Be Part of Team Counties

Thank you to everybody who joined me at Friday’s ‘Coffee with the CEO’ and the launch of MiddleNOmore, our 1000kg weight loss challenge. It was a great, fun event and I really enjoyed meeting many of you from across the organisation.

Countdown

With just a week until we launch our 1000kg weight loss challenge, the countdown is on. So I’m thrilled to announce that, thanks to staff suggestions, we’ve named this challenge ‘MiddleNOmore’. Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions, especially Gloria-Jean from Mental Health Services for Older People who provided the inspiration for MiddleNOmore. It’s a great spin on the name of our hospital and I for one am looking forward to getting rid of my middle!

In a Patient’s Own Words…

Among the many papers that cross my desk each day, I’m often delighted to find a letter of thanks from a patient or their family/whanau. Though I proudly believe in the high quality of care we provide for our patients, it’s always heartening to read about the quality of their experience in someone else’s words. It’s a reminder of just how well Team Counties does.

I want to share one of these letters with you today, exactly as we received it from a member of the public a few weeks ago.

Going Green – The Update

Every year we receive Health Select Committee questions that we have to complete. And every year there’s been one answer we can’t provide – what is the size of our carbon footprint?

We haven’t been able to answer because we simply don’t know. Personally, I don’t think that position is one we can sustain. Finding out the size of our carbon footprint is the first of many important steps in achieving environmental sustainability and in working towards one of our two strategic objectives: to develop a truly ‘sustainable’ healthcare system.

Making it Happen

For those of you interested in CMDHB’s 1000kg weight loss challenge or having ‘Coffee with the CEO’, I’ve got two important updates to share today.

Observations from the Front Line

This week marked the one year anniversary of the devastating Christchurch earthquake. I’m sure you joined me in sending your thoughts and sympathies to our Cantabrian colleagues, and the many people affected by this disaster, on Wednesday.

What a Response…

Wow – what an enthusiastic, supportive and absolutely overwhelming response to last week’s suggestion for staff to collectively lose 1000kg. I was blown away by your level of interest and the number of responses which flowed in to ceoblog@middlemore.co.nz. Thanks to everyone who emailed me and shared their hopes, dreams, challenges and fears. Clearly many of us are in the same boat.