A dozen hospital personnel, diversely dressed from suits to scrubs, assembled outside the radiation area for the surprise “graduation” mini-party.
Ron Butler, who was completing five weeks of treatment for colorectal cancer, walked through the door to unexpected cheers and shaking pom-pons. Adhering to tradition, he rang a bell attached to the wall, then accepted a T-shirt, a certificate and various goodies, plus embraces and kudos from the smiling staff.
Among the greeters was radiation therapist Tony Phommasack. He observed that the benefits of the ceremonies, staged often at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, are a two-way street.
“[The patients’] reaction is what does it for us,” said Phommasack, whose colleagues once danced to “YMCA” while costumed as the Village People. “It makes our day.”
Hospitals can be a grim place, especially those focused on the scourge of cancer. But the three-year-old institution — on Celebrate Life Parkway in Newnan — cultivates a buoyant workforce.
Since first partaking in the AJC’s Top Workplaces survey, CTCA has bounced from second place in the mid-sized division in 2013 to third in the large sector last year to the front of the current line for large firms.
Between inviting scenery, starting with a main lobby that could double for a hotel’s, to a hiring approach that screens for an upbeat nature among workers, CTCA managed to outscore businesses that need not deal in life-or-death situations.
“It doesn’t taste, smell or feel like a hospital,” said Nina Braswell, the director of laboratory services. “When you’re in a hospital with a hospital feeling, you feel more sick. When you’re in this kind of place, it raises your spirits.”
For patients and employees alike. During her interview for a position in inpatient service, Angelisse Martinez learned that having fun while on the clock was acceptable. “Everyone was so friendly,” she recalled, “I’m thinking, ‘I need to get this job.’ “
CTCA has created its own glossary for employees, beginning with how they refer to each other: stakeholder. The idea is that everyone has a stake in the company’s fate.
Hearing the term initially struck Braswell as odd. Not anymore.
“We actually feel this is partly our business,” she said. “We have a stake in it. I feel more invested when they call me a stakeholder.”
Then there are the graduations. And the daily alignments, which are departmental meetings intended to “align” the staff with each other and the patients. They are part informational, part pep talk, conveying the message that even housekeepers are embedded in the collective effort. Radiation ends its sessions with the crew reciting “one, two, three, WHOOSH” in unison while raising their arms.
The work shift is not all frivolity. Cancer hospital careers are accompanied by highs and lows, depending on how the patient fares with their illness.
Not only are employees provided a quiet space to unwind, vent or cry, they can avail themselves of pastoral advice sessions, along with monthly workshops for dispensing and sharing expert advice on coping with the emotional roller coaster.
Such assistance enables the staff to mostly put on a happy face for patients. Smiles and hugs are encouraged.
The atmosphere, many say, emanates from the top with president/CEO Anne Meisner.
“Anne knows everybody’s name,” Braswell said. “That’s not normal at hospitals, from my experience. Here, you can go right up to [executives]. They always try to be very transparent.”
At the recent quarterly Staff Bash, themed to coincide with the Oscars, Meisner was sporting a red clown nose. A tuxedoed host stood at the end of a red carpet, framed by velvet ropes and backed by a faux box office with blinking lights, while attendees performed, answered trivia questions and pocketed raffle prizes.
Those were not the first appreciated handouts of the day. At the finance/growth/transportation meeting — er, alignment — one woman received $500 and a silver medal as a reward for streamlining a process with an insurance company and another $250 and a bronze for arranging an outing for a patient’s family. Thirteen medals were handed out in February for exceeding standard job requirements. (A gold is worth $1,000, platinum $2,500).
One aspect of the benefits and perks program is incentivizing employees to stay healthy in hopes their attitude will rub off on patients. A $600 annual credit is granted for vitamins and nutritional supplements. A gym membership is provided free, contingent on its regular use.
Still, the most common appealing trait cited by employees was CTCA’s concern for patients. Several alluded to late loved ones who received substandard hospital treatment.
“Every [hospital] says they care about the patient,” Braswell said. “But we live it. We do what we say.”
Apolinar Molina was a patient who turned a year older during his stay and told staff that the party held for him made it his favorite birthday ever.
After his release, Molina moved from his Florida home to the area — and is now a driver in the hospital’s transportation department.
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