Embracing Excellence, the St. Joseph’s Healthcare System Service Initiative, incorporates the Mission, Vision and Values of the Healthcare System. Embracing Excellence evolved as a result of leadership’s vision of elevating the service culture of St. Joseph’s from good to great to excellent.  This program, while dedicated to training employees, is a reflection of the commitment to achieve healthcare excellence every day.

As a faith based system, it is important that we all feel respected and valued for what each of us contribute to the Healthcare System. Embracing Excellence focuses on helping us learn or re-learn the value of the way we do what we do for all our customers. “What we do” may be making a meal, administering medications, sweeping the floor, diagnosing an illness, or filling out forms. The “way we do it” can be task oriented, but we must carry the task out with our hearts and customers’ best interests in mind. We define our customers as patients, Nursing Home residents, physicians, visitors, and employees.

The Embracing Excellence Initiative began in 2009 and is an ongoing commitment to improve the service culture fully supported by our administration. Our values of Dignity, Justice, Excellence and Stewardship express our convictions and beliefs and we strive through Embracing Excellence to integrate these values into all that we do.

Accomplishments thus far include:

• Creation of the Embracing Excellence Steering Committee guiding the initiative
• Various Action Teams working on specific areas of focus
• Introduction of Values Based Standards
• Kick Off and Anniversary Celebrations
• Department specific Representatives identified and trained
• Retreat Facilitators identified and trained
• Embracing Excellence Retreats for all employees
• Monthly Department Representative meetings
• Departmental Improvement Action Plans
• Embracing Excellence information available on the Healthcare System Intranet, the employee-dedicated website
• Creation of Embracing Excellence desk top screensavers and video for internal use
• Monthly Embracing Excellence tips and updates published in the AWL, the monthly employee newsletter

The goal of Embracing Excellence is to make St. Joseph’s an even greater place to work and to receive healthcare. We are proud of our ongoing efforts to truly live our Mission, Vision and Values as we work together to create an environment of healing, compassion, and excellence for all the customers of the St. Joseph’s Healthcare System.

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Click below for a video about our Embracing Excellence Initiative.