CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center may have found an alternative to layoffs

[icarus]

This is amazing.

"I want to run an idea by you that I think is important, and I'd like to get your reaction to it," Levy began. "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners - the transporters, the housekeepers, the food service people. A lot of these people work really hard, and I don't want to put an additional burden on them.

"Now, if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice," he continued. "It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."

He had barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Sherman Auditorium erupted in applause.Thunderous, heartfelt, sustained applause.

Paul Levy stood there and felt the sheer power of it all rush over him, like a wave. His eyes welled and his throat tightened so much that he didn't think he could go on.

When the applause subsided, he did go on, telling the workers at Beth Israel, the people who make a hospital go, that he wanted their ideas.

The lump had barely left his throat when Paul Levy started getting e-mails.

The consensus was that the workers don't want anyone to get laid off and are willing to give up pay and benefits to make sure no one does. A nurse said her floor voted unanimously to forgo a 3 percent raise. A guy in finance who got laid off from his last job at a hospital in Rhode Island suggested working one less day a week. Another nurse said she was willing to give up some vacation and sick time. A respiratory therapist suggested eliminating bonuses.

"I'm getting about a hundred messages per hour," Levy said yesterday, shaking his head.

Paul Levy is onto something. People are worried about the next paycheck,because they're only a few paychecks away from not being able to pay the mortgage or the rent.

But a lot of them realize that everybody's in the same boat and that their boat doesn't rise because someone else's sinks.

I don't know about you, but I feel the same way.

ETA: Sorry about that. I thought I'd only copied some key lines, and yet it posted the whole darned article. Fixed now.

Comments

[aerynvala.livejournal.com]

wow, that totally made me cry in the good way. Thank you :)

[shrewreader.livejournal.com]

posting the whole damn article ===WIN.

Because stuff like this is what makes us better people.

(And demos why not-for-profit healthcare is win.)

[winstonmom.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this. It is sometimes hard to go day by day when the only thing you hear is bad news. This article gave me the "feel good" for today,

[rike-tikki-tavi.livejournal.com]

It's awesome that Levy is willing to come up with unconventional ideas to keep his people employed. But much more awesome is that so many people are willing to give up part of their wages or benefits to help keep their co-workers employed.

[enemyfrigate.livejournal.com]

I saw this earlier and was really impressed, first by the story itself, but second by the corollary - that people, when presented with an option to help someone else, instead of just being presented with the negative consequence to themself, will choose to help.

I love that the CEO thought of this, that he took the time and effort to see differently people in his institution that he might not have thought about before, but even more, I love that others applauded him for it and embraced the approach. We can feel better about the world reading this - but hospital employees involved can feel better about themselves.

Just when I think everything is crap, something like this happens.

[leftsockarchive.livejournal.com]

I have met Paul Levy and seen him speak. He's a great person. This is wonderful.

[snake-easing.livejournal.com]

That is amazing! CEOs aren't all horrible monsters. Every so often you get a really, really good one.

[thatratorpheus.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you picked up on this. I was pretty stunned when I read this in The Globe yesterday - it's not the kind of thing we expect from our "engulf and devour" teaching hospitals.

[rellan.livejournal.com]

Sometimes people are just made of freakin' WIN!

[pandorabox82.livejournal.com]

Really happy news like this makes me feel so much better about being a Pollyanna in real life. I know that things are bad, but I keep trying to bring out the positive, especially at work where everyone is so negative about everything. Thanks so much for posting this article.