New CEO optimistic about hospital's future

By Nathan Oster

It's been a tough year or so for Three Rivers Health, but its new chief executive officer believes brighter days are on the horizon.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel optimistic about the potential of the hospital," said Joel Jackson, who arrived at the healthcare facility in late May and soon after took over for Tony Thompson, who had been serving in an interim capacity.

Some of that confidence is rooted in the fact that Jackson has found himself in this position before. He was born in Alaska, the seventh of eight children, and has an affinity for small towns, which has shown in his career choices.

"Through all of my working life, I've always sought to work in places that were small and where I could have a greater impact," he said. 

He cited stints at Peace Health in Ketchikan, Alaska; Bozeman Deaconess (now Bozeman Health); at a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Alaska and at Monument Health Custer Hospital, all of which he claims to have left in better shape than he found them.

"All of them led me to being here today," he said. "In all of those roles, some things have been consistent:  There's been financial improvement and patient experiences and provider/employee retention have all improved, without exception."

Jackson credits his upbringing, saying his parents instilled in him a sense of giving back to the community, the value of a dollar and the need to set goals and make decisions that will move you closer to achieving them.

"Something that is broken over a period of time doesn't heal itself or fix itself over six months or even a year," he said. "It takes time."

Jackson said he'll lean on some fundamental principles in his new role.   

"The most important thing in my job is, the people who work here have to feel taken care of and feel safe," he said. "Another key is, don't focus on the outcome, focus on the process.  In any business and in healthcare, if you focus and fix the process, the outcome will come.  Certainly, there are times when things are more immediate and you have to be results oriented, but long term, the best approach is to have a strategic plan and operate toward it."

Jackson said he intends to lead Three Rivers Health through some strategic planning later this fall.

At Monument Health, the process led to the addition of 21 different services for the critical access hospital.

"It's planning for what you want to happen versus reacting to what has happened most recently," he said.  "I have to, we have to, go to anyone who has had a bad experience here in the past and ask them to come back and give us another chance.

"The other mistake we make in healthcare is, we think people know we exist because we work in it every day, but the truth is, most people don't go to hospitals and don't see doctors.  We have to do a better job of telling the community what we have here and what we can provide for them — and we have to do it routinely."

His optimism for the future of Three Rivers is based upon what he's observed from its employees.

"Generally speaking people don't break an organization, processes and systems do," he said. "I've been very impressed with the staff that we have, their knowledge and eagerness to improve things.  Quite often that's not the case when you come into an organization that's been struggling."

One recent success story at TRH is its visiting nurse program, which nearly doubled in size between April and May. "I believe very strongly that there's a need for it," he said. "We think of it as a huge opportunity to bring care closer to people in their homes." 

Before coming to Three Rivers, Jackson spent about a year as an interim administrator at an Indian health service organization in Alaska.

He said he was excited about the prospect of returning to the continental United States, and in particular the Rocky Mountain states where many family members reside.  He and his wife Ann have three children:  Leo, 25, lives in South Dakota; Grace, 23, teaches dance, works in a school and is active in the arts in Alaska, and Sam, 19, is a sophomore in college.

"The main thing I want to impress on people is, we need the community to tell us what we need to do, what problems we are having, because silence is death," he said. "We want people to care and be engaged about what happens here at Three Rivers because it is, in fact, their hospital, and I'm here to be of service."

 

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