The Serenity Prayer
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), this prayer and its themes show up everywhere from ancient philosophers and scholars to YWCA periodicals, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Hallmark cards. It appeared in one of Niebuhr’s sermons published in A Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces and was printed on cards for Soldiers in World War II. It reminds me not to give up or go quietly, but to be thoughtful and focus my greatest efforts on what I can control. What thought or activity gives you calm or refocus in the midst of chaos?
Thank you for delivering exceptional care despite the dizzying pace of change. Some updates, kudos and continued areas of focus as we close out the first quarter and welcome spring rain (really the same PNW rain, just in the spring), longer days and blooms of April.
1) The good news! Thanks for your continued partnership delivering timely, high-quality, efficient care for our patients! A few wins have emerged through the chaos:
a) Starting strong in quality! Centralia has had no central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) since July 2024! St. Peter is starting the year strong with NO catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) so far for 2026! Keep up the great work avoiding catheters and lines when not needed and removing them early as soon as they are no longer needed.
b) Our 1st quarter performance for length of stay has been pretty good! While we missed our budget target, our general trend continues downward. Centralia is meeting its target for average length of stay (ALOS) and O:E so far this year despite a miss for January; St. Peter met its budget target in February of 5.2 days ALOS.
c) Centralia has seen great success with a trial of weekend MRI hours to support patient care! I have received positive feedback from physicians and APCs as well as patients on adding this capability.
d) Your voices have been critical for decisions about everything from adjusting our AMiON Go Live date (now 4/21) to our inpatient pediatrics discernment. Thank you for your continued partnership and feedback!
2) Financial challenges and clinical leaders – The year is off to a rocky start, with us missing our budget across the South Puget Sound, largely due to lower surgical volumes as well as a higher than budget length of stay (LOS) at St. Peter, lower census at both ministries and overtime. While some of these factors are outside of our control, I ask for your continued partnership to control what we can. If you see waste or opportunity, let me know! Your voice is critical to our success in navigating the rest of the year. Some areas of focus include:
- Surgical Block Utilization, First Case on time Starts and efficient turnovers
- Awareness of anticipated length of stay, especially for patients going home
- Efficient use of staff and resources, especially during low census
