Imagine MUSC 2020 gains new strategy chief

Corporate jargon. You hear it in meetings, read it in newsletters, see it on agendas. Terms like “strategic optimization,” “institutional alignment” and “cascading communications” often conjure up images of VIPs in expensive suits cloaked behind wood-paneled doors, slapping each other on the back while they theorize and strategize.

But that type of stuffy business language is exactly the opposite of what we want to do, which is to inform, bring together and rally an entire organization around our mission, said Darlene Shaw, Ph.D., who was recently named chief institutional strategy officer for the university and will be responsible for implementing and moving important enterprise wide initiatives forward. Initiatives like Imagine MUSC 2020 — our strategy for the future.

MUSC’s mission – its core purpose – is “to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina and beyond through patient care, research and education.” But how exactly is MUSC to accomplish that effectively, when the health care industry is constantly changing, academic health centers are in a state of flux and budgets are shrinking?

While through the years, MUSC has created many effective and dynamic strategic plans that have helped steer the university forward and propel it to higher levels of accomplishment and recognition, President David Cole, M.D., FACS, recognized early in his presidency that MUSC would need a dynamic new strategy to define its future and map out the path it will take to get there. This formalized road map would include every person in the MUSC family and help them focus on the efforts and resources necessary to be successful. He hoped this strategy would become a living, breathing part of the institution’s culture.

Imagine MUSC 2020

That strategy, Imagine MUSC 2020, was launched enterprise wide in 2015 and will guide MUSC to the year 2020 and beyond. The strategy’s goals were rolled out around campus, introducing Diversity and Inclusion, Healthy Communities, Innovative Learning and Scientific Discoveries.

Now entering phase two, Imagine MUSC 2020 still has a lot of ground to cover. Since adding new duties to her existing position, associate provost for educational affairs and student life, Shaw has been involved in implementing the second phase of the plan, as she calls it, “tending the garden and beating the drum.”

And in that role, Shaw wants to make certain MUSC is positioned to anticipate changes on the horizon and respond nimbly to the new landscape of health care, and likewise, that everyone across the entire enterprise understands how critical they are to MUSC’s success and future.

“There is still a great deal of work to be done to nurture the process and tend to all the intertwined components. When an organization as huge as MUSC finds it wants to move toward its future, it’s vital that every single person is an integral part of the strategy that will get us where we need to be. If we each feel connected to the 2020 journey, I believe that is truly one of the most important things we can do together.”

Imagine MUSC trying to fulfill its mission without any single employee: whether it’s a cashier in the cafeteria greeting a visitor who spent a long day in the ICU waiting room, a landscaper who went out of his way to tend to the rose bushes so a patient in a wheelchair could enjoy their beauty or the women who process financial aid so future doctors and nurses can fulfill their dreams.

“A groundskeeper has a very important role in making our patients feel cared for. If the institution looks well cared for, patients feel safe and secure, as if they matter. Everyone’s role is consequential. We are much more than our eight hours. We are part of a greater plan, and we each have a unique and integral role to play on campus – one that advances our mission and creates a better, safer, and friendlier environment for our patients, our students, our faculty and staff.”

Cole was excited to hand the oversight of such an important initiative to an experienced leader like Shaw. “Darlene has proven herself time and time again as a valued leader and an ardent champion of our strategies. Her broad knowledge of the MUSC enterprise, her collaborative style, along with her diligence in taking concepts through implementation, make her a natural for this role.”

Shaw was humbled to be tapped for the position. “I feel incredibly privileged to be heading up this important plan. Imagine MUSC 2020 is our road map, and it’s our destination. In my estimation, there is nothing more important than a clear and tangible picture of what success looks like for this organization. From this critical starting point, everything will flow. Without a plan to reach this clear destination, where we would end up is unwritten.”

Shaw recognizes she has a monumental job ahead of her. “There are as many as 20 different business entities across the MUSC enterprise, each with its own strategic plan being mapped. The alignment of all these strategic plans to the institutional level is critical,” she said.

Luckily that task is not hers alone. The Strategy Advisory Council, or SAC, that was tasked by the president with the overall accountability for the plan. Along with Matt Wain, chief operating officer of MUSC Health, Shaw co–chairs the council. Each member of the SAC has direct oversight of key initiatives of the plan and the ultimate responsibility for its success.

Earlier this year, the SAC contacted each of the 20 business entities and asked if they would be willing to map all of their strategic initiatives to the institution’s overarching strategic goals.  Shaw said the results were amazing and would serve to integrate programs around campus and reduce duplication of efforts.

“We received more than 250 initiatives from across the entire enterprise that all had a direct connection to the goals of the Imagine MUSC 2020 plan. All were mapped in, and after an exhaustive process, we identified 17 exciting high-impact initiatives that soon will be implemented. These are initiatives that will take us a long way down the road.”

Each initiative falls under one of the five strategic goals of the plan and is headed up by an executive champion, as well as a team leader, or leaders, who oversees an implementation team. Each team is tasked with developing a detailed action plans to bring its initiative to fruition.

