All About Intentions

In popular motivational business culture, the saying goes that there's a word in Chinese that has a double meaning, representing the concepts of "danger" and "opportunity" all in one.

The word is "weiji."

A closer analysis reveals that "weiji" is a compound word of which the first part, "wei," can indeed mean "danger," while the second one, "ji," can mean any number of things depending on what it is paired with.

The possibilities range from "airplane" to "chance." Some language scholars suggest that its pairing with "wei" turns the meaning of "ji" into "crucial point."

For the purposes of this column, we'd like to adhere to the more popular interpretation for a moment.

The Columbia County Health District has been in turmoil.

Last month's firing and resignations, followed by last week's crowded and emotional public board meeting and by this week's resignation of Virginia Romine as head of nursing services add up to a gut-wrenching roller coaster ride for the small rural district.

Add to that a state survey performed in April that cites a number of failures at the Booker Rest Home and add to that a persistent staff shortage, and we're looking at a very challenging situation for the men and women who, as a group, are charged with the care of this community's patients and some of its elderly.

We would like to propose, as Dr. Michael Luce did at the Thursday meeting and other medical staff have done internally, that everyone associated with some aspect of shaping the district's future do so with the word "opportunity" in mind.

The first actions taken in the wake of the shakeup are encouraging.

The district's board of directors, though somewhat late to respond, has nonetheless done so assertively under leadership of President Blaine Bickelhaupt. They have , implemented a firing freeze, inserted themselves into the personnel review process and will seek the help from a third-party mediator to analyze the management culture at the district and propose improvements.

CEO Charlie Button recognizes he needs to reach out to the nursing corps and involve the medical staff much more closely in addressing personnel management challenges. He is in the midst of forming a committee to do this with Dr. Heidi Shields and four nurses.

Dr. Shields has offered to oversee the medical staff at the Booker Annex and fix the problems identified in the state report, none of which point to a willful pattern of mistreatment but rather a lack of adequate personnel resources and training.

For their part, the nurses themselves appear willing to work extra hard to meet staffing schedules until new employees, some of whom have already been recruited, come on board.

There is no question that the tumultuous developments during the past several weeks have brought the district to a "crucial point." Now, it is a matter of intentions. Grievances over past practices have been expressed and heard. Lessons have been learned and the door has been opened to meaningful change.

We believe the process that has been set in motion deserves to be given a chance to succeed. If all players come to this process with the intention of turning the current crisis around - as all signs seems to indicate - the will and momentum will be there to overcome inevitable obstacles.

This means setting aside personal agendas, mustering forgiveness, selflessly recognizing strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly, reviving trust, morale and an esprit de corps that allows employees to excel in pursuit of their professional passion: providing the best quality care to this deserving community.

We hope the district will give itself time to heal from a bruising predicament and rally behind everyone's best intentions to seek constructive solutions, which, in our opinion, should include outreach to staff who have resigned or have been terminated in the past.

A lot of hard work is ahead for the district, but a new course has been set to get out of the stormy seas and into calmer waters. Everyone has been called to deck to help get there.