I am very comfortable.  It feels like college again.  I used FaceTime to give my parents the virtual tour.  I went out to Target and bought some paper goods and a few groceries.  In bed at 8:30 pm.

I am definitely not used to the time change.  I was awake at 5:30 am.  I took a ride around town and came back here and unpacked.  Normally, Dan packs me for all of trips but this time I took my time to make sure I had all of my work clothes.  My suitcases have been packed for about 2 weeks.  (Yes, I was a little excited).  I figured if I forgot anything I can go out and buy what I need.  But I realized this afternoon that I forgot to pack all of my bras (of all things to forget).

Dan left for his cruise vacation with his mom.  I spoke to him on the phone while they were sailing past the bahamas.  Technology is awesome.  It is going to be very strange to not be able to talk to him the next several days while they are cruising.

I spent the afternoon watching UCONN beat Florida.  It was fun to follow the posts on Facebook and know that some former HMA alumni were at the game.  I hope they realized it and found each other.  I have been to that stadium and it is enormous.

I am going to Mass in the morning.  I found a church close to here and I spoke to the music director yesterday.  She only works part time for the church and runs 4 choirs and schedules cantors for 6 Masses every weekend.  I told her that I was looking to volunteer on occasion when I get settled.  I plan to meet her tomorrow.

My last day in sunny SW Florida

It has been a busy week here at the Mounts' home.  I spent a wonderful day having Sunday brunch with a few friends.   

On Monday, we put one car on the truck to Seattle.  

We officially have the house on the market and showed it to prospective buyers today.  We worked tirelessly to finish packing and clean every nook and cranny.  It is sad to see how nice my home looks now that I am leaving it.

Tomorrow morning, I leave for Seattle. . . Alone!  Dan is hanging back here until the house sells and deal with the movers.  It feels like déjà vu all over again.  When we moved here from CT, Dan packed up the moving truck and drove our car to Florida.  That time, we lived apart for about 2 weeks.  This time, we will spend 4 weeks apart until he comes out for a visit.

I wish there was more time, but I will be back for a visit in May.

New job starts Monday!

"It wasn't meant to be"; "Everything happens for a reason";"Everything works out for the best in the end"

Forgive me but all of these sayings are a load of crap.  They are generally platitudes people say when they hear about another person's misfortune.  Don't misunderstand me.  I do believe that things generally work out well in the end.  However, all of these sayings are actually blaming fate instead of taking responsibility for what has happened and meeting the challenge with an equal and opposite reaction.

A few years ago, my sister challenged my way of thinking and asked me to answer a simple question:  where do you see yourself 5 years from now?  Through a battery of intrusive questions she helped me formalize my goals and determine the best strategies on how to get there.  At the time, I thought she was crazy as she reinvented herself and got out of her comfort zone.  Hey, I thought I was the big sister here and had all of the answers but she has been teaching me through her experiences.

When the opportunity came up for me to take a job in Seattle, I thought about the conversation we had several years ago and realized the dream she helped me create came true.  Was this fate?  No, it was living through a challenging time in my career and taking action.

My advice of the day:  when you get knocked down, get right back up and focus on how you will respond.  It is through times of trial where you will be admired for how you handled the situation.

I am spending my final weekend in Bonita Springs saying goodbye to my friends.  Last night, we had happy hour with HMA friends.  It is bittersweet to say goodbye.  I feel sad to move away from friends and family but excited at the same time about my next chapter.

Meet a new person everyday

My time off from work has helped me realize that I have been so busy with work that I would often get irritated with idle chit chat and strangers who would try and engage me in conversation when I would go shopping.  I just wanted to rush and get what I need and be on my way.  All the while, I would complain about the snow birds, wonder why the store couldn't staff more people, and sometimes just abandon my cart and leave.

Today, I was shopping for moving boxes and supplies at a storage facility.  There was a gentleman behind the counter who pointed to the corner of the store to pick out what I needed.  Not more than 2 minutes later, a lady came up behind me a said, "can I help you?".  I turned around and this older lady with Tammy Faye makeup smiled and said "where are you moving to?"

Under normal circumstances, I would give a short answer and continue with my mission.  But today, I took the time to talk with her further.  She easily could have sold me all of the expensive moving boxes but she shared some inexpensive alternatives and some helpful reminders.

