Lester Cash

Text version of Lester Cash keynote remarks

After graduating high school, I worked in the oil field to earn money for college. My career choice was Respiratory Therapy, as I had spent a great portion of my life around respiratory therapists and thought I knew most of what it meant to be a Therapist. I was wrong. I wanted to be able to help people that were in the same bed where I'd been, attached to the same monitors that I had been attached to..

Becoming a leader/manager was not a goal I set for myself; rather it was a position that I was mentored to without knowing. When I began at St. Anthony, I was a night shift therapist. Giving treatments in all patient care settings, checking oxygen, talking to families, calming children in the ER with my personal stories were all part of my nightly routine. I was enjoying my career and was not looking for a change. This is also the time that I met Karen Hart. Karen was my manager and noticed that even though I am normally a quiet person, I was not afraid to stand up for my patients and fellow therapists. Karen also noticed that I get along with everyone; patients and families ask for me by name and everyone has a tendency to come to me for advice whether it is for personal reasons or job related.

Today, as the Manager for Respiratory Care, I have not changed much from that night shift therapist. The Respiratory staff knows that what I expect from them I expect from myself, and I still work the floors when needed, even on the night shift. My office door is always open and the staff are never afraid to come in and visit with me, or use my shoulder to cry on. My pager, home number and cell number are posted for the staff, as well, and I receive an average of 5-8 phone calls per day 7 days a week from staff needing to vent frustration or just ask a question. I am grateful to those that mentored me to this position and take pride achieving what they saw in me.

Today I have been asked to discuss Courageous Leadership. By many definitions, leaders are courageous by nature. They help inspire and guide others toward new perspectives, through tough times and over seemingly insurmountable hurdles. In the workplace, leaders are typically identified by their titles. However, imagine a department where "staff-leaders" are invigorated by the notion that they can be courageous every day - regardless of their title or role.

Picture the results of a team with such high morale and unified commitment to their own group mission and the organization's, that its members feel a true sense of ownership and responsibility. Alternatively, visualize the leader who inspires a level of momentum that ushers in a new, more effective way of working and a stronger sense of purpose. All are possible, and each requires courage. This is what I strive to achieve within the Respiratory Care department at St. Anthony's and help to achieve throughout SSM.

A courageous leader in health care is also concerned with patient care and patient safety. Since 2001, patient safety at St. Anthony has been a major focus. Karen Hart, my past director, and I have worked with nursing and infection control to eliminate hospital acquired respiratory infections. This collaboration has increased the confidence of patients and families in St. Anthony. And since 2001, we have saved an estimated 23 lives.

One final bragging point is that for the past two years, Respiratory Care at St. Anthony has been given the Quality Respiratory Care Award by the American Respiratory Care Society. And we have applied again for the award in 2008.

In closing, I leave with an anonymous quotation:

Excellence can be attained if you...
Care more than others think is wise.
Risk more than others think is safe.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.