Employee Advisory Groups (EAG) are forums for employees to voice concerns or issues that affect them in their workplace; they are channels of communication for employee ideas and suggestions for improvement; and they are collaborators with management to continuously improve the work environment.

There is one EAG at Northeast Methodist Hospital; one at Metroplitan Methodist Hospital; and one at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital; one for Methodist Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services; one for the MASH and MASC’s; and one for the Methodist Hospital and the Methodist System Office.

The accomplishments of the EAGs vary widely, from major projects to minor adjustments. But even the simplest improvement can affect employees significantly. Here are just a few. Congratulations to the EAG teams and their colleagues for making these things happen!

Northeast Methodist Hospital: There is now an outdoor gazebo designated for non-smokers. People who want to enjoy a break outdoors now have a covered area away from designated smoking areas.

Metropolitan Methodist Hospital: A simple relocation of a dumpster provided increased visibility for staff as they are leaving the parking garage. Moving the dumpster also decreases the likelihood of people being late for work while waiting for the dumpster exchange, which blocks access to the garage.

Methodist Hospital: Driver names are now posted in the shuttles. This allows employees who have specific feedback on shuttle service to identify whom they are talking about.

Methodist Children’s Hospital: The EAG recommended to Administration that they have some sort of holiday celebration/recognition. It was a lot of work by the cafeteria staff, but a big hit. Human Resources staff served food and drinks, and employees’ names were drawn to win TVs, boom boxes and iPods.

Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital: The Simplex clock in the cafeteria has been checked to make certain that it is accurate so that the cafeteria will open at 11 a.m. daily. This was an issue for employees trying to get lunch at that time. 

Debbie Flanagan, PHR, Human Resources specialist at Northeast Methodist Hospital, said the topics that EAGs may address are quality, communication, work environment, workload, supplies and equipment, ideas to improve organizational performance, job enrichment/education, employee recognition, community involvement, diversity and staffing. Issues that will be referred to Human Resources include salaries, wages and rates of pay, employee benefits, employment decisions, disciplinary actions, grievances and Human Resources-related Ethics and Compliance issues.

“The group is constantly probing for ways to increase staff satisfaction,” said Ron Hunsucker, operating room manager of Northeast Methodist Hospital, “and we are finding that all staff have valuable suggestions. The only bad idea is the one never voiced.”

I’d like to welcome Ken Hunt, RN, and Oriana Gonzales, RN, to the Neuro ICU.  Ken and Oriana are recent graduates of the MHS Internship Program. While Ken is new to MHS, Oriana started her career on Neuroscience (9S) and wanted to grow in her profession.  With the assistance of her Nurse Director, Gary Hack, she applied for and was accepted into the Intern position for the Neuro ICU.  As you can see, Methodist is a great place to grow.

Caroline Kalkhoff-McKinney, Senior Nurse Director, Neurosciece Services

Methodist Children’s Hospital of South Texas is the first and only children’s hospital in the nation to receive accreditation through the Commission on Cancer as a pediatric component of an adult program that has already gained this prestigious accreditation.  The Commission on Cancer is a multidisciplinary program of the American College of Surgeons.  This medical consortium of professional organizations is dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care.  Accreditation is based on meeting a stringent set of guidelines and a thorough onsite survey.  The pediatric program was granted a three-year accreditation with commendation in the area of quality improvement.  Methodist Children’s Hospital’s Hematology/Oncology/Transplant Services has an ongoing quality improvement program that exemplifies the quality of care provided to each patient, every day.  Methodist Children’s Hospital has the only blood and marrow stem cell transplant program for children in the region.  From diagnosis, patient and family education, and treatment modalities, Methodist Children’s Hospital has become a regional leader in the area of cancer treatment for children.

• keywords: Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital nursing San Antonio Texas
• description: Read a message from Polly Davenport, Chief Nursing Officer at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
• title: Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital - San Antonio | CNO Message

At Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, we truly do serve a specialized population of patients. Our kidney and liver transplant programs are recognized across the country for exceptional outcomes. Within our operating suites we perform state-of-the-art laparoscopic procedures including bariatric surgeries, laparoscopic donor nephrectomies and many other procedures. Our newly renovated emergency department is consistently recognized in the top tier of all HCA emergency departments for patient satisfaction.

More than 70 beds are dedicated to behavioral medicine services for children, adolescents and adults. We have two intensive care units: one serves as the transplant ICU and the other service medical and cardiac patients.

Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital is less than a mile away from Methodist Hospital and Methodist Heart Hospital, located on our flagship campus. While each facility has its own unique culture and personality, we are fortunate to have a team of dedicated professionals working together to provide exceptional care to those in our community.

I am proud to serve as chief nursing officer for Methodist Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital and Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. In 2006, I was appointed chief nursing executive for the Methodist Healthcare System and look forward to the addition of our new Stone Oak facility in 2008. Methodist is where I have spent my entire nursing career. For the past 25 years I have been so proud to work alongside so many individuals that understand what a commitment it is to choose nursing as a career. At each campus we have a Staff Nurse Leadership Council where staff nurses join their peers and administration to dialogue on a variety of issues pertinent to the quality of care we deliver as well as focus on creating a healthy and positive work environment that benefits our employees.

Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital has a variety of opportunities for any dedicated nursing professional. We hope that you will tour our Web site and find out what makes Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital so “special.” My fond hope is that you, too, will choose Methodist Healthcare as your final destination as you look for a “career for a lifetime.”

At Methodist Hospital and Methodist Heart Hospital we have a terrific group of dedicated employees who work together as a team to provide exceptional health care in our community. Nestled within the South Texas Medical Center, Methodist Hospital and Methodist Heart Hospital serve as the flagship campus of the Methodist Healthcare System. Every specialty you can imagine is offered within the walls of our main campus. Most recently we added a 12-bed medical/surgical intensive care unit to complement the other four dedicated intensive care units. Our seven-bed special amenities unit is currently under renovation to serve a variety of patients from postpartum mothers to all types of medical and surgical patients seeking the ultimate patient care experience in private suites.

Our emergency department is designated as a level III trauma center serving over 55,000 patients each year. Surgical services include 17 operating suites with separate cardiovascular operating rooms within the Methodist Heart Hospital that serve the complex needs of cardiac patients including heart transplantation.

I am proud to serve as chief nursing officer for Methodist Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital and Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. While each facility has its own culture and personality, we work together as a team of dedicated nursing professionals.

I joined Methodist Hospital 25 years ago after graduating from the University of Texas Health Science Center - School of Nursing. I have spent my entire nursing career with Methodist and consider San Antonio one of the best places in Texas to call home. In 2006 I was appointed chief nursing executive for the Methodist Healthcare System. In late 2008 we will open the doors to the newest member of the Methodist Healthcare family: Methodist Stone Oak Hospital.

Methodist Healthcare is ripe with opportunities for individuals looking for a “career for a lifetime.” We value the input and ideas of our nursing colleagues and we collaborate with other health care team members to provide the best possible care to our patients. We believe in open, honest dialogue and each facility has a Staff Nurse Leadership Council where peers and administration work together to solve a variety of issues as well as celebrate our successes.

We urge you to look at the many opportunities available for nurses at Methodist Healthcare and invite you to consider a career with us.

I am so honored to be able to serve as the CNO/COO of the Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and to welcome you to our new nursing Web site. I am equally impressed with the Methodist reputation for excellence in nursing care. Methodist Stone Oak Hospital will share in this culture of excellence as we begin to build our family of employees. Potential candidates will be carefully selected to match their passion for quality, patient safety and patient-family-centered-care through our Shared Employee Program. There, world-class employees will be able to join the Methodist Healthcare family by becoming a Methodist Stone Oak Hospital employee stationed at one of our many Methodist facilities in any one of the numerous positions. I encourage each of you that are interested in joining the Methodist Healthcare System and the Stone Oak family to explore current vacancies. You can learn more at our Methodist Stone Oak Hospital Web site, www.StoneOakHealth.com.

Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is a very special place that is going to provide a world-class experience for patients, employees, physicians and the community in a truly healing environment. This facility is designed with natural light, warm natural surfaces, stone, hard woods and glass in healing colors are specifically designed to enhance the patient-care experience. With all private rooms, the facility will provide an environment will be relaxing, therapeutic and tranquil, helping all who enter lessen their stress – making it a wonderful place to heal, work and practice. The people that will be selected to work at Methodist Stone Oak will be very special - selected based on caring, compassion and clinical competence. Indeed, the expectations of the community we serve are high and together we will build the team to exceed the needs and wants of our stakeholders.

