When 2 Words Say So Much…Thank You

My weekly blogs are usually about implementing Epic; things to remember, lessons learned, common areas where things are overlooked and everything else from A to Z that people ask me to write about.

This week’s edition appears the day after Memorial Day so I’m gearing it towards that special day and the decision before the Department of Defense (DOD) in their selection of a software program that will lead to taking better care of one of our most prized possessions, our military heroes.

Sunday my husband was one of the 600+ military stationed at Fort Bragg that was honored at NASCAR’s Memorial Day Coca Cola 600 race.  Throughout the day hundreds of people came up and thanked him for his service and me for my sacrifices while he is away.  We were truly touched each and every time.  People from 4 to about 80 years old who didn’t know us, stopped and said thank you.  We shared thank you’s with veterans from wars of the past.  We listened to some of their stories that were very captivating.  We also were honored to listen to some amazing stories from family members of our fallen heroes.

As we were walking out and heading towards our car there was a boy who was walking next to his mom.  He was leaning on her because he was obviously exhausted as it was after 10pm at this point.  When we got closer he perked right up, gave his mom something to hold, walked up to Steve and said, “Sir, I want to thank you for your service; it means a lot to me.”  He was beaming.  Steve said, “Thank you son, it’s my honor.”  Steve looked at his mother and said, “You are raising a fine son mom.”  The boy, about 11 or 12, walked back over to his mom and gave her a hug.  We just stood and watched while they walked away.  My husband turned to me and said, “Of all of the handshakes today, that one touched me the most.”

The DoD is about to make a huge decision in their history of what electronic medical record they will be replacing a system that has been a “struggle” to use so I have been told.  Several medical personnel have shared with me over the years of being a military dependent how much they would love a system where they didn’t have to double and even triple document in.  Writing notes and just getting everything in the right place currently takes too much time.  From the military patient side, I’m thrilled they went to something that didn’t involve us carrying thick medical records from base to base as we did our PCS moves; now if the DoD can choose a system that will allow the medical staff to reduce their workload and see more patients, our military will have the best possible care we can give them.

Of course I’m partial to Epic; a former employee, a consultant and FTE at a client site, I’ve been in all the roles.  I think their teaming up with IBM was nothing short of genius!  Strengthfinders© teaches us what our strengths are as well as the strengths of those we work with.  It directs us to surround ourselves and use other’s strengths to assist in our weaknesses.  Epic teaming up with IBM brings the DoD the best of the best! I look forward to the decision not from someone who works in the Epic field, but from the military spouse who wants just the very best for all of my military family.

Next time you see one of our fine military or you are blessed with a moment to share with a veteran from serving years gone by, take that 2 minutes out of your life and thank them.  Memorial day is about those who have sacrificed and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their life for the very freedom that so many take for granted on a daily basis.  We don’t need a special day to say thanks; let’s do it every day.

Til’ next week…

For information on how Dynamic Computing Services and Jan Toth can help you reach your goals, please contact her directly at jant@dcshq.com

Read previous posts in this and other series at www.blog.dcshq.com