Proud But Never Satisfied: Ten Transformative Actions for Healthcare Systems

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For healthcare organizations challenging themselves to do better every day, this story provides inspiration and a blueprint for transformation. Today, The University of Kansas Health System (TUKHS) is a world-class academic medical center. For over a decade, it has been nationally ranked as one of the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report. But back in 1997, the opposite was true: TUKHS had the lowest patient satisfaction ranking in the nation at a grim 5th percentile. It also faced deteriorating patient volumes, higher than expected mortality rates, unsustainable turnover, and severe shortfalls in funding.

So how did TUKHS get from those dark days to where it is now? Proud But Never Satisfied shares ten transformative actions that worked. Health system executives Bob Page and Tammy Peterman explain how they reinvented their culture, engaged their people, and "turned the Titanic around" in under a decade. Here are the leadership lessons and strategies that readers can apply to their organizations, including:
- How its patient-first culture gave TUKHS the agility it needed when the COVID crisis hit
- Why Doing the Right Thing (for patients and staff) is a powerful, viable business model
- How it reinvented itself from a state administered entity to an autonomous public authority a high-stakes choice forcing leaders to balance political, business, and medical interests
- What it takes to hardwire consistently high expectations into your organizational culture
- How to empower employees to fixate on the fix and sweat the small stuff
- How acculturating an essential leadership role for all nurses improves patient outcomes
- Which innovative methods work for partnering, collaborating, and advancing organizational impact on the broader community

Not only is this a compelling story in its own right, Proud But Never Satisfied is a practical blueprint for other organizations struggling to survive in the era of the pandemic. It's an inspiring treatise on how (and why) to push for continuous improvement whether you're already doing well or ready to do even better.

Bob Page is President and CEO of The University of Kansas Health System. Page has guided its transformation from an institution with the lowest patient satisfaction ranking in the nation to an organization consistently recognized among the best comprehensive academic medical centers in the country by the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study since 2006. Tammy Peterman, MS, RN, is President, Kansas City Division, and Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer at the University of Kansas Health System. The organization achieved Magnet status three times in a row -- to date -- and "Best Hospital in Kansas City and in Kansas" consistently under her leadership. Leeanne Seaver is a cross-genre writer, editor, and blogger who's written/ghostwritten numerous books and magazine articles on healthcare and wellness. A member of the Authors Guild, Seaver's work ranges from business to biography, training to travel. She's been featured in Mother Earth News, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Living Wellness Kansas City, and is a contributor to the Medical News Network. After a career in broadcasting and non-profit executive leadership, Seaver now writes full-time. Seaver holds a Masters in Mass Communication from the University of Denver, a bachelor's in English from Graceland University, and has attended the Iowa Writer's Workshop.