Knox's Blog

“Hey, that’s us,” I exclaimed to myself the first time I heard our Inova spot on the radio! Then just a week ago, I spotted our new logo with our ad plastered across the side of a metro bus, larger than life. And then I saw the ad on TV.

This time I thought, “We are indeed larger than life.” I’m so glad to be able to brag about our outstanding rankings in the 2012-2013 US News and World Report of Best Hospitals every chance I get. We were nationally ranked in Cardiology and Heart Surgery and Gynecology. We also ranked #1 in the Washington, DC metro area and we ranked #2 in Virginia and were recognized in Northern Virginia.

I have to admit I am proud. Excellence in patient care happens when committed staff delivers quality medical service. The commitment to excellence begins with each one of us who effectively translate that commitment to each other and to our patients. I know we all work hard every day – I see it everywhere I go and I hear from the many folks I meet with about the wonderful initiatives happening and about our fabulous teamwork. Our nurses, doctors, medical support staff – so many folks are giving it their very best. And it shows in the recognition we receive and the bragging I hear all over town. “My doctor was the best, I had this done and my experience was excellent, the nurses were amazing, did you know ….” and on and on.

This is why every member of the Inova family can take credit for these awards. We each make a difference, one patient and one smile at a time. Call me biased, but I think each one of our departments should be recognized and in fact, many have, which you can check out on the web at www.inova.org/awards.

So each time I see our banners, hear our ads or see a bus zip by, I grin and admit that I do indeed talk to myself and if you were a fly on my windshield you’d probably hear me say, “hey, that’s us and we rock!”

Would I rather be at my desk working on strategic plans or playing with Lego’s and cute babies? Well, that’s kind of a no-brainer and while the first is necessary, the second energizes me!

We were so honored to have Maureen McDonnell, the First Lady of Virginia, join us along with a host of other dignitaries including members of the Inova family to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Inova Women’s Hospital and Inova Children’s Hospital. As you can see from the photos, we had Lego’s representing the children’s hospital. For the women’s side, we launched a social media campaign where folks were given the opportunity to complete the sentence, “I am an Inova woman because ….” As I stopped to watch a few people write out their thoughts and pose for a photo, I was filled with pride over the heartwarming comments and the chance to see how much we are loved and appreciated. So often we plug along doing our daily tasks and forget our impact. It was great to see firsthand our many accomplishments and the way we touch peoples’ lives.

At one point I looked over at the South Tower which is nearing completion and reflected on how it didn’t seem that long ago that we were celebrating that groundbreaking and now we are starting anew with another fabulous plan to provide even more world class care in our community. In the blink of an eye we’ll be back for this ribbon cutting and I hope to also be able to look over at another new project on the horizon.

I’m sure you’ll agree that so often our ideas and projects feel insurmountable at times, but when there are so many committed team members involved, these dreams become reality! As a well known athletic company likes to say, “Just Do It,” I can stand back and look at our accomplishments and say, “we did it and are still doing it!” What projects are you anxious to start that currently seem overwhelming?

Imagine receiving the news no one ever wants to hear – you have cancer. Fortunately, this is quickly followed by more hopeful news. Because they have your individual genetic data, they are able to precisely pinpoint the perfect preventative treatment and your outcome is significantly improved.

This isn’t a future dream, this is now!

Most everyone I know has lost loved ones due to cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and a host of other illnesses. This takes an emotional toll, creates financial concerns and is an overall time and energy drain on our daily lives. Several years back I was diagnosed with cancer, so you can imagine my joy at having beat it and my excitement that maybe one day, many such illnesses will be relegated to the history books.

I’m writing about this now because several people have asked me why genomics? Why now? And why Inova?

Inova has always been focused on improving the lives of those in our community and we’ve always been a leader in the industry. We also are blessed to serve a very diverse community. It is for these reasons we are able to have John Niederhuber, MD leading the way. Dr. Niederhuber, a nationally renowned surgeon and researcher, brings a lifetime of medical knowledge and vision to Inova.

At our last Inova Leadership Institute we talked about a leadership tip from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Gretsky often told sports reporters that he didn’t skate to where the puck was, he skated instead to where it was headed.

Most organizations have a mindset about the present – where things are right now. Great organizations think about where they want to go. Vision 2015 is all about skating to where healthcare is headed – and being one of the first to get there! It means building new capabilities for more personalized care, and changing the way we do things in our existing service lines.

We should all be asking ourselves daily, where are we headed and how do we get there?

Optimizing the health and well-being of each individual we serve is where we are headed. I am excited about focusing on preventative care. Individualized medicine allows us to plan ahead for potential issues and be more proactive in providing preventative care.

Making an impact in our community requires a monumental team effort and a new level of courage to step into the unknown. When we are aligned and connected to our daily work and the work of our colleagues, we build strong teams. What you’ll find, I think, is a willingness to step up and help each other to meet team goals. Where there is team, there is ownership and a solid reason to do right by our patients.

It requires consistency and willingness to stick with the “Always Principle.” We don’t want to merely survive, we want to thrive and we want to thrive in an atmosphere of excitement! If each one of us comes in each day with a sense of purpose and a desire to succeed as a team, we will one day be able to look back and proudly say, “I was there and I was a part of creating the future of medicine.”

What are you doing to embrace the future of medicine?