Employee of the Month

Internal Use Only 1

The Pulse of Software Services

Update 2015.02

Inside This Issue

1……..….……………

From the Desk of

2……..….……………

Toastmasters Cont...

3………………………

The Tracking Board

Word Puzzle

4………………………

How I Learned to

Juggle

5………………………

Recognitions

Kudos

6………………………

Quiz

From the Desk of: David Stephenson, Analyst

Toastmasters

Did you know that CPSI has a Toastmasters chapter on the main campus?

First a little information about what Toastmasters is. Beginning in 1924, Ralph C. Smedley

started to train public speaking. The organization has since grown to over 200,000

members in over 90 countries worldwide. Focusing on public speaking and leadership

skills, Toastmasters is one of the largest organized systems of personal development in the

world.

Not Just Public Speaking…

One of the big problems seen with Toastmasters current reputation is that most people on

initial inspection believe that it is simply a program for speakers to get together and

practice what, for most people is an often unused skill. Since most people don’t do any

public speaking aside from the occasional meeting or toast at a wedding, they see the

meetings twice a month as being a considerable investment for unsure benefits.

Unfortunately what most people don’t understand is that the skills learned in mastering

public speaking and leadership are core skills needed for dealing with other people.

These skills are the communication skills you use many times every single day. Instead of

thinking about doing a big presentation with your toastmaster skills, think about something

as simple as talking with a group of friends.

Many people who have labeled themselves ‘introverts’ or lack social skills can find

Toastmasters to be a fantastic place to rapidly improve their communication skills. Even if

you are currently a very sociable person, Toastmasters can teach you to improve your

skills and give you the confidence that comes from being a competent speaker.

Meeting People

Toastmasters is a great place to make friends and meet new people. Organizations in

general are great places to meet people, but the Toastmasters atmosphere facilitates it

even more. I have gotten to know many of my co-workers on a personal basis through

Toastmasters, including many people I might not have otherwise had the chance to

meet.

One of the reasons Toastmasters makes it easier to meet people is because there is a

strong emphasis on being very supportive of the people around you. It’s too bad that this

attitude isn’t ingrained in all our dealings with other people, because it really makes it

much easier to make friends. I can’t speak for all clubs when I make this statement, but

generally I have found the CPSI chapter to be a place that tries its best to make people

feel welcomed.

The second reason Toastmasters is a great place to meet people is because there is

mutually positive feedback between members. By giving and receiving positive feedback

I think rapport is established much more quickly. But if you just go to one meeting and see the prepared speeches, this benefit of

Toastmasters might not be apparent. It takes some people several months before they

really find the intrinsic benefits to Toastmasters. Although the improvement to public

speaking comes immediately, it can take a little longer before you recognize the benefits

it has in all communication.

Quote of the Month

————————————

“Happiness is not the

absence of problems; it's

the ability to deal with

them.”

-Steve Maraboli

-————————————

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Update 2015.02

Continued from page 1…..

Great Times

One of the aspects of Toastmasters that surprised me most was just how fun the meetings are. Even without all the skill and

relationship benefits, I go to meetings for the entertainment.

Unfortunately, this aspect of Toastmasters is also overlooked by new members. In the first few meetings you might feel a bit

fresh and nervous, so it might be hard to enjoy yourself. But I’ve found after just a couple of meetings members have often

told me that they come just for the stress relief or laughs.

We have had meetings where there was improv comedy, jokes, and even charades. Even the regular activities such as

prepared speeches, table topics and doing introductions are usually filled with humor. Each meeting will take you on a

rollercoaster ride of emotions. If your preconceived impression of Toastmasters was that of a stuffy, boring organization

where people gave toasts to each other, then you should think again.

All Employees are Welcome

Some employees have expressed that the CPSI chapter is a group of management employees that meet. Our club has

members with titles ranging from Support Representative to Vice President. Our chapter is open to all employees of CPSI.

How to Join Toastmasters:

Now that you have read how great Toastmasters is, I want to tell you how you can join our chapter. Joining is incredibly

easy and is extremely cheap compared to the value you get out of it.

Step One: Find a Club

The CPSI chapter meets every 2 weeks on Thursdays at noon in building 7. The next meeting is February 5, 2015.

Step Two: Come as a Guest

Our club allows for guest visits for a couple of meetings before membership is required. So if you aren’t sure about

the Toastmasters experience, come as a guest and check it out.

Step Three: Come for at Least Six Months

Unfortunately one of the biggest downsides of Toastmasters is simply that the benefits of membership won’t be

apparent initially. When I did my first few speeches and impromptu speaking opportunities I didn’t notice drastic

improvement and I hadn’t yet gotten to know all the members. However after completing more speeches and

spending several months I really began to see Toastmasters as being fun, educational and useful to my life.

