Volume 10, Issue 22 October 11, 2002
United Way Drive Concluding Next Week
The Hospital part of the United Way Drive for 2003 is scheduled to conclude October 18th. Please turn in your card in the box in cafeteria. You can also contact Jill Nettleton, Charlene Maling or Yolle Widdows if you would prefer to turn back your card that way.
The hospital is one of the "pace setters" for this year's United Way drive in Yakima County. That means there will be a lot of attention given to how well we do in getting the countywide drive started. In past years, the hospital has been a significant contributor to United Way. That went down some last year, and now the three folks leading this year's drive are asking everybody to offer as much support as you feel capable and comfortable doing.
The local United Way actually puts more money into the Lower Valley than is pledged by people like us. That means our United Way investments are very cost effective. Even though there have been problems associated with other United Way regions from time to time, the Yakima County United Way covers basic human services and needs and is worthy of our support.
The hospital also pledges 25 cents for every dollar pledged by employees. So, the combined effort should be something we can all take pride in.
If you would like to know more about the United Way drive in the hospital please click here.
Editor's Note: Unless otherwise indicated, you can click on any photo with a blue border to see a larger version of the photo.
In This Corner by Jon D. Smiley, C.E.O.
What distinguishes a convenience store from a specialty shop or a luxury auto dealer? That is one of the questions we need to consider as we plan for the future of our business of caring for the people of the Lower Valley.
If you go into a convenience store at 11:00 at night looking for a loaf of bread you probably expect to pay 10-20% more than if you went to a large grocery store. The customer is willing to pay a bit more for the convenience of getting that loaf of bread at 11:00 at night instead of waiting until 7:00 the next morning. You don't expect the clerk to remember your name, you may not even expect the clerk to smile and say hello. You just want a loaf of bread. That is one type of service. Providing the basic needs, with no frills and little fan fare. It works well for loaves of bread, but not hospitals.
If you go into your favorite shop, store, or even car dealer or medical provider you expect a bit more - don't you? You expect that person to remember your name. You hope that person won't spend so much time on the phone that you feel ignored. You trust your needs will be important to that business. Maybe they will remember what size of shirt you wear, or what your favorite color is? Or perhaps they will store all your medical information on their computer and not need to make you fill out the same form repeatedly. That is the type of personalized service you expect when you spend a great deal of money on a car, new clothes, or healthcare. Is that the type of service you are prepared to give?