Methodist Healthcare System | Keeping Well | Summer 2015

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Recently we (Methodist Healthcare em-
ployees) were asked to think about our
WHY. Why did we commit to health
care? Why do we continue to dedicate our
lives to health care? Why do we choose
Methodist Healthcare?
A few years ago, I was at happy hour
with some friends when I received a
phone call. The caller ID indicated it was
my mom’s office. So I assumed I would
hear her voice when I answered. My
heart sank when her boss, a physician,
said, “Carole, I’m worried about your
mom.” I had ignored my other family
members, even the ones with a medical
background, questioning what was wrong
with her lately. I blamed the heat from
an outdoor July wedding for Mom’s not
completely lucid day.
My maternal
grandmother had
passed away from
Alzheimer’s, and
this was one of
my biggest fears.
I wasn’t sure I
could survive my
mom not know-
ing who I was.
How would my
daughter under-
stand that her beloved grandmother didn’t
know her name?
It seemed like an eternity as the doctors
performed test after test. Then, we finally
received the results: multiple sclerosis
(MS). I learned my mom had been diag-
nosed with optic neuritis in the ’6s and
that it is linked to MS. I had heard of MS
but didn’t knowmuch about it. Ironically, I
had been volunteering at Methodist’s team
tent for the Bike MS Ride to the River for
the past four years.
In the simplest of terms, MS disrupts the
flow of information from the brain to the
rest of the body. It affects people in different
What do you get when you combine San
Antonio’s premier health care provider with
its premier hometown celebration? You get
Methodist Healthcare at Fiesta San Antonio!
It all started with Methodist Healthcare’s
ER app, which was featured in the Fiesta app
as the No. 1 go-to place for any Fiesta emer-
gency. Methodist Healthcare was also a spon-
sor of several other community Fiesta events,
such as the Battle of Flowers Parade, inwhich
the Methodist Children’s Hospital, a campus
of Methodist Hospital, team soared in with a
giant Blue Angels balloon. At the Taste of the
Northside, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital,
under a replica of the hospital’s façade,
served up gourmet food—no hospital food
jokes to be heard! The booth also included
a first aid station for the wildly popular
T his is an exciting time for Methodist Healthcare
System. We continue to lead and improve the
quality of health care in our community, as
recently evidenced by earning the Texas Award
for Performance Excellence. This is the high-
est level of quality an organization can achieve
in the state of Texas. In addition, all of our Methodist
Healthcare hospitals were the only hospitals in San
Antonio to receive top honors by The Joint Commission
as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures®.
Please know how much we appreciate the trust that
you, as WomanPlus® and 55PLUS® members, continue to place in Methodist
Healthcare. Methodist Excellence is our Promise to you and your loved ones that
we always remember our mission of why we are here: Serving Humanity to Honor
God by providing exceptional and cost-e ective health care accessible to all.
Our overall goal at Methodist Healthcare is that all our employees provide
exceptional health care every day, every time. This is not an option, but an ex-
pectation of everyone who wears a Methodist Healthcare badge. It is a Promise
we have all entered into, beginning with me.
The principles of the Methodist Excellence Promise are not symbolic—they are
required. These principles are clear expectations for employment with Methodist
Healthcare. Role modeling these principles is essential to achieving excellence.
We are looking to you to help us continue on our journey of excellence. If you
observe a Methodist Healthcare employee not living up to the beliefs or behav-
iors of the Methodist Excellence Promise, we ask that you speak to that person
or a supervisor to address those behaviors. (To read the Methodist Excellence
Promise, please visit , click on “About Us” and then on “Our
Values, Mission, and Roots.”
By doing this for us, you will be helping to hold each of us accountable for
being exceptional when caring for the many lives we are entrusted with each day.
Sincerely,
Jaime Wesolowski, President and Chief Executive Officer
Articles in Keeping Well do not necessarily represent the opinions of
doctors practicing at Methodist Healthcare facilities.
Carole Harris
Jaime Wesolowski
ways. For my mom, she has balance prob-
lems; she is now dependent on a cane or the
arm of a family member to walk. She also
gets fatigued easily, and sometimes she has
trouble remembering things.
Last year, I made the commitment to
ride in the MS Ride to the River on our
MH vs. MS team. I trained for months.
Let me be clear. I do not like cycling.
Some people find it exhilarating. I’m not
one of them, but I would ride a million
miles for my mom. There is a short but
very steep hill at the end of the ride, and
as I approached, I could hear people yelling
my name. I looked up to see my teammates
at the top of the hill cheering for me. They
had already crossed the finish line and
had come back for me. I think their voices
pulled me to the top of the hill. As I crossed
the finish line, I started to get emotional.
I looked over and saw my whole family
waiting for me. I bent down and hugged
my mom, and we both lost it. It was one of
the proudest moments in my life.
Would I have ridden in the MS bike ride
had I not worked at Methodist? Maybe, but
I doubt it. For years, Methodist Healthcare
has supported local nonprofits, including
the National MS Society, and it makes
me proud to work for an organization
dedicated to making a difference in our
community. Making a difference that can,
hopefully, one day help the MS Society find
a cure to help my mom.
Methodist Healthcare’s commitment to
community is my WHY.
I am training again for the 2015 Bike
MS Ride to the River. I invite you to join
me (you don’t have to be an employee) by
visiting .
Carole Harris
Community Relations Specialist
WomanPlus® and PLUS®
Carole’s Notepad
Supporting our community
at Fiesta San Antonio
Stone Oak event. Across town, Metropolitan
Methodist Emergency Center, a department
of Methodist Hospital, sponsored Alamo
Heights Night.
Partneringwith and participating in com-
munity events is a big part of Methodist
Healthcare’s principles and values. This
includes supporting the health status of
our community and having fun in doing so.
DearWomanPlus® and
PLUS® members,
S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 K E E P I N G W E L L 3
N E W S , V I E W S & T I P S M E T H O D I S T H E A L T H C A R E