"Turn the Page. PChamlis retires after 32 years." by pchamlis

For the last fifteen years, I was the Core Laboratory manager for a major hospital. It was a huge responsibility, and many times I wondered why in the ever-loving name of hell I'd chosen to do so. It sure wasn't for a huge salary, I can guarantee you that. : ^/

But in the end, I like to be in control of my destiny, and what better way to do so that to be in charge. And also, it's the best place to sit if you want to effect positive change.

Now, many people literally hate their boss. I have been blessed on both sides of that issue. ::I:: have (or should I say had??) a boss, too. I was in charge of my lab, but not the entire hospital. Everyone except Bill Gates has a boss, right? Well, I had the same boss for the entire fifteen years that I was manager, and we got on great. He is one of my best friends. And in fitting fashion, he is retiring from duty exactly one week after I left. Always a team, right? So I was lucky, I liked and respected my boss. And, he respected me, which made work so much more fun.

And on the other end, the people I supervised certainly had issues with me from time to time. How can you not over such a long period of time? I had 30 employees and two subordinate managers that I supervised, and such a high number should guarantee some strife from time to time.

But, in my career, it was minimal. And darn near everyone came up to me in the last couple of days and said things like "we love you, boss" and "we can't imagine this place without you, you're impossible to replace". The last sentence isn't true, of course, but it made me feel very happy.

I've never understood why so many people voluntarily buy and carry beepers. As a health care professional, I've had to carry one for quite a few years, and I'd usually shudder then then thing went off, especially at odd hours. I lived in fear of having to initiate a dreaded "plan of disaster".

Thankfully in my career, such a horrid event never occurred. The closest thing to a disaster that I had to ever deal with was a FedEx jet crash in my hometown a few years ago. Thankfully, only a couple dozen overnight packages got killed. : )

Now, not all of my beeper messages meant anyone wanted to yell, or that bad news had occurred. I've been called away to many happy and joyous events, too, over my career. Still, life without a beeper is proving to be most relaxing.

American health care is in a crisis state, folks. Everyone knows that there are issues. But, you don't know the half of it, my friends.

Most people see the issue as being directly related to rising costs. And, this is a problem. There are many reasons for the spiraling cost of health care in America, among which are (1) new and expensive technology (2) governmentally-mandated but not funded care requirements and (3) too many lawsuits and such. The fact is that Americans have come to expect healthcare to be an inalienable right. I am not about to debate that concept, but I will say this..... if it is a right, SOMEBODY is going to have to pay for it. New technology is EXPENSIVE. You people know this. Go shopping for a television. What costs more, a plasma wide-screen or a portable black and white?

Control the increasing costs? Government can no more do that than they can control the cost of oil. Supply and demand, folks. All sorts of creative ideas come along, but in the end, they fail because Americans do not want their health care rationed or subject to review. The facts are that people go to doctors much more now, and they take zillions more prescription pills and such. IT COSTS MORE.

You people know all of this, you read newspapers. But, the biggest crisis you may not understand. Qualified people. The training and ability of the people going into health care now is, in my honest opinion, less than it was twenty years ago. There's no HUGE money to be made. Kids are becoming stock brokers, corporate whizzes and lawyers. Health care isn't working because it's the only industry where the government and people will not accept the laws of supply and demand. Want the best people? YOu have to pay. And therefore, more and more entry level healthcare support personnel are more rudimentally trained and qualified. OK, it'll save some money and slow the spiral of health care, without addressing many of the other causes. But when push comes to shove and someone is trying to save your life at the scene of an automobile accident, it might not be as comforting a thought (the saving of money) to realize that some guy who'd have been an excellent paramedic chose to sell mutuals at Charles Schwab because he could make ten times as much money or more.

Think about it.

BTW, the accompanying picture shows me and our hospital's Chief Financial Officer playing with a handful of cash. Sadly, the cash was mine. The hospital remains broke. And, if you'll look very closely, you'll not see anything larger than a $20 bill in mine or Bill's hands.

I was the boss for fifteen years, but I've worked at my hospital for 32 years. I met so many interesting and varied people. It literally humbles me to think of the sheer number of people that I've known and worked with.

I've been fortunate to have made several long-term, and probably for the rest of my life, friends. The lady in the accompanying photo is Teri. I have known Teri and her husband John since about 1981. We've all raised families together and have stumbled into middle age as one. It's nice to have friends and associates that you do respect and enjoy.

I have been blessed in so many ways.

The fellow in the accompanying picture is my friend Danny. Danny (also known of as Danny the Duck and Pinky) and I met back in about 1975. He came to work at the hospital, and I'd been there for about two years. We were also both students in the Chemistry Department at Florida State University.

If I ever had a side-kick at work, Danny'd be it. Wayyy back in 1979-1980, the hospital made a terrible decision in turning over the management of their evening and night shift(s) to a punk 23 year old (me). I was by far the youngest manager they'd ever had, and the day I started (and ended) my tour as evening and night supervisor, I was ALWAYS the youngest person on the shift. I started working at the hospital when I was 16, hence the retirement at age 48 gig. Anyway, back then, Danny was my assistant supervisor on nights and evenings. Danny eventually succeeded me as supervisor, when I chose to move to a day crew position. (I did so to get married.)

Speaking of married and not counting any of my relatives, Danny is one of only three people who came to both (!!!) of my weddings. My second and by far most successful (almost 25 years) marriage started with a simple wedding attended by about 25 people, including Danny. That is what puts Danny into such rare company. My first wedding was attended by damn near everyone in Leon County, or so it seemed. Oh well, you know that old corollary about the length and happiness of a marriage being inversely preportional to the amount of money spent on the wedding? For me, it was soooo true.

When I became Manager of the Core Laboratory, Danny and I again joined forces, as he became my night shift supervisor. He continues in that position today, and will probably follow me into retirement in a year or two.

Danny and I also played on numerous intramural football, basketball and softball teams throughout our years together. He's also one of the best golfers I've ever met. (Hi 70's, folks.....)

Anyway, people like Danny have made my career and life very special.

One of the secrets to our success in our Core Lab is that we had stability in our management team. Me and my two assistants, Debbie and Keith, were together for almost 12 years. That is a long time in a hospital setting for such a team to remain together.

In order to show how long we've been together, I will post two photos. The first, accompanying this text, was taken when we first became a team, about twelve years ago. Can you believe how young I looked then? It makes me sad to stare into a mirror now and see so many wrinkles and my gray hair.

But, turn the page. Life goes on. : )

NOTE....IT'S A WIDE PHOTO. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO SEE ALL OF US. And if you can't do so, at least I put Debbie in the middle. She's better looking than Keith or I. Wanna hear something funny? She's older than either of us, too. And FWIW, I am the youngest of the group. <vbg>

As promised, here is the photo of the Core Lab management team today....or actually on my last day, December 17, 2004.

I made my goal. I retired before I was 50 years old. Turn the page.

Hospital people go to work early. I have been getting up at 5:00 am for as long as I can remember. Everyday, I'd park in a distant lot and take a nice long walk up to the hospital. I actually enjoyed the few moments of solitude before starting my day, and on most days, the whole scene of our massive hospital's quiet illumination was quite peaceful. In many ways, it masked the many life and death struggles that went on inside its walls. An interesting and rewarding place to spend 32 years, my VT friends.

So, the photo accompanying this text was taken on my last morning walk up to the hospital, on the morning of my retirement, December 17, 2004. It's the last early morning walk for me up to duty in my laboratory.

Oh, I'm going to have more early morning walks I'm sure, but I'll be walking in a different direction... perhaps many changing directions. I've had my career, now I'm going to sample working life. Turn the page.