FVH and clinics roll out new mission statement

"Our mission is to be a progressive health care partner serving you with compassion, integrity and excellence."

That's the new mission statement for Floyd Valley Hospital (FVH) and its Family Medicine Clinics in Le Mars, Remsen and Marcus.

The FVH Board of Trustees approved it during its meeting this week.

"We're very pleased and proud because of the theme it gives us to rally around in making decisions day-to-day," said Mike Donlin, FVH administrator.

The statement reflects a shared purpose between FVH and the Family Medicine Clinics, Donlin said.

The Family Medicine Clinic-Le Mars, formerly known as Medical Associates, merged with FVH after the hospital acquired the clinic's assets this past July.

Input was requested from the medical staff, FVH auxiliary, other hospital staff and the mission team in developing a new mission statement, Donlin said.

"There's excitement. The reaction I've got from anyone who's had a chance to look at it was very positive," Donlin said. "The typical reaction was 'That sounds like us!'"

He said wording within the statement like "progressive" indicates the hospital and clinic's progressiveness in offering the most advanced ways to care for patients.

And, Donlin said, hospital personnel and trustees see the word "compassion" as a blend of the caring and respect each organization has.

The new mission statement will replace the old one on the hospital's internal and external websites, in its employee handbooks, in the frames on the walls around the hospital and anywhere else the old one exists, Donlin said.

"This new mission statement is different because it's in quotations. It says we're serving you," Donlin said. "It makes a personal commitment. It's more of a promise than merely a statement."

In other business, FVH trustees approved purchasing a $50,150 CR (Computed Radiography) reader for the radiology department at the Family Medicine Clinic-Le Mars.

The CR reader will allow FVH radiologists to interpret images produced at the clinic from multiple sites. The images are stored digitally and are always available.

All care teams will have access to the images and can produce a digital copy for the patient, which can be sent to other facilities if needed.

The CR reader will eliminate the need for chemicals and film at the clinic and eventually will eliminate the need for film storage and free up much needed storage space.

FVH's Remsen clinic and the hospital already have CR readers so having one at the Family Medicine Clinic-Le Mars will allow the three clinics to provide support for one another as needed.

Information about the CR reader was supplied by FVH's radiology personnel.