| The Saint Marys Hospital Sponsorship
Board has a nearly 20-year history – but how many of us
really know and understand what the Sponsorship does?
The 20-member Sponsorship Board is comprised of
Franciscan Sisters and lay colleagues who work to
promote the mission and purpose of Sponsorship:
• To strengthen the infusion of the spiritual dimension
within the Mayo Clinic environment
• To reinforce trust among staff members and the
anticipation of trustworthiness by patients and their
families
• To nurture those values which are synonymous with
Saint Marys Hospital, Rochester Methodist Hospital, and
Mayo Clinic:
• primacy of the patient
• trust
• commitment to excellence through teamwork
• spiritual support
• compassion and respect for persons served and serving.
Through the variety of activities and materials it
provides, the Sponsorship Board and its Committees help
Mayo Clinic Rochester staffs understand and focus on the
institution's heritage and the values that have
sustained it.
For example, the Sponsorship Education Committee
offers programs related to the spiritual side of working
in a dynamic health care environment. These programs are
designed to help staff learn how values may be applied
in the work and personal lives. Some recent programs
include:
"Why Smart Executives Fail: And What We Can Learn
From Their Mistakes"
Presenter: Professor Sydney Finkelstein, Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth College
January 18-19, 2005
"Application of Franciscan Values in Modern
Healthcare"
Presenter: Father Andre Cirino, OFM
November 18-19, 2004
"How to Survive the 21st Century: Proven Tips To Go the
Distance"
Presenter: Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
May 27, 2003
The Sponsorship Research Committee promotes
Sponsorship by providing direction and funding research
efforts that focus on strengthening the Mayo/Franciscan
values. Several significant funded studies have been
completed or are underway, such as:
"The Association of Spiritual Variables, Predictors
of Recovery, and Recovery Outcomes in Persons with
Alcohol Dependence"
Kate Piderman, Ph.D., Chief Investigator
"Helpfulness of Medical Social Work Services as
Perceived by Patients During Episodes of Inpatient and
Outpatient Care"
Dorothy M. Becher, LICSW, Chief Investigator
"A Structured Multidisciplinary Intervention To Improve
Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Stage Cancer"
Teresa Rummans, M.D., Chief Investigator
"Efficacy of Intercessory Prayer"
Stephen Kopecky, M.D., Chief Investigator
|
Another key effort of Sponsorship is the Values
Review, in which a department performs a self-analysis
of its work to assess the integration of the
Mayo/Franciscan values within the workplace. Departments
scheduled to
undergo the review process are first
invited to attend the annual Sponsorship Values Retreat
in January, where they learn about the history of
Franciscan Sponsorship and the steps to take in
preparing for a Values Review. The Review itself usually
consists of a tour of some department work areas,
followed by a presentation and discussion with members
of a Sponsorship Values Review Team composed of several
Sisters and retired Mayo staff members who are committed
to nurturing the values. The resulting Values Review
report, with affirmations and recommendations for the
reviewed department, is ultimately shared with the
Sponsorship Board, the Academy Board, and the Mayo
Clinic Rochester Board of Governors.
Sister Mary Eliot Crowley, Administrator for Franciscan
Sponsorship, has seen her role change and grow since she
started in this role 19 years ago. She notes that until
recently, most new staff members were familiar with Mayo
Clinic and grew up with knowledge about Mayo and its
purpose. But the clinic has grown tremendously and its
staff now includes people from throughout the world. "We
teach that our values aren't things you put on like a
uniform when you go to work," Sr. Mary Eliot says. "And
we find that most people share our institutional values.
We just need to continue finding ways to help them think
about the values and remember that they are really the
basis of why we are here doing what we do."
This ongoing commitment to preserving the institution's
history and values sets it apart from other healthcare
institutions. "I get four or five calls a year from
other institutions seeking to understand our success,"
says Sister Mary Eliot. "They ask ‘How do you keep your
identity and values out there? How do you keep care
values-focused?'" She explains that "We have something
nobody else has – 115 years of a relationship focused on
mutual respect, trust and integrity." |
