NOTE: This message was emailed to Ballad Health team members on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Ballad Health has reached a major cultural milestone with 1,002,472 B Excellent tips watched across the system. Surpassing 1 million tips reflects the dedication of team members who continue to invest in personal growth, stronger teamwork and our journey toward high reliability. This accomplishment demonstrates your commitment to living our values and improving quality in every interaction. Your engagement with the B Excellent program continues to strengthen our culture in meaningful ways. Every tip you watch and apply contributes to improved teamwork, clearer communication and stronger relationships across the system. These habits support our core values and help us build a safer, more supportive environment for our patients, their families and one another. Celebrate with a complimentary B Excellent item To recognize this achievement, all team members are invited to choose one complimentary B Excellent-branded item that will be shipped directly…

NOTE: This message was emailed to Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Dear Colleague,  As we continue exploring what it truly means to serve, we want to begin by spending time on the “why.” Service has always been at the heart of who we are as a healthcare system, and it’s deeply connected to our core value of Faith. For many, faith is rooted in a belief in something greater – guiding compassion, purpose and the desire to uplift others. For others, faith shows up as confidence in our mission, trust in our teammates and the shared commitment that unites us. Regardless of how we each define it, service becomes the way we live out that faith … showing up with empathy, humility and a willingness to support those around us. This week’s Better Begins With Us tip What Does It Mean To S.E.R.V.E.: The E in S.E.R.V.E. – Empathetic Listening Empathetic listening…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Dear Colleague,  As we enter December, we begin a new skill in the Better Begins With Us program: What Does It Mean to S.E.R.V.E.? This month’s focus of service directly aligns with our core value of Faith, reminding us that service is both a commitment and a calling. In healthcare, service is one of the most meaningful expressions of faith. It reflects our belief in the dignity, worth and value of every patient, family member and teammate we encounter. When we choose to serve with humility, empathy and compassion, we honor the trust our patients and teammates place in us and strengthen the foundation of our mission. This week’s Better Begins With Us tip What Does It Mean To S.E.R.V.E.: The S in S.E.R.V.E. – Supportive Attitude This week, we’re focusing on what it means to serve others with a genuinely…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Dear Colleague,  As we enter Thanksgiving week, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the role gratitude plays in building strong, healthy teams. When gratitude becomes part of our everyday interactions, it strengthens trust, reduces stress and helps us stay connected to one another – especially during challenging moments. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this week’s tip invites us to pause, appreciate the good around us and continue cultivating a workplace where kindness and thankfulness are woven into everything we do. Doing so isn’t only great for the overall health of our teams, but it’s also good for our own personal and psychological health. This week’s Better Begins With Us tip Gratitude Tip #4: How Gratitude Improves Well-Being This tip explores the powerful connection between gratitude and our overall health. Research shows that people who consistently practice gratitude experience better…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Dear Colleague,  As we move through November, the month where we traditionally pause to reflect on thankfulness, it’s the perfect time to focus on how gratitude strengthens high-trust, highly reliable teams. Gratitude helps us build meaningful connections, work through challenges with less friction and bring out the best in our teams. It supports our High Reliability journey by reinforcing two essential behaviors: valuing every voice and building trust. And at its core, gratitude is a powerful expression of Caring, one of our foundational values at Ballad Health. This week’s Better Begins With Us tips Gratitude Tip #3: Being Grateful for Your Teammates This tip explores how gratitude toward the people you work with strengthens relationships and creates an environment where everyone feels valued. You’ll learn three strategies for expressing appreciation in meaningful ways: Acknowledge the strengths of your teammates Value…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Dear Colleague: As we continue our “Better Begins With Us” program, this month’s focus on Gratitude reminds us how powerful appreciation can be in creating a strong, connected team. Gratitude is an intentional practice that helps us notice the good around us, recognize the efforts of others and strengthen the relationships that make our teams thrive. When we take time to recognize and uplift one another, we embody our core value of Caring, creating a workplace where kindness and respect thrive. This week’s “Better Begins With Us” tip Gratitude Tip #2: Effective Gratitude Expressions This week’s tip builds on our gratitude mindset by exploring the how of expressing gratitude. You’ll learn three best practices for sharing appreciation in meaningful ways: Be specific and sincere by recognizing a teammate’s unique contributions. Be timely in your acknowledgment. Choose the right medium for expressing…

