Okayyyyy... I slept for three days and now I'm BACK. And I made muffins for the team.
Last Thursday we had nearly the entire department (150ish!) in person. We wanted to start the year with clarity, simplifying the "plans on plans on plans" that Public Health is used to... distilling the next 12-18 month's focus down to a few key efforts. We also wanted to laugh. And we wanted to cry. And we wanted to get to know each other in new ways. We did all of those things. I think I made it about 43 minutes before crying... plus we did Laughing Yoga, so the laughter was mandatory. We played with fidget toys and Play-Doh, and we drew our dream communities. We ate many bagels and bopped our heads to a suitable-for-work bespoke playlist. Most importantly, we explored how we can keep reaching for more and better to serve the hundreds of thousands of people we are entrusted to keep safe and healthy.
The Cardinal Seven is our term for the seven big things we will commit to this year. They're bold but doable. They aren't rocket science--but in a world where everything feels overly complicated, it's a nice reprieve from checklists and KPI's. Yes, we will still track and measure and get reaccredited (I declare it), but sometimes you gotta just say what you want to do in plain words.
This year, we commit to:
?? Creating a culture of honest, 360 feedback that disrupts bias ??
?? Being better financial stewards ??
?? Creating a culture of excellence through rapid QI and more transparent recognition programs ??
?? Busting down walls and taking more clinical services to the streets ??
?? Modernizing our data systems, reaching towards Public Health 4.0 ??
?? Being known through a renewed focus on social marketing, brand, and presence ??
Yes, that's only six out of seven... but the seventh is way too big for a single LinkedIn post. Let's just say that number seven has something to do with cactuses, maps, and real-deal health equity. ??
I feel overwhelmingly, unapologetically blessed. It's not all puppies and corn dogs, as one of our directors said at the meeting, but with this team in place, there is hope. We have ambition, energy, humility, and trust. And we know that if we fail, it means we tried. If we tried, it means we believed. (Yes, I used that at the meeting and yes I admitted it was stolen from a Peloton ride I took that very morning)
And now we nap. ?? But only for today.
Jefferson County Public Health held our first official, FULL?? and in person meeting since 2020. In the same space where we updated our staff on “sars-COV-2”, we came together as one again to launch the future of JCPH. There is much work to be done, but watch out Jeffco, this big beautiful team IS you, and we are so ready to be known. ??
Shout out to our amazing Director, Sarah Story…one heck of a meeting! All. In. (And to all who helped pull this meeting off, ????????!)
