BUSINYS Grant Program Underwrites Leadership Training for

Rome Memorial Hospital Supervisors, Directors and Managers

One of the best ways to ensure satisfaction among patients is to focus on the personal and professional development of those who care for them.

Thanks to a $22,400 Building Skills in New York State (BUSINYS) grant, Rome Memorial Hospital will spend the next year enhancing the leadership skills of 75 of its senior administrators, directors, managers and supervisors.  These individuals oversee more than 1,000 health care workers who work within Rome Memorial Hospital.

The Governor of New York State and its Workforce Investment Board have reserved approximately $15 million in statewide funds received under the Workforce Investment Act to solve workforce problems by addressing identified skilled worker shortages and promoting skills upgrading for incumbent workers.

“Rome Memorial Hospital’s directors, managers and supervisors are proficient within their clinical areas of expertise,” noted Darlene Burns, president and CEO of the hospital.  “Like many other companies, the hospital promotes employees into leadership positions because they show the potential to be leaders and perform exceptionally well in their particular clinical or administrative field. 

“Very often, those who become directors, managers, and supervisors have not been formally trained to coach, mentor and manage the employees who report to them on a daily basis,” said Mrs. Burns.   “This training grant offers 75 of our staff the opportunity to build upon their existing skills and learn new techniques necessary to ensure a satisfied, stable work force that can provide the highest quality patient care. Leadership training will enable those in entry-level management positions to acquire the skills and expertise necessary for continued advancement within the hospital.”

A study conducted by the Workforce Investment Board of Oneida, Herkimer & Madison Counties in collaboration with Syracuse University, the Central NY Area Health Education Center and a number of hospitals (including Rome Memorial Hospital) led to the development of a Regional Health Care Career Lattice Project.  The project’s results validate the need in the Central New York region for programs that focus on the leadership skills of healthcare providers. 

“Developing the hospital management team’s leadership skills and abilities offers many benefits,” Mrs. Burns explained.  “It enhances the patient care skills of front-line staff.  It increases employee satisfaction.  And, it improves the hospital’s recruitment and retention of staff, especially within nursing and allied health professions, where shortages are already apparent.

 “Health care is a ‘leading edge’ industry,” said Mrs. Burns, “where change and innovation occur at a rapid pace.  Leaders in health care need to be strategic and decisive thinkers; positive, seasoned role models and coaches for the employees they manage; enthusiastic, life-long learners; and strong time managers in order to succeed.

“Health care is also a highly regulated industry,” Mrs. Burns continued. “It requires the ability to meet mandated standards, to report and interpret statistics and to successfully complete quality assessments conducted by accrediting bodies, third-party insurers, public and private funders, state departments of health and the federal government.

“Anyone who wishes to become a leader in the field must be confident, knowledgeable about policies and procedures, and motivated to think critically about complex medical, legal and ethical issues,” Mrs. Burns said.

From October 2006 – June 2007, the hospital will hold monthly leadership training sessions for its 75 administrators, directors, managers and supervisors.  The training program, designed by Diversified Development, LLC of Herkimer, features eight different, interactive modules specific to health care and taught by seasoned professionals.  The modules, which address leadership qualities and situations that are imperative for organizational progress, include the following:  Communication Skills; Decision-Making; Interviewing Skills & Techniques; Performance Evaluations; Hiring & Terminating Staff; Motivating & Leading Others; Effective Time Management & Delegation; Organizational Management.  In all, more than 29 hours of leadership training will be conducted.

Training will conclude with four interactive sessions that will enable the hospital’s leadership team to refresh and improve computer skills.  These sessions are designed to help hospital leaders communicate more efficiently and to enhance proficiency when generating official correspondence, patient notes, department budgets, reports, and managing or interpreting data.