Angelfish, guppies, goldfish - even an occasional trout...
Recent hospital patients and visitors have undoubtedly noticed a certain fascination with fish at Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City.
As you walk through the hospital's corridors and offices, you can't help but notice that fish of every shape, hue and description have found their way into Mercy's decor.
As much as it might be a somewhat uncharacteristic backdrop for a modern medical center, schools of fish - here, there and everywhere in the hospital - are the product of two preferred culture initiatives that have swept over the hospital campus like high tide.
Peter Makowski, president and CEO of Mercy Medical Center, says the simple fish - any kind of fish - has quickly become a symbol or icon for the pair of initiatives, which seek to set a higher standard of care and service for the benefit of patients, their families, staff members and the community served by Sioux City's busiest hospital.
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"It began when Mercy made a conscious effort to embrace the kind of workplace culture made famous by Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market, as described in the best-selling book, Fish!, by Dr. Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen," Makowski explains.
"Like other organizations and businesses across the country, we took notice of the positive results that the fish philosophy seemed to yield within the workplace. Interested in creating a place where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion and a positive attitude to work each day, we began to apply the relatively simply lessons of Fish! to our own caring culture at Mercy.
"It is about energizing staff members in such a way that they choose their attitude, seek to make the day of our patients, guests and staff, and work toward being present for patients and their families.
"We quickly found that the philosophy engaged the staff, brought us closer together and cultivated good customer service and excellent patient care.
"Granted, healthcare is a serious endeavor. However, our ability to connect with our patients and their families on a personal level by making their day whenever and wherever possible is altogether important if we want to sustain a supportive, comfortable, healing atmosphere," Makowski adds.
Mercy staff members have heartily adopted the program - hook, line and sinker. Statues of tropical fish grace the desks of nurses.
One department, Clinical Information Services, traded a blank wall for a hand-painted, multi-colored mural that reveals an underwater scene.
However, Makowski asserts that Mercy's passion for things fish-related is about something more than decorations and murals.
"We also see exciting proof that the hospital staff has re-dedicated itself to the overall mission, vision and values that have directed the hospital's efforts for more than 110 years," states the CEO.
Following its initial correlation to the well-known FISH! philosophy, Mercy's symbolic use of the fish was soon connected to a second hospital initiative introduced earlier this year.
As part of its new Preferred Culture, Mercy adopted a more visionary approach embodied in the letters "F.I.S.H." and the Christian symbol of a fish. The newly adopted acronym, F.I.S.H, Makowski says, stands for "Faith-Inspired Service and Healing."
"This reminder of our calling represents a renewed sense of the great Mercy spirit. Our F.I.S.H philosophy recalls and affirms that we are a Faith-based organization that is altogether directed toward service to others and healing," says Makowski.
Recent comments and letters from patients, patients' families and staff members seem to affirm that Mercy has developed a better environment for clinical care and medical services, thanks to the influence of the prevailing fish philosophies so readily adopted by the organization.
Makowski said the spouse of a Mercy patient recently presented the staff of the Dr. Joseph Washburn Oncology/Palliative Care Center with the gift of a large crystal whale, a poignant token of her appreciation for the good care that her husband and family received.
"Staff members have been inspired and re-energized by our Fish focus," Makowski believes. "We are still serious about our work and the care we deliver, but we're also very serious about reaching out to our patients, guests and team members in such a way that we will 'make their day,' as much as we possibly can."
This spring, enthusiastic hospital staff members even formed a special workplace committee that is dedicated to perpetuating and promoting the fish philosophy, Makowski says.
"On yet another level, all of the symbols of aquatic life you'll see throughout the hospital also fit nicely with our place as a community," Makowski quips. "After all, rivers run through our regional community. Just as we won't forget our roots as a provider of Faith-based care and service, we won't forget our place on the map."
