Iowa Specialty Hospital

Notes from Steve

April 13, 2016

I went to Hope Lutheran Church last Saturday night for service because the band, Mercyme, was playing there. They’re this amazing contemporary Christian band. They were great and I enjoyed the music, but my takeaway was not the band, it was the message from the minister. Pastor Mike talked about infusing mercy and grace into all we do. “Lead with mercy and love …”  I talked about this concept with my coach last night. A lot of what we’ve tried to do at Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics over the years is to lead with love, caring, and compassion. I stress in orientation that we are chosen to be in a caring field with a singular goal – that of providing an amazing place for doctors and providers to practice, employees to work, and ultimately, for patients to receive care.  

 

Leading from a place of mercy and grace … I confessed to my coach that I don’t always do this. I regret this about myself. 

 

Prior to my gastric sleeve, I was a carb addict – I probably still am. It is just hard for me to eat the pound of pasta nightly as I don’t have the stomach for it (literally). “Addict” is a strong word, but I truly think, I couldn’t get enough, I wasn’t satisfied, and I wasn’t eating to quell my physical hunger. The pastas and breads medicated, me and I gained weight.  

 

Another addiction I suffer from is drama. I used to wear a pin that said DRAMA with a red slash (a lot of people thought it said Obama with a red slash ... whatever …). So my addiction to drama to me means that I crave an active environment – I like politics (federal, state, local, office). I like a “sense of urgency” in our daily business and using the big hospitals as the enemies in the “war” for business. (It is kind of odd to write that out.)  

 

So I look at my addictions. I pretty much removed the carb thing, because physically I can’t eat like that anymore. But the other addiction, it is a daily and hourly exercise to replace my desire for the game with leading from a place of grace and mercy. “My life will be boring”, I told my coach.  “No, you just need to replace the ‘fix’ from drama with the amazing perspective that leading from grace and mercy will give you … it is so much better.”  

 

I trust the message I’ve been given, and I will really try to be better.  

 

-Steve Simonin, Presidente & CEO

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