September 21, 2021
Hospital Managers Complete Wheeling University Healthcare Leadership Academy Training
WHEELING, W.Va., Sept. 21 – Eight managers from WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital recently completed the Wheeling University Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA), designed to train the hospital’s managers to become transformative leaders in the workplace.
During the 12-weeks of instruction, the managers from several departments gained knowledge, skills, and tools to build a highly reliable, performance-based managerial culture at the hospital. This is the second group of Wheeling Hospital managers who completed the University’s Healthcare Leadership Academy. The Healthcare Leadership Academy launched last fall.
“Wheeling University is happy to train once again WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital managers on how to become leaders in health care delivery. During the HLA, the employees were provided instruction empowering them to become transformative leaders in the workplace. Through this partnership, we are enhancing the hospital’s leadership and operations, which ultimately improves services for the residents of the Ohio Valley,” said Wheeling University President Ginny R. Favede.
WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital managers who participated in this year’s HLA include Christy France, Andrew Kosky, Nicole Larue, Tami Magruder, Teresa Mahoney, Judy Mayles, Randy Minch and Connie Heath-Powell.
Douglass E. Harrison, president, and chief executive officer of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, said, “We are so grateful for our partnership with Wheeling University as we partner together to develop healthcare leaders. WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital depends on leadership every day, and this program allows us to help train and educate them about what is needed to be a healthcare leader. This is a true community partnership between two like-minded organizations, and for that, we are thankful.”
Amy Smith, an adjunct instructor in the University’s Business program, served as the facilitator for this year’s Healthcare Leadership Academy. She said, “I think it was important and beneficial to have participants from different departments, because each could see that even though they were from different areas, they were still experiencing some of the same issues. In addition, the coursework showed them how to support each other and encourage success by working as a team.”
During the Leadership Academy, the hospital managers discussed what makes an organization high reliability and how to achieve that level in the health care industry. As part of this section, the employees learned how mindfulness helps staff stay focused and how being aware of possible failures can improve operations.
As part of the Transformational Leadership module, Smith and the group discussed how to lead through trust and delegation, learn effective decision-making and effective and strategic influencing. Next, during the module Enabling Improvement and Change, the participants learned about effective communication and how to resolve conflict, which sometimes involves having difficult discussions with staff, and discussing diversity and inclusion management. The final module was Systematic Thinking and Results Driven Management which included ensuring and maximizing zero risks management and decision-trees, Smith added.
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