In the course of their work, Shaw and the SAC invited input from around campus and conducted a Line of Sight survey, which delivered important results — results that showed employees felt the institution is moving in the right direction and doing many things well but also that there is room for improvement — especially in terms of connecting people to the plan.

“We have work to do,” she said. “Some people know we have a strategic plan. Some people know we have Imagine MUSC 2020. We have to connect those two dots and ensure they understand precisely how they are involved and how what they do every day is an investment in the future of MUSC. The challenge comes through communication. Mainly what I hear is: ‘How do I personally make an impact?’ ‘Tell me how I can plug into the plan.’ We need to answer those questions.”

Shaw said one of the difficulties people have had is understanding the difference between MUSC’s mission and the goals of the strategy.

“We have to ensure everyone understands how our tripartite mission of patient care, research and education is woven into each and every one of the five MUSC 2020 goals. That’s part of the beauty of this strategy – if you look at any one of the five goals, you see all three of our missions there.”

Conceptually, she said, most people on campus are comfortable with ways to put a patient first or embrace and promote a culture of diversity and inclusion. Even building a healthy community makes sense, as it certainly applies to people taking responsibility for their health.

“Oftentimes, however, people get stuck on innovative learning, thinking it’s simply about education and academic goals. It’s important to remember we are all lifelong learners and can always be improving ourselves through education. Isn’t the concept of innovative learning equally important to research, to the medical center, to finance and administration? Same with scientific discoveries – think of all the ways our advances are evident all over campus, whether in information technology, at the bedside or in the lecture hall.

The bottom line? “It’s about helping people understand how they are a part of the bigger picture and MUSC’s future.”

Shaw is also tending to the Imagine MUSC 2020 website – she said it needed a bit of updating. “A new site is under development. So many employees have embraced this plan and need a touchstone where they can go to stay abreast of developments and see how the plan is succeeding.”

As she dives into Imagine MUSC 2020 and other strategic initiatives, Shaw looks forward to what she considers to be a very bright future.

“This is an exciting time at MUSC. We are structured now to collaborate in ways we’ve never been, and that’s where our future lies. We are developing new collaborations with other universities and building leaders who are poised and have the skillset to create the change we need. Research funding is at an all-time high. We have new educational programs. We’re educating our future health care providers with the values to integrate these five goals into their realities. Imagine MUSC 2020 is a road map, but it’s also a picture. A picture of our future. People get excited when they see a picture of the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. With this plan, they can also get a picture of our future – one we create together. We should all be very proud of what we do.

MUSC employees make a profound difference and help move forward the five goals of Imagine MUSC 2020

As a new employee with the organization, I am excited to work for an institution that is not only reaching for but exceeding at excellence in its medical center and its classrooms. I think the Imagine 2020 strategic plan is a model of success. I believe the organization is leading the way in patient health care, student learning, and becoming an organization that is not only diverse but inclusive of its employees. I consider it a great fortune to have been chosen by MUSC family at this time in history. We are not only changing what’s possible, I see so many of us living those possibilities every day.
— Cody Michael Henderson, program coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

I feel privileged to work with donors and supporters of the university, sharing opportunities where they can make a difference in the phenomenal and groundbreaking research that we’re doing each and every day at the College of Health Professions. Our Center for Rehabilitation Research in Neurological Conditions epitomizes how the college and MUSC continue to make cutting-edge scientific discoveries through the generosity of our donors and the brilliance of our faculty. In the end, our students and community  benefit greatly from our commitment to this important goal of Imagine MUSC 2020: Scientific Discoveries. I’m proud to play a role in our future.
— Leslie Brady, director of development, College of Health Professions

Although I don’t work directly with patients, I make it a point, whenever I’m able, to make sure they feel like they matter while they’re at MUSC. I often see patients on campus who look like they’re lost. I help them find their way so they feel more at ease. It’s can be stressful enough just being at such a large medical institution without being lost or late to an appointment or treatment. To me that’s what putting patients first means patient–centered care. It’s my privilege to make our patients’ lives a little easier.
— Barbara Bozarth, business and information resource manager for education and student life    

In Admissions, we’re proud to contribute to Imagine 2020. As the face of MUSC, each conversation we have with an applicant, a potential MUSC student, is not only a first step, but an important step forward in the development of our education and learning environment. The Admissions team is proud to contribute to this important plan.
— Lyla Hudson, MUSC director of Admissions

I’m on day 40 of walking 20,000 steps a day with the Step It Up MUSC Challenge. It’s been contagious – it’s not just me, it’s my family, my dad, my brother and now several cousins have taken the challenge.  It’s become a huge family competition. I also have a team here at MUSC participating in the challenge.  Walking is one of the simplest ways to get active and stay active and the Step It Up MUSC Challenge has not only created a healthy community at MUSC but also for my family across South Carolina.
— Katie Schumacher, director of development, Medical Hospital and Heart and Vascular Center.