photo by: Allison Koonce/LMH Health

Pictured are participants in the LMH Health Fellowship program. Back row, left to right: Shari Fine, Laura Ashley, Alice Wells, Kenna Tuckness, Sarah Scoular, Mary Tye, Kendra Powers, Kyley Garst, Maria Scherich, Julie Anno and Justin Rohrberg. Front row, left to right: Dae Curtiss, Theresa Bouray and Tara Farrell.

When the word “fellowship” is used in a health care setting, it brings to mind the extended training a doctor undertakes to become a specialist in their field. But at LMH Health, fellowship has another meaning.

LMH Health Fellowship is a leadership development program started more than 30 years ago. It provides members the opportunity to learn about LMH operations, services, metrics and key issues from leaders, staff and community representatives. Graduates of the program, known as Fellowship Ambassadors, foster positive relationships within the organization and the community and serve as positive role models and representatives of their departments. Since 2000, 75% of Fellowship graduates are either still employed by LMH or retired from the organization.

“Fellowship is a cornerstone of what it means to be ‘Better Together,'” said Brooke Bacon, LMH Health accreditation coordinator and Fellowship officer. “The program drives employees to be positive role models and gives them the courage and leadership skills to champion their colleagues and departments on initiatives that improve the lives of our patients, as well as LMH staff. Leadership is not an assigned role; it’s an activity, and anybody can lead if they desire.”

Getting involved

To be eligible to apply for the Fellowship program, associates must have been employed by LMH Health for at least one year prior to the program’s start date, work half-time or greater and be free from corrective action for the previous year. Applications are reviewed by a committee and members are selected from the pool. Members of the class of 2023 include:

• Julie Anno, mammography supervisor

• Theresa Bouray, payment posting representative

• Dae Curtiss, application analyst

• Tara Farrell, RN

• Shari Fine, CMA

• Kyley Garst, clinical educator

• Kendra Powers, social worker

• Justin Rohrberg, physical therapist

• Maria Scherich, implementation services manager

• Sarah Scoular, SharePoint systems engineer

• Kenna Tuckness, clinical IT educator

• Mary Tye, outpatient coder

• Alice Wells, population health nurse

• Officers: Laura Ashley, Brooke Bacon, Allison Koonce

Kenna Tuckness started working as a respiratory therapist at LMH Health in 2005. Since that time, she’s worked in the pulmonary function lab and now as an IT clinical educator. Tuckness applied to be part of the Fellowship program to be able to get a larger view of the workings of the organization.

“I like the idea of being able to look around at the different areas in LMH Health,” she said. “When you’re working in one area, you really only know how that one works. Through Fellowship, you get other glimpses and see what other areas make LMH function the way it does.”

Time and change motivated Fellowship’s leadership team to provide an opportunity for former class members to re-engage. The first time that IT application analyst Dae Curtiss participated, LMH Health looked very different than it does today.

“I’ve been with LMH Health since 1996. We didn’t have any clinics as part of the hospital when I first participated in Fellowship,” she said. “I learned so much going through the program and developed a loyalty to the organization. Being on the committee and seeing how much has changed through the years, it’s exciting to get back into Fellowship, reaffirm that loyalty and feel part of the group again.”

Connecting with the organization

Fellowship provides lots of opportunities to learn about LMH Health and the community. Bacon said that what stands out most to her is the involvement in the program from every aspect of LMH.

“We generally meet once each month. Our senior leadership team often spends the day with us during their designated days, and it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach. Each department has a designated time slot and during this time each area gets to explain a day in the life,” she said.

Each day includes one hour of team building and time for a leadership activity or discussion. This fosters the opportunity to ask questions and have a conversation about employees’ daily work, the future of the organization and how to attain personal goals.

“Hearing from Russ Johnson (LMH Health CEO and president) and the senior leadership team about what they’re doing behind the scenes has really stood out the most. It’s great to have that personal attention in a small group,” Curtiss said. “I enjoy getting to know them and the others in Fellowship, developing those relationships, hearing what they’re doing and how our jobs connect and intertwine.”

Tuckness said learning about other areas of the health system, especially those that aren’t seen on a daily basis, has been enlightening.

“It’s been interesting to find out more about what other areas do. Erica Hill and Verdell Taylor talked with us about the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity efforts at LMH Health,” she said. “We’ve talked with groups like the marketing team to learn what they do. You don’t see all these things when you’re providing patient care. It gives you perspective about what’s going on.”

Giving back

Class members support the Fellowship program through volunteerism at LMH Health or in the community. Over the bulk of the pandemic, Fellowship officers and ambassadors focused efforts on community outreach and volunteering. LMH helped to support many local nonprofits that provide resources to Lawrence and Douglas County as well as compiling a large donation to Heart to Heart International for relief efforts in Ukraine.

Volunteering with partners such as Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and Just Food is one way that this year’s class is giving back.

“I think there’s something about the aspect of giving for many of us. That’s why you go into health care,” Tuckness said. “To see what these organizations are able to do for people is interesting — to see how they give to help people function day-to-day the way as we help people give back to their ability.”

Bacon said she gets teary every time Fellowship visits Just Food. The organization identifies gaps within the food system and works with schools, volunteers and businesses to solve food insecurity and remove barriers to healthy eating.

“A community is only as strong as the health of its population. One of my biggest highlights in the past six months was organizing the LMH Health food drive for Just Food,” she said. “LMH employees donated a total of 243 pounds of food. It was humbling and a good reminder of the empathy and compassion that lives in the hearts of our employees.”

Visiting with the team at Bert Nash gave Curtiss a look at the work they’re undertaking in the community and where there’s still room to grow.

“We got a detailed rundown of how Bert Nash works with the community and their plans and goals,” she said. “With the opening of the Treatment and Recovery Center, they’re focusing hard and connecting with as many people as they can in the community — not just those who need help but also others who know folks who do.”

Changing perspectives

For these three women, participating in the Fellowship program has expanded their knowledge about LMH Health and deepened their ties to the organization. As a returning class member, Curtiss said that the experience has encouraged her to be more involved.

“Over the last ten years, I hadn’t been as involved in activities at LMH. Getting back into Fellowship has rejuvenated me,” she said. “Hearts of Gold, Rock the Block, Penny Jones — Fellowship has reinvigorated my desire than just doing my job from 8 to 5.”

Tuckness shared that increasing her understanding of how other areas of the health system operate and what they need to function has been beneficial. Teams get used to being in their own niche, but Fellowship has given her perspective.

“I like to say that I can now see behind the green curtain,” she joked. “Oz looks really good but you don’t know how it functions until that curtain moves and you see the man behind it moving all the levers.”

Bacon explained that the Fellowship program facilitates an opportunity for class members to see the upfront value, compassion, empathy, knowledge, and skillset of the people that work within LMH Health. The team is always looking for community partners who are interested in seeing those qualities firsthand.

“We’d love to learn about your organization and establish that relationship,” she said. “We’ve learned through the COVID pandemic that when we stay in silos, we can only do so little but together, as community partners, we can do so much more.”

— Autumn Bishop is the marketing manager and content strategist at LMH Health, which is a major sponsor of the Journal-World’s Health section.