Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 2001 Page: 3 of 6
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CHEROKEEAN/HERALD of Rusk, Texas—Thursday, January 25,2001—Page 5
Superintendent counts 'blessings of the year' at RSH
Diane Faucher
By Diane Faucher
Special to the Cherokeean/Herald
In reflecting on blessings of ac-
complishment at Rusk State Hos-
pital, here are some things that
made my list:
1) Staff support initiatives — our
agency has
many needs
with regard to
increased
salaries for its
workforce. I
am thankful
that we have
been able to
reallocate ex-
isting re-
sources to pro-
^■ vide a five per-
cent shift dif-
ferential for all staff working the
evening and night shifts. We have
had the most difficulty with staff
recruitment and retention during
these critical periods. We have
also been able to implement a new
employee recognition program that
includes a merit raise for employ-
ees selected. I am also thankful
for the response that we have had
to the face-to-face series, an open
forum I get to have with staff to
discuss pertinent issues and hear
ideas for hospital improvements.
In fact, the initiation of the shift
differential plan came from staff
suggestions.
2)Physical plant initiatives—our
hospital has many needs related
to our buildings and their age.
Due to assistance from my super-
visor, Kenny Dudley, Director,
State Mental Health Facilities, the
creativity and ingenuity of a de-
sign team of our staff and the ener-
gies of our maintenance depart-
ment, we have been able to initiate
several physical plant improve-
ments. This has included a new
admissions unit which is safer and
affords more patient and family
member comforts; paint and other
wall treatments for several pa-
tient buildings; and new furniture
for patient care areas. We re-
cently received new dayroom and
patient bedroom furniture for
many areas.
3) Hurdles crossed — during the
past few months, we have received
a Medicare and JCAHO inspec-
tion. Both of these follow-up sur-
veys resulted in clearance of previ-
ously-cited quality improvement
opportunities. I am thankful of all
the hard work put forward by staff
in order to make this happen. We
are currently expecting our three-
day JCAHO survey in the spring
of 2001. We have implemented a
continuous readiness action plan
and everyone is working together
to implement this plan in an ongo-
ing manner.
4) Organizational revisions —
during the past few months, we
have made a number of organiza-
tional changes in our structure
and governance. This has resulted
in new efficiencies and stronger
lines of communication. These
changes have resulted in several
new hospital committees, the
elimination of several senior posi-
tions, and a "flattening" of our or-
ganizational structure. Change is
hard, and I am thankful to every-
one for their courage, flexibility,
and willingness to embrace change.
Without change, our organization
cannot survive.
5) Relationships with Mental
Health Authorities (MHA)—one of
our most important customer
groups is the mental health au-
thorities which serve our patients
in the community. I am very thank-
ful for the support of the mental
health authorities we serve and
their collaborative participation in
addressing many organizational
changes within our agency during
the past year. The mental health
authorities we serve have worked
in partnership with us in the past
few months as we have been chal-
lenged to implement the new
agency re-financing plan for hos-
pitals. We have also implemented
the MHA liaison program, infor-
mally known as the "special
friends" group. We have one RSH
employee assigned to each MHA
to participate on MHA advisory
and planning committees and to
serve as a special liaison to the
MHA. This program has been
readily embraced by our MHAs
and has been mutually-beneficial
to all. Also, thanks to support
from our MHAs and the hard work
of our clinical staff, our unit-level
administrative staff, and with the
excellent efforts of our reimburse-
ment department, we have been
able to implement improvements
to increase billing and collections
in order to have the money to pay
our bills. I am so thankful for all of
the efforts of these individuals, as
well as several staff who have
embraced change and have been
willing to be reassigned within the
hospital to directly support our
new financing plan.
6) Excellent clinical services —
from my first week here, I have
been totally impressed with the
clinical services provided by our
hospital. We provide sound and
comprehensive clinical services. I
am thankful for all our clinical
staff who are here for our patients
and understand that "our patients
are the reason we are here!"
7) Our outstanding administra-
tive staff — without these individu-
als, our hospital and its mission
would come to a grinding halt in
no time at all! From insuring that
we have heat to supplies on the
shelf, and from paying the bills to
meeting the payroll, and from hir-
ing and training our staff to tran-
scription and moving tons of paper
(just to name a few!), our support
staff does an outstanding job to
support the mission of our hospi-
tal - our patients.
8) A dedicated Volunteer Ser-
vice Council (VSC) -1 am so thank-
ful for the impressive dedication
and generosity of our Volunteer
Service Council and all of our vol-
unteers and hospital supporters.
These individuals graciously give
of their time and their resources to
enrich the lives of our patients and
to support staff efforts. From mon-
etary support to clothing contribu-
tions, parties, and "special friend"
relationships with patients, our
VSC does a fantastic job!
9) Community support — one of
the most impressive aspects I have
found living in a small town has
been the phenomenal support of
Rusk State Hospital by the com-
munity. This really is something
to be thankful for! Having come
from a very large city where the
state hospital is one of the small-
est employers on the map, I have a
first-hand perspective on the broad
community support that our hos-
pital receives. Sources of support
include our legislators and other
elected officials, law enforcement,
the judiciary, local churches, busi-
nesses, and the general public.
Also, very importantly, our local
newspaper is incredibly generous
in promoting positive activities
related to our mission, our ser-
vices, and our staff. Some state
hospitals have limited opportuni-
ties to have the positive aspects of
their organizational activities
high-lighted in the media. The
Cherokeean/Herald has been ex-
traordinarily generous in allow-
ing us to celebrate the accomplish-
ments of our staff, including pro-
motions and recognition awards,
with the public. This goes a long
way in promoting the mission of
the hospital and promoting
destigmatization of mental ill-
ness. I am also thankful for the
support the hospital has received
from patient, family, and advo-
cacy organizations, including the
Alliance for the Mentally 111.
10) Today and tomorrow - I am
thankful for the opportunities and
challenges that today and tomor-
row bring us. They are what pro-
vide us the opportunity to be here,
to be employed, and most impor-
tantly, to make a difference in the
lives of the people we serve.
A sincere thanks to everyone for
both individual and collective con-
tributions to Rusk State Hospital
during the past year.
Diane Faucher is superintendent
of Rusk State Hospital.
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 2001, newspaper, January 25, 2001; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152458/m1/3/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.