Clients’ Results

Case Study

Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado in Grand Junction, CO

Issue: The once-diminutive hospice organization was experiencing tremendous expansion. It had grown from serving 10 patients a day to more than 400, with 280 employees. While this was a positive development, any change can bring disruption and uncertainty. Administrators were uncertain how to change employees’ roles and transform operations to work more effectively in the new organization.

“Sometimes you just can’t see the forest for the trees,” says Christy Whitney, President and CEO, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado. “We knew we needed to modify systems to improve alignment with operations, and we had to decide who was best suited for what role. But we couldn’t see exactly how to make the changes. We were also having problems with management turnover and morale. We were stuck and needed help. That’s where Patti came in.”

Solution: Patrice spent time coaching key executives, helping them deal with changes in their positions. She also made recommendations about role and position changes across the organization. And, after thoroughly analyzing processes and admission trends, she recommended systems and process improvements.

Result: The organization instituted the changes Patrice suggested and, as a result, saw continued growth with improved morale, admissions and lengths-of-stay and decreased turnover.

“In a growing organization you have two choices: either build good systems and support managers, or see a lot of turnover. By bringing Patti in to help we were making the first choice,” Christy says.

Case Study

Mercy Hospice and Palliative Care in Myrtle Beach, SC

Issue: The Board of Directors was looking for a CEO who would be the right change agent to guide Mercy Hospice through a period of growth and transformation.

Solution: Thanks to her extensive network of contacts in the hospice industry, Patrice uncovered someone she thought was the perfect candidate, Sara Jo Faucher. And Patrice gave her candidate the support Sara Jo needed through the processes of interviewing for and orienting to her new job.

“She stayed with me through the entire process,” Sara Jo says. “She even went to the interview and offered support.. It was also part of her contract to mentor me for the first six months. That was tremendously helpful; I’d had a lot of operations experience, but hadn’t done a lot of work with Boards. So one of things she did was to organize a Board retreat. The Board has a lot of respect for her, so that really helped to solidify my position.”

Result: Mercy Hospice got the change agent it needed in CEO Sara Jo Faucher. Thanks to the work Patti did with Sara Jo and the Board, the new CEO has been able to effectively guide the organization to increased growth and sustainability.

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Client Testimonials
"Patti is one of the most effective professionals with whom I have ever worked. ... It is an honor to know Patti, and to count her as a trusted colleague."
—Erwin E. Abrams, CEO Hospice of the Chesapeake
"It was my pleasure to work with you and I too, look forward to a re-connect in the future."
—Pat Cahill, Search Committee Board Member, Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod
"I feel you did a wonderful job : you took a dire and delicate job, and you executed it professionally & clinically with compassion & dignity. Thank you."
—Vice President, Hospice Board of Directors
"Patti has a great, non-threatening style that gets results. She inspires and motivates people to change."
—Christy Whitney, President and CEO, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado.
"Thank you very much for a simply outstanding job of selecting the "visionaries" for last week's session and for moderating the session in a very professional manner."
—Hospice Executive Committee Board Member
"Your experience with the Predictive Index is one example of the proven systems that assisted in the selection of the right candidate."
—Roy J. Hoxworth, Director of Human Resources, Hospice of Marion County
"Patti is just fabulous; I can't say enough good things about her. In fact, I still always call her when I have an issue to solve."
—Sara Jo Faucher, CEO Mercy Hospice and Palliative Care in Myrtle Beach, SC
"Whenever I have a problem, I know I can just pick up the phone and Patti will be there to help."
—Christy Whitney, President and CEO, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado.
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