1.  Rather than buy the dish pack set, she told me to buy styrofoam plates to line the inside of the boxes before packing the glassware.  When packing the plates, put them on their sides and use the styrofoam plates in between.  Put the bubble wrap in the bottom and the top of the box.

2.  Rather than buy the glassware kit, stop by the liquor store and get boxes from them.

3.  Only use small and medium boxes.  They are easier to handle and will restrict you from overpacking and making them too heavy.

4.  She recommended the bags to protect the mattresses.

5.  She gave me an inventory list with dimensions for all of the available boxes and encouraged me to measure before purchasing the large boxes.

Bonus- she will let me return boxes that I don't use.

She moved here from New Mexico about 2 years ago and had her mother living with her until she passed away.  We talked about getting organized and I shared my tip about taking clothes to the Clothes Mentor.  She was pretty excited about getting money for her clothes instead of just giving them away.

This chance encounter helped me get jump started on packing up the kitchen dishes.  I am so glad I took the time to meet a new person to keep me motivated.  This packing business is starting to get old but the more we do ourselves, the less money it will cost to move.

Bring the Band Back Together ?!?

Back in 2001, I was part of a garage band with friends from the MIS department.  With me on vocals, Tim B. on bass, John M. on keyboard, Tim P. on guitar, and Chris Gentile on drums, we were known as "TARP".  Today while packing, I came across our demo CD.  We used to get together in Chris's garage out in Golden Gate and jam.  Fun times!

Sadly, Chris Gentile passed away.  His death was very tragic to all of us because he was stricken with a heart attack while working in the computer room at HMA.  Finding this CD made me think of him and the good times we had.

RIP Chris

Preparing the kids for the trip

Dan and I don't have a traditional family but our children are 3 pugs:  Precious, Bella, and Jeter.  We have been researching a number of options to move our dogs to Seattle.  Because of their snub noses, they are not able to fly in the cargo area on an airplane.  They are also too big to fit underneath the seat so driving them is the only option.

I was very concerned that Precious would not be able to make the trip because of her rheumatoid arthritis.  The vet cleared her to travel but she is getting to a point where we might consider putting her down.  She has been suffering for 2 years and the arthritis has crippled her so badly that she can't walk.  We started a new course of treatment and we will make the difficult decision over the next 2 months if she will make the trip.

We are taking Bella on the trip but we decided to adopt out Jeter.  Jeter joined us about a year and a half ago when we rescued him from a shelter.  We nursed him back to health and have given him a good home.  He is a lot younger than Precious and Bella and he will do better with dogs his own age while he is still active.  In addition, we have struggled with finding a place to rent in Seattle because most places have a two dog limit.  The Pug Rescue will be picking up Jeter this week and placing him with a good home.

We found a carrier to put Precious and Bella in the back seat.  I think they like the accommodations.

Throw Back Thursday

If you are on Facebook, then you are well aware of what TBT stands for.  Today, I found my high school yearbook and couldn't resist posting a picture of my high school softball team and tag all of my teammates.  Most are on my Facebook profile so lots of fun to see the comments.

During one of my breaks packing, I read through my yearbook and the many kind notes my friends wrote to me.  It is so funny how similar the process of saying goodbye to my friends in high school is to saying goodbye to my friends at HMA.  Between last night and today at lunch, I was able to see two dear friends.

I spoke to a realtor, John Garbo today about putting my house on the market.  He has been used by several HMA executives to sell their homes with much success.  I was teasing him about renaming his agency the HMA Realty Agency.  He made me laugh when he said he doesn't refer to the company as HMA (because it is dead) nor does he call it CHS, he calls it "Fifty-eight eleven" after the Pelican Bay address.  I think I will use that!

I have lined up my temporary housing and I will be there for April and May.  Dan is going to fly out the first week of May so we can find our permanent home to move in June 1.  He will fly back and deal with the movers.  My goal is to downsize everything so it is ready to pack by April 1 and we will be ready to put the house on the market.  I am day 4 into this and the house is still in shambles.  It is confirmed…..I am a hoarder.

The Process of Saying Goodbye Begins

Today, I continued to working on the packing.  I promised Dan that I was going to make him proud by taking care of as much of the packing as possible before I left.  He has been an unbelievable support system especially the last few years.  Every day, he has gotten up with me and made breakfast, laid my clothes out, walk the dogs, and see me out the door.  It is a unique experience this week as roles have quickly reversed.  (I reminded him to not get used to it).  I am not quite sure how I will survive without him for 2 months in Seattle.  He plans to stay back here and deal with selling the house and coordinating our move.

