É«ÇéÎåÔÂÌì

Veterans Day Message

In 2007, 1st Lt. Travis Manion, U.S. Marine Corps, was killed in Iraq while saving his wounded teammates. Today, the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) is a nonprofit organization that empowers veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.

Travis’ sister, Ryan Manion, who serves as president of the foundation, published an opinion article on Veterans Day 2019. The article pointed out a number of things we can learn from the bravery of our American veterans.

Among Ryan’s observations about veterans:

  1. They embrace challenge—physical and mental.
  2. They put the good of the team before themselves.
  3. They strive for continual improvement.
  4. They are resilient. They learn how to overcome obstacles to achieve growth.
  5. They never stop serving.

As healthcare professionals working for É«ÇéÎåÔÂÌì at this time in our history, we can learn a lot from our veterans. We are on the front lines, serving our communities at a time of financial challenge for our hospitals – and for many other hospitals around the country.

Like the veterans among us, we all must embrace challenge. We must look for creative opportunities to meet the challenges of staffing shortages and cost reduction strategies, for example.

All across our É«ÇéÎåÔÂÌì system, we strive for continual improvement – improvement in the quality of care we deliver and in all the activities we undertake to serve our patients. We need to continue seeking opportunities to improve patient safety and operational efficiency where possible.

We need to be resilient. Now is the time to think positively about a future in which we emerge from our restructuring proccess and stand on solid financial footing to continue serving our communities.

And, we need to continue serving each other as well as our patients, putting the good of the team before ourselves.

As we observe Veterans Day today, we are reminded to show gratitude to those who ensure the many freedoms we enjoy in this country. In addition to showing appreciation to our veterans today, let’s commit to learning from their approach to service.

They set high standards for us to emulate.