October’s Top 3 – Let’s Finish Strong!

“Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic.”

-Robin Sharma

 “Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong by remembering why you’re doing it in the first place.”

- Ralph Marston

In the South Puget Sound, we have reason to celebrate as we enter the last quarter of 2025. Through your hard work and partnership, we have met and exceeded several challenges this year. It’s a great time to reflect, celebrate, and dig deep to finish strong for the end of the year as we set our sights on 2026.

Length of stay kudos – let’s finish strong!

Our length of stay for September 2025 (close to being finalized) is on track to beat our target for 2025 for the month of September (4.94 days for St. Peter (goal of 5.33) and 3.87 days for Centralia (goal of 4.17))! Many of our initiatives are gaining traction at the same time, resulting in decreased length of stay for our patients and increased efficiency, allowing admitted patients access to the right bed at the right time. Contributions on several fronts have allowed us to get here including:

• Improved Care Management staffing (on units and in our Emergency Center)
• Improved turn around times for discharge (discharge order to home) as well as improved turn around times for imaging (MRI and Echo have launched successful initiatives to get studies done and read with decreased delay)
• Fewer patients to Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) – we have seen a much lower percentage of patients discharging to SNF (9.5% compared to as high as 11-13% in previous months), likely thanks to increased mobility and reduced length of stay!

We need your help with patient satisfaction!

We have struggled (particularly at Centralia) to boost our patient satisfaction scores. Patient satisfaction is a focus for our entire care team; we all have a role to play. If you have thoughts or perspectives on how we can improve our numbers here let me know, but in the meantime continue to take a few extra moments at the bedside to get to know our patients and to thank them for trusting us with their care.

Financial headwinds

Thank you for your attention to stewardship. While we have tightened our belts quite a bit already, challenges and uncertainty remain as we close 2025 and head into the new year. There have been several changes and announcements as our System adjusts to new financial strain. Our local and System leaders have worked hard to weigh each adjustment to balance maintaining critical services and trying to minimize impact to caregivers. Communication is key. Please keep an eye out for messages regarding changes and impacts, and don’t hesitate to reach out to address any concerns with me.

Thank you as always for your professionalism, leadership and partnership during these challenging times. Thank you for choosing us every day.