Coming to San Antonio for me was coming home. As a native Texan, San Antonio is where I began my journey as a new wife and nurse. My honeymoon with my husband of 20 years, Max, was at the Emily Morgan Hotel just across from the Alamo. Over the years, I’ve returned when I could to enjoy this beautiful city, and it’s warm and caring people. I’ve always hoped one day to be able to make San Antonio my home. I truly believe people are called to serve, and feel I was called to make the Stone Oak area my home, and am blessed to be part of the family of employees that will bring a level of service, and quality to the Stone Oak area that Methodist is known for. I hope you’ll join me on this journey and become a member of the Methodist Stone Oak family and share in enhancing the health of the community we serve.

The Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Division is an integral part of the Methodist Healthcare team. The division includes Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Center-North Central, Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Center-Medical Center and Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Hospital. The Ambulatory Surgical Division contributes to the over all success of the Methodist Healthcare System by providing a variety of outpatient and inpatient services to
the community.

We are committed to treating our patients, families, physicians, and staff as valuable partners in the delivering of health care to the community. The Ambulatory Surgical Division has consistently maintained excellent patient satisfaction scores in both in-house and Gallup Surveys for the hospital and the surgery centers. Our strong commitment to staff has contributed in Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Hospital being number one within HCA for facility and registered nurse engagement two years in a row.

I have lived in San Antonio all of my life and have been in nursing for 33 years.

I have been with the Ambulatory Care Division for 15 years and the director of nursing/operations for 10 years. I recently completed my Masters of Science Degree in Nursing and look forward to contributing to the growth of the Methodist Healthcare.

I sincerely hope that you will join the Methodist Healthcare team in our endeavor to be the premier health care system in San Antonio and the employer of choice for all who desire a career in nursing.

• description: Read a message from Dian Adams, Chief Nursing Officer at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, minutes from downtown San Antonio, Texas.
• title: Metropolitan Methodist Hospital Nursing - San Antonio, TX | CNO Message
• keywords: Metropolitan Methodist hospital nursing San Antonio Texas

We are a busy and growing urban hospital with 383 beds. The hospital has a 7-story updated primary structure plus a new 2-story Women’s Pavilion; these are colocated with 2 medical office buildings and an ambulatory surgery center.

Only minutes from downtown San Antonio the hospital has a city ambiance. The hospital was built in 1973 to meet the needs of the growing population of South Texas. Currently, our geographic service area includes San Antonio and the surrounding 26 counties.

At Metropolitan Methodist Hospital we specialize in high risk obstetrics with over 6,000 deliveries annually.  We provide care to the tiniest of patients in our new NICU . In 2008, Methodist Healthcare System was voted “The Best Place to Have Your Baby” in San Antonio.

In 2006 our Emergency Room was expanded to over 30 beds including the addition of a new CT scanner installed in late 2008. We accomodate over 30,000 annual ED visits.

We have a variety of nursing opportunities in every type of setting:

• General Medicine
• General Surgery/Orthopedics
• Intermediate Critical Care
• Medical and Surgical Critical Care
• Telemetry
• Hematology/Oncology
• Dialysis
• GYN and Antepartum
• Labor & Delivery
• Women’s Place (Lactation Services and Childbirth Education)
• Mother/Baby/Nursery
• NICU
• Perioperative Services - Including Both Day Surgery and Inpatient Surgery Programs
• Outreach & Education
• Cardiac Care - Cath Lab and Non-invasive Testing
• Bariatric Care
• Psychiatric Care - Inpatient and Outpatient
• Radiology & Special Procedures
• Rehabilitation - Inpatient and Outpatient

I have been with the Methodist Healthcare System for 4 years. I came to Methodist due to its reputation of compassion in caring for our community. I have both adult and pediatric experience but have spent the majority of my 29 year career in acute care hospital settings. I am inspired by the people I work with and particularly by their lengthy tenure with our organization. I am proud to be an advocate for nursing and for shared governance. We have a strong shared governance model with Staff Nurse Practice Councils in each facility; shared governance positively impacts on our care delivery system to include care at the bedside. Improving patient care and providing a healthy work environment for nurses keeps me motivated and challenged.

The Methodist Healthcare System offers every type of experience for nurses and is a place where nursing can be “A Career for a Lifetime.” Our system provides exceptional education opportunities and support for personal growth and career advancement.

