I am feeling stressed. Holiday stress from not doing a flipping thing and now less than a week left. Nothing. I have a couple of days off next week to get everything done. Angst. I usually write a letter… it’ll be a New Year’s letter this year… as for everything else… jeez.
So I was selected to be honored in HealthLeaders Magazine as one of the “2014 HealthLeaders Twenty”– the twenty inpiduals who are making a difference in health care. Really cool honor. The article that accompanies the recognition talks a lot about grounded – my restaurant up town and how we have more pigs and chickens than people in Wright County (by a couple of million)… and somewhat pushes the envelope on what has been accomplished over my tenure here. Perhaps I come across as a bit much, sorry if you get this from the story – I didn’t write it. (You can read the full story at this link http://healthleadersmedia.com/20people).
Dr. Whitters used to tell me that “prophets are never realized in their own land”* and what he meant is that in the local areas we tend to downgrade those who are making a difference probably, because we know their flaws. (“The devil you know is always worse than the devil you don’t.”) I’ve seen this happen with the hospital, our providers, our staff, and leaders in the community. In Iowa, Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics and what we have done is not recognized as much as it is in the other 49 states. People will leave Wright County for care elsewhere while 100 times this amount will come to this county for medical care. People will leave and get their clothes, groceries, coffee, cars, and whatever else in towns outside this county because it is perceived as “better.” If we do nothing else in this next year, I pray that we become extremely conscious of our gifts and excellence in our local town. We’ve got some amazing things going on – let’s brag it up and be proud!!!
*I realize I’m not a prophet – it is a saying.
-Steve Simonin, President and CEO