There were a few business items I attended to today.

1.  I sent in the paperwork for my temporary housing.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't lose out.  It is extremely difficult to rent a place from a far distance.  Seems like just when I find a place I like online, it is already taken.

2.  I confirmed with my HFMA board that they support my continued participation with the Florida chapter.  I am blessed to not only have an employer that supports my involvement but a group of volunteers who support my leadership from a distance over the next year.  Being Chapter President has been a 5 year journey and I grateful that amidst this job change I will not have to give this up.

3.  I did some more due diligence on my new employer.  Yes, even though the job is confirmed, I continue to research as much as I can so I am ready to hit the ground running.  I spent some today with a trusted colleague to learn about the differences between for profit healthcare and a faith based organization.

In addition, I started filling up my calendar with lunch appointments and coffee meetings with friends from the area.  I am starting to make the rounds with friends and say my goodbyes.  These three weeks are going to go by fast.

OCECD Cured!

What does OCECD stand for?  Obsessive Compulsive Email Checking Disorder

Now that my business email is no longer accessible, I found it liberating to remove the Outlook email from my iPhone today.  Except for one problem…..I lost my contacts.  When you delete an email account from your phone, not only do you lose your email messages, but also the contacts and the calendar appointments.  I knew this would be a problem so I took a few preventative measures:

• Exported my contacts from Outlook in 2 file formats:  .pst and .csv.  This will be helpful when I establish my new work email in a few weeks so I can import these files later.  (That won't help me right now though)
• Prior to leaving HMA, I sent an email to many business contacts and announced my last day was  Friday and provided my personal email and cell phone
• I requested that my employer forward any personal email messages specifically related to my volunteer work at HFMA to my personal email address.  They are monitoring the email box for messages instead of canceling my email account.  This concerns me the most because I am afraid they won't honor my request and HFMA messages will go unanswered for a period of time.  Senders will not receive the bounce back message that the email address is no longer valid and they might not receive any acknowledgement.

In addition to the above, I noticed that after I deleted the email account I had many text messages and phone calls that used to have the person's name populated change to the cell phone number.  I quickly scanned the messages and updated the contact information to add the person's name.

I plan to update my LinkedIn account after my start date so for now, I will enjoy the peace of not checking my phone for work email and stay focused on packing.

For those of you following my blog, you know how to reach me.

Downsizing and Packing Begins

The last time we moved was 2007 and so we have accumulated a fair amount of "stuff".  In order to keep our moving expenses as low as possible, we are trying to rid ourselves of the clutter.  However, during the "organization" stage of packing, I have come across a few gems:

• Unused gift cards.  Plan to use those for dinners later on after the dishes are packed.  Bonus!
• Winning lottery tickets.  Cashed them in and put towards gas.
• Free movie tickets.  Seemed like HMA gave these out like candy because I found about 12 tickets I never used.

My mom has been visiting me from CT this week.  We took the time to pack up my Precious Moments collection.  We had quite the production line going:  Dan dusted the figurines, I wrote down the serial number and name, and then my mom wrapped the figurines.  I have been collecting them since I was 15 but never made a list so it is nice now to have an inventory list of my 150 pieces.

Since I live in a community, we are not allowed to have a yard sale so I have to find other ways to get rid of the clutter.  I took some of my clothes over to the Clothes Mentor.  It is a high end consignment shop across from Mercato that gives you cash on the spot for your clothes.  So far, they have given me $300 for the clothes I have sold to them so it is worth the stop.  Tomorrow, I am donating a few items to the Our Lady of Light Thrift Store.

Not even close to finished but it was a good start this weekend.

Last day at HMA

Yesterday was my last day at HMA.  As I looked around the office, it is sad to see the company come to an end.  Empty offices, files in boxes, and zero emails in a once vibrant corporate office where I spent the majority of my professional career.

Only a few people are left but it meant so much to share breakfast with a few old timers who I have worked along side with the last 14 years.

I have been blessed to cross paths with hundreds of healthcare executives while working at HMA.  Each of them had an impact on my career and I hold them dear as I begin the next chapter.