Although I have only been a member of the club for a short time,

I have enjoyed getting to know the other club members which

range from reps to management to vice presidents. I also find it

beneficial in developing organizational skills and getting comfort-

able with speaking in front of audiences. If you can speak in

front of your peers without being nervous, you can definitely do it

in front of a group of total strangers! It is a laid back environment

and we share a lot of laughs as we help each other by providing

both constructive criticism and positive feedback. I look forward

to continuing to develop my skills as a public speaker and, at the

same time, learning more about my fellow employees.

-Katie Whiddon, L&D Level 2 rep in Learning and Development

Some Toastmasters members (Left to Right): Dottie Elliott, Pam Phillips, Gareth Bryars,

Cindi Gartman, Lindsey Clapper, Stephanie Durkac and Todd Carnley

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Update 2015.02

The Tracking Board

Word Puzzle E O J Q V D D N S I T U A T I O N V U S S I T K Y D

M Z X G B T G A F P A C B O J H C L W C Q K K Y T I

P H Q Z I T U I W X A T U K D H O G T I H H Y M I O

L X W P S N D C C O P N D S D T M L Q H J J H I O T

O L I T T E A I T T I E Y V T X C W B P Z J E N J S

Y P D Q L M T S U L H M Z O O O Y V F A O I L T B T

E E O T A P R Y X T V T H E W U M E Q R F H K R D R

E F C Y T O A H N A Q R T B O O X E N G C K C A J O

L C U U I L V P O B G A W X R L G X R O M T N N Z P

L Y M T P E E V I L N P G O K Y E C C M F X I E P E

K U E R S V L Z T E I E M C R P N F P E W C H T U R

A L N E O E O T A O L D V Q E J O Q S D O P W R U F

T A T T H D Y J C R U Y M R Q N T B I M G X A E Z E

R C A T G F S W I D D C D H U R C W P Z D H O D G S

E I T E P O X R L E E N R Q E B M U M R V H U L N R

N N I L R X C A P R H E D R S E T T A B X N D I I U

C I O S E W G C P E C G C O T E A O Q Y S O M U T N

H L N W S R W F A N S R I J R A B Q V I N O W B S K

E C A E E M X K T T Y E Y P G N T G G B O Q Q R E N

S Y Y N N E A O Z R X M O X I B M N N I M N V E T I

Z O J S T N K I F Y U E T T E R E K E I C A F T U L

B K B S A H G V L J D I E T N D F X I I N Y Z L E T

Q U P H T R E G D E L L A R E N E G C O T R F I Y R

R P A E I K S J P S L B S Y P X Y Q B C E A A F U A

B O F M O O D T W U H S V K W P G J V E H L P E S H

A N R Y N Z M C B H N E W Y E A R D Y J M I O Z L C

APPLICATION CPSI GENERAL LEDGER NEW YEAR SITUATION

BETA CUSTOMER HINCKLE NURSE TABLE

BULLETIN BOARD DEMOGRAPHICS HIPAA ORDER ENTRY TESTING

CFO DEVELOPMENT HOSPITAL PATIENT TRAVEL

CHARTLINK DOCUMENTATION INTRANET PHYSICIAN TRENCHES

CLINICAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT LEARNING PRESENTATION UNSIGNED

COMPUTER EMPLOYEE MAIL REPORTS WORK REQUEST

FILTER BUILDER NEWSLETTER SCHEDULING

If you have any pictures to submit for “The Pulse” please email to Lindsey Clapper at [email protected].

Love is in the Air….

Right: Congratulations to

Mark Davis who proposed to

Jennifer Liggett in December.

Left: Congratulations to Emily

McLeod who was engaged on

Christmas Eve to John

Calogrides.

St. Martin, W.I.

Photos submitted by Emily Tyson

Carrie Burton

paying close

attention to Kees

at the Tree

Lighting at St.

Maarten. Photo

submitted by Beth

Adams.

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Update 2015.02

How I Learned to Juggle

Brian Shanks—Assistant Manager, Financial Team B

When I was 13 years old, I had a Scout Master who was one of those guys that challenged those around him to be a better person. Perhaps it was to the extra mile on the hike, earn one or 2 more merit badges during summer camp, or do one extra service project in the quarter because he knew you could. On a Monday night scout meeting, he asked for a show of hands of how many people could juggle. No hands were lifted, and no one fit the bill as a juggler. He pulled myself and another scout out of our chairs and handed both of us three racket balls. He said the goal was to come back next week and juggle in front of the troop. He ended with the statement that juggling is a very simple process in that you should always be moving, always think of the next small step, and always keep your eye on the goal. Sounds so easy…….it’s not!

