Journal of Sacred Work

   Every patient wants to be treated in a healing hospital and every hospital wants to be a place of healing as well as curing. But, very few hospitals are successful in achieving both distinctions: to be places of high competency AND high compassion. 

   The foundation I run has recently revived the national Healing Hospital certification program. Through a process of intense analysis, consulting & onsite visits we evaluate whether a given hospital has created a culture of Radical Loving Care™. Those who are deemed to have succeeded are designated Healing Hospital Certified™ by the foundation.

   The following press release reveals the latest hospital to have achieved certification. A big congratulations to Bingham Memorial Hospital and special thanks to Mark Baker and Michael Harris for guiding this process under the direction of BMH's CEO & COO. 

Press Release

         Erie Chapman Foundation, Nashville, Tennessee, is pleased to announce that it has officially certified Bingham Memorial Hospital, Blackfoot, Idaho, as a Healing Hospital for the calendar year 2017.

         “Healing Hospital Certification means that our board recognizes that BMH has met the basic standards required of a culture that practices Radical Loving Care (RLC),” according to Erie Chapman, M.T.S., J.D, President of the Foundation.

         “Every hospital claims to be healing and caring,” Chapman said. “Radical Loving Care asks a harder question: ‘Is every single caregiver someone you would trust taking care of your mother? We call this The Mother Test and it is an extremely difficult standard to reach.”

         The Foundation advances the view that hospitals that can pass it’s Mother Test will deliver improved patient care (and thus patient satisfaction) in every area by enhancing the human experience for everyone facing a healthcare challenge. Employee morale goes up, physician satisfaction improves, clinical outcomes improve, even financial performance typically strengthens, the Foundation believes.

         The recognition of BMH also acknowledges the exceptional quality of the hospital considering its relatively small size. “You don’t have to be The Mayo Clinic to deliver great care,” Chapman says.

         The certification review process for BMH began in December, 2016. In addition, the Foundation sent a representative, Todd Meador, for an onsite visit May 10 & 11 of this year. “We are very impressed with the work that leaders, including outgoing President & CEO Jeff Daniels and has chosen successor, Jake Erickson, are doing in enriching workplace culture,” Meador said. “There was already a good culture in place. But, BMH has hundreds of employees and physicians so the big goal here was to develop a culture where everyone passed The Mother Test. The only way to do that is with a strong culture supported by exceptional leaders.”

         The Foundation review determined that leadership at BMH understood that loving care is not only about compassion but is also centered in competence. BMH recently adopted a vision statement emphasizing High Competence & High Compassion. “This is the kind of thing we like to see in healthcare organizations,” Meador said.

         The Foundation emphasized that the Healing Hospital Certification is issued for one year at a time and subsequent certifications turn on whether a given hospital continues to develop & sustain a culture of Radical Loving Care. “Organizational behavior change is never a “quick fix.” It takes a long time to build a culture that is deep enough to influence the actions & attitudes of every single caregiver.” Chapman said. “BMH has now met the basic standards. It is up to them to build from here.”

         Erie Chapman Foundation, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is a non-profit trust set up to advance and support the principles of loving care. The concept of the New Healing Hospital was launched at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital in 2001 during the time Mr. Chapman was President & CEO. High success their lead to the best selling book, Radical Loving Care, written by Mr. Chapman in 2003. The culture-focused philosophy has since been expanded and supplemented in four other books.

         Organizations previously recognized as “Healing Hospitals” include Parrish Medical Center, Titusville, Florida; Mercy Gilbert Hospital, Gilbert, Arizona & St. Vincent Hospital, Billings, Montana.

         The Foundation has also recognized The Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic, Riverside Methodist Hospital (OhioHealth) & Baylor Scott & White health systems as examples of peak performing organizations where Radical Loving Care is part of the culture."

-Erie Chapman