Twelve UM Shore Regional Health team members graduated from University of Maryland Medical System’s Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) on December 20, 2018. ELP is a seven-month leadership development program designed to introduce potential leaders to the changing landscape of health care and the role of effective leadership.
Completing the program as the first UM SRH cohort, the ELP graduates received certificates from Ken Kozel, president and CEO, UM SRH, and Kate McCann, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, University of Maryland Medical System.
“The ELP was extremely valuable to me at this time in my career,” said Karen Hemingway, clinical nurse coordinator, Intensive Care at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown. “The program instructors and senior leaders shared their personal experiences and provided us with tools to help expand our leadership skills. I enjoyed working with my peers from the other Shore Medical campuses as well. We are all so spread out — it was nice to put faces with names.”
Joining Hemingway at the graduation event were, from UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester, Koreen Smith, site coordinator, Laboratory Services, and Melissa Svehla, clinical specialist, Non-Invasive Cardiology. Easton graduates are Catherine Tripp, clinical nurse coordinator, Ambulatory Surgery Center, and five hospital team members:Donna Collins, Telemetry clinical nurse coordinator; Lisa Eisemann, Multi Specialty Care staff nurse; Lyndsey Feather, lead respiratory therapist; Jamie Johnson, Post Anesthesia Care clinical nurse coordinator;and Tara Smith, Multi Specialty Care staff nurse. Also completing the program were Melanie Donaway, administrative supervisor, UM SRH Nursing Administration and Alison Toepfer, staff nurse, UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown.
Photo: Shown with Ken Kozel (standing, far left) and Kate McCann (standing, far right) are the Shore Regional Health graduates of the UMMS Emerging Leaders Program. Seated: Lyndsey Feather, Lisa Eisemann, Melanie Donaway, Jamie Johnson, Alison Toepfer and Karen Hemingway. Standing: Melissa Svehla, Donna Collins, Koreen Smith, Tara Smith, Danielle Brummell and Cathy Tripp.
The program focused on six topics: models of leadership and the role leadership in driving organizational, team and employee performance; identifying and building on managerial strengths; effective communication; creating and delivering effective presentations; fostering inclusion and diversity; and strategies for creating and developing high-performing teams. Starting in July, participants met as a group each month for half-day sessions starting in July, and met in pairs between sessions.
During the half-day sessions, topics including health care finance, marketing, quality, safety, compliance and patient experience were illuminated by UM Shore Regional Health executives who made presentations to the group that included scenarios drawn from their own experiences as senior leaders in health care. Presenters were Ken Kozel, president and chief executive officer; William Huffner, MD, senior vice president, Medical Affairs and chief medical officer; Patti Willis, senior vice president, Strategy and Communications; JoAnne Hahey, chief financial officer; and Robert Frank, senior vice president, Operations.
Notes UM SRH Human Resources Director Barbara Hendricks, “One of the values of Emerging Leaders is learning about leadership concepts, and then taking the time to reflect. This helps to build leadership strengths and enhances the overall team member experience.”
As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,500 employees, medical staff, board members, and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.
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