• title: Nursing at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio | CNO Message
• description: Methodist Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services has a team of dedicated nursing professionals that are committed to teamwork, quality healthcare for women and children.
• keywords: Nursing at Methodist Children’s Hospital San Antonio

Welcome to the Methodist Healthcare System Nursing Website. At Methodist we look at nursing as “A Career for a Lifetime.” Methodist Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services has a team of dedicated nursing professionals that are committed to teamwork, quality healthcare for women and children. We are dedicated to excellence and have adopted a service excellence program entitled “Methodist Excellence” that makes the workplace fun, energizing and rewarding. We have a diverse and passionate workforce made up of nurses who are new to the profession all the way to those enjoying their 35th anniversary with us. It is through this diversity and tenure that we are able to exceed at meeting our staff’s and our patient’s needs.

At Methodist Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services we provide care to the tiniest of patients in our new state-of-the-art new 78 bed NICU all the way to geriatric GYN patients. We specialize in high risk obstetrics with over 6,800 deliveries annually. We are the only free standing Children’s Hospital in San Antonio. The hospital was built in 1997 to meet the needs of the growing pediatric patient population in south Texas and San Antonio. Our geographic service area includes San Antonio and the surrounding 56 counties in a wonderfully warm, inviting climate. Our facility was built on the foundation of Family Centered Care, treating parents as partners in their child’s care. We are an active member of NACHRI (National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions). Our Pediatric Emergency Department has begun a large expansion project expected to be completed by summer, 2009 to accommodate almost 60,000 annual visits. Our Women’s Services areas are receiving a well deserved “face-lift”.  In addition to our renovations, we are expanding our Perinatal PACU area as well as constructing a new entrance and triage area for L&D.  We have nursing opportunities in every type of setting:

• Pediatric Medicine
• Pediatric Surgery/Intermediate Care
• Pediatric Intermediate Care
• Pediatric Intensive Care
• Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant
• Women’s Specialty Unit (GYN)
• Antepartum
• Labor & Delivery
• Women’s Center (Lactation, Childbirth/Parenting Education and Massage)
• Mother/Baby/Nursery
• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Pediatric OR/PACU/Prep and Hold
• Pediatric Multi-Specialty Clinics
• Pediatric, Neonatal & Maternal Transport
• Pediatric Outreach & Education
• Pediatric Moderate Sedation and Procedures (Anesthesia based program)
• Family Advocate Program

I have been with the Methodist System for over 2 1/2 years. I came to Methodist due to its reputation and compassion for caring for children and women. Although the majority of my 22 year nursing career has been in Women’s Services (L&D along with Mother Baby), I have expanded my experience to include Children’s Services in the last 8 years.  I am inspired by the people I work with and I am proud to advocate for nursing. Improving patient care and the work environment for nurses keeps me motivated and challenged. Methodist offers every type of experience for nurses, making it a place where we can make it “A Career for a Lifetime.” Our system provides exceptional educational opportunities and support for personal growth and career advancement which is why I am proud to work here.

It is my privilege to welcome you to the Methodist Healthcare Web site for nurses. We chose the name SANursing.com because we believe that when individuals think about the nursing profession in San Antonio, the Methodist Healthcare facilities come to mind. We value the reputation we have in our community and recognize the responsibility we as nurses have for providing outstanding care to those we serve. Within all of our facilities we offer a wide variety of career opportunities. Each campus has a unique culture and a rich history of nursing excellence.

Besides serving as the chief nursing executive for the Methodist Healthcare System, I also serve as the chief nursing officer for two of our campuses in the Medical Center. My fellow chief nursing officers from Northeast Methodist, Methodist Stone Oak, Metropolitan Methodist, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery and Methodist Children’s Hospitals, comprise the Methodist Healthcare Nurse Executive Board. As a team we collaborate on quality initiatives, nursing practice issues and are committed to ensuring a healthy work environment for our nursing staff. As you tour our Web site you will hear from each of these nursing leaders and learn more about our facilities including our expansion projects.

This Web site was created with input from our frontline nurses and it was their desire to have a site where they could stay informed about learning opportunities and career options, provide input on issues and projects, and share in the celebration and successes of their nursing colleagues. We look forward to this site growing and changing as we receive input from the nurses that use it. If you are considering a career in nursing at Methodist Healthcare, we invite you to contact us, tour our facilities and meet our wonderful staff members! We hope you will choose Methodist Healthcare in your quest for a “career for a lifetime.”