The next morning while the rest of my neighborhood went off to the pool, I stood in my front yard and began my journey down the path of discovering I had horrible hand eye coordination. I spent my first few hours chasing the racket balls all over my yard as well as the neighbors' and the street. By lunch time I could not lift my arms above my head, much less juggle. I was defeated. In the evening, I once again went out to the front yard to give it another try. I tossed the first ball in the air and replaced the one in my left hand as it flew in the air, then the right and back again……then they all went their own direction. It lasted no more than 5 seconds but I did it…..I juggled three racket balls. That’s all it took. I kept practicing the rest of the week and weekend. By my next scout meeting, I could juggle like a champ. All it took was determination, a strong will, and dedicated time, and I was able to do something I couldn’t do the week before.

As a father of three young children, I find myself juggling all the time. There are days I feel like those first few hours in my front yard learning to move from one hand to the other, always keeping the third suspended in the air. We juggle our work: the time we have, the time allotted for the task, goals for completion. We juggle our family life with the time we have with loved ones, the time we have for ourselves, and our goals we have set for our lives and our future.

So many times I find myself chasing after the important things in my life, all flying in different directions, looking less like a life and more like a whirlwind. But when the time comes that they all fall in to place, maybe for just one moment, it is a great feeling. I wish I could say it happens all the time with me, but I would be lying. I continue to try everyday in my life to juggle all that I have to do and TRY to keep everything moving in perfect motion. I owe it to everyone who believes and depends on me to give it my best. I owe it to my scout master who proved to me with a little hard work you can indeed juggle.

Brian and his wife, Olivia.

Andrew (4), Caroline (6) and Katie (9)

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Update 2015.02

Newsletter Contacts:

Lindsey Clapper Development Coordinator [email protected]

Beth Adams Development Coordinator [email protected]

Blakely Prine Development Manager [email protected]

Nathan Mussell Development Manager [email protected]

Any comments, suggestions and articles are appreciated. These can be emailed address above. Thank you!

Recognitions: December Employees of the Month

Support: Frank Coleman, OE/Resulting Team D and Jeanne Freeman, Financial Team E Frank Coleman - He has really turned around his work in the last 6 months. He was a rep that struggled for a little while

when he began, but he used constructive criticism received at his last evaluation to turn his approach around. He has

really stepped it up and now is a super productive rep in Ancillary. He has done such a good job that I have chosen him

as my non-travel rep for the queue for which I am responsible.

Jeanne Freeman - Jeanne always works hard and is self-motivated. She is always one of the top producers and it

doesn’t matter what queue she is working. She also takes on challenging situations and does a great job researching and

finding answers to resolve those challenging situations. Jeanne handles herself in a professional manner and provides

excellent customer service

Implementation : Neal Pullins, MP-EHR Neal went above and beyond working with Curry General Hospital in December with MP-EHR go live. He was the primary

and did an exceptional job. The site has 3 large clinics and close to 20 providers. He then left that facility and went to

Madison Medical for an additional support week and they raved about him and how well he did with the providers and

requested he come back for the follow up visit.

He always gives 200% and never complains. Excellent support rep!!!!

Thank you ALL for your hard work and dedication!

Kudos from Grover C. Dils Medical Center

Brittany,

Good morning, I hope this e-mail finds you and Miller well and looking forward to the holiday season! I personally love this time of year. I’m not certain who is

Whit Gruenewald’s supervisor so I wanted to start with you. If you are the right person, would you please pass this along? In the busy world that we live and work

in each day, I feel it is important to take a moment to let you know of an outstanding employee that I have had the opportunity to work with. Whit Gruenwald has

superior customer service skills and is always patient and willing to take the time and go the extra mile. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Whit on our

attestation process. Whit is excellent at communicating and helping you to understand each requirement. I have enjoyed getting to know Whit through this

process and hope that someday I can thank him in person. You have an exemplary employee in Whit Gruenewald, I hope he is with CPSI for many years!

Thank you,

Melissa S. Rowe

Grover C. Dils Medical Center

Chief Operating Officer

Thank you Whit for all your hard work! You make a difference!

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Update 2015.02

Quiz

You can answer the following questions and turn them into Lindsey Clapper (Building 11) by

February 20 to be entered into a drawing for a giftcard. Only if you have all the answers

correct will you be entered in to the drawing.

1. Toastmasters began in?

A) 1935 B) 1895 C) 1924

2. When is the next Toastmasters meeting?

A) Feb 19, 2005 B) Feb 5, 2015 C) March 5, 2014

3. Brian was how old when he learned to juggle?

A) 13 B) 17 C) 7

4. Who taught Brian how to juggle?

A) His scout master B) Brian C) Tom Brady

5. Mobile is the home of what?

A) Mardi Gras B) CPSI C) Both A and B

Name: ___________________________________________________

(Please turn into Lindsey Clapper (Building 11) by February 20)

And the Winner is….

Congrats to Sue Lardizabal for winning the giftcard in January.

Documents

Employee of the Month