NOTE: This message was emailed to Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Nov. 4: Dear Colleague,  As we move into November, we’re excited to begin the next skill in our Better Begins With Us program: Gratitude, which aligns with our Ballad Health value of Caring. Over the next month, we’ll learn to look beyond ourselves, recognize the good around us, and appreciate the people and moments that shape our work and lives. Now that we’ve completed our first skill, The Empathy Effect, all team members should be at 25% completion in the program. If you’re not quite there yet, this is a great time to catch up. The Empathy skill is a cornerstone of our culture at Ballad Health … it reminds us to truly listen, seek to understand and respond with compassion. These are the same qualities that allow gratitude to take root and grow. To verify your progress, click the Progress tab (lower right-hand corner on…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Dear Colleague,  As we wrap up our first skill in the Better Begins With Us program, The Empathy Effect, we want to take a moment to thank you for your continued engagement. Your commitment to growing through these lessons shows how much you care about strengthening both your own connections and the culture we share here at Ballad Health. This week’s tips are great reminders that honesty in action goes far beyond words. It’s about the care, accountability, and empathy we demonstrate every day. When we take time to see and support each other and when we foster a culture that learns rather than blames, we build teams rooted in trust and compassion. These practices reflect honesty plus strengthen the reliability that our patients, colleagues and communities depend on. This week’s Better Begins With Us tips The Empathy Effect: Simple Ways…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Dear Colleague,  Welcome to another week of our new B Excellent program, Better Begins With Us! This program is designed to help us strengthen the connections that make Ballad Health a great place to work and receive care. Each tip gives us a chance to grow together by building habits that reflect our shared values and support one another in meaningful ways. For the opening skill of the program, we’ve been focusing on an important part of emotional intelligence: empathy. While some people are more naturally empathetic than others, empathy is a skill that can be learned through intentional practice. When we take the time to understand and respond to the emotions of others, we build stronger relationships with our patients and coworkers. Choosing empathy helps create a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. This week’s Better Begins With…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Dear Colleague,  We’re excited to continue our new B Excellent program, Better Begins With Us, which connects meaningful skills with some of our core values: Honesty, Caring, Faith and Respect. As we begin this journey together, we also want to thank you for participating in our previous program, Team Collaboration. To help us make future programs even better, please take a few minutes to complete a brief post-survey about your experience with Team Collaboration. Your feedback will help shape the content we deliver moving forward. B Excellent Team Collaboration Post-Assessment Survey Last week, we explored The Empathy Framework, learning how to recognize and understand the perspectives of others. This week, we’re taking that skill one step further by applying that framework to real world situations. This week’s Better Begins With Us tip The Empathy Effect: The Empathy Framework to Help Your Teammate…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Dear Colleague,  This week, we’re launching our newest B Excellent program – Better Begins With Us! We’re excited to share this next step in our journey of growth and excellence. The skills and tips in this program were carefully selected to align with and strengthen some of our core values: Honesty, Caring, Faith and Respect. Each month, we’ll focus on one skill designed to reflect a specific value: October: The Empathy Effect – Honesty November: Gratitude – Caring December: What Does It Mean to S.E.R.V.E. – Faith January: There for Each Other – Respect For current Ballad Health team members, Better Begins with Us has been automatically assigned to you in the Practicing Excellence app or desktop interface. Simply go to the Progress tab (top right corner on desktop, lower right corner in the app) and select the program from the “Select Program” list. We’ll begin…

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Tuesday, Sept. 30. Dear Colleague,  Today’s the day to finish strong! If you haven’t completed the Team Collaboration program yet, be sure to do so by the end of today to be considered “on time” for the B Excellent portion of your annual performance appraisal. Completing the program not only meets expectations but also gives you and your team the full benefit of this investment. As we wrap up the break between programs, our recent Tuesday Tips have helped us stay connected by highlighting themes from the Team Member Engagement Survey – bringing clarity to your questions and spotlighting what matters most to our teams. We’ve already focused on compensation, paid time off (PTO) and work-life balance. This week we’re going to take a closer look at our benefits. Ballad Health’s benefits are self-funded, which means that instead of paying an outside insurance…