The Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (AWPHD) has named Tom Jensen, CEO of Grays Harbor Community Hospital (GHCH), Board Chair for the year 2020. The AWPHD serves as the trade association for Washington State’s 62 hospital districts. Jensen was elected by his peers and has previously served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the organization.

Grays Harbor Community Hospital and Harbor Medical Group said they have continued to care for patients throughout the incident and were able to recover some patient data using backup procedures. "At no time was patient care compromised," the organizations said in the online statement.

Shortly after assuming the role of CEO of Mark Reed Hospital (MRH) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, in 2007, Renee Jensen was faced with the realization that the hospital could barely meet payroll. The finance manager told her that if collections that day were sufficient, and if the checks—which had already been cut—weren’t all cashed immediately, the hospital might be able to cover salaries.

Renee Jensen, CEO of Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma and Tom Jensen, CEO of Grays Harbor Community Hospital were both recently awarded the prestigious Joe Hopkins Memorial Award for outstanding leadership.

The two were recognized by the Washington State Hospital Association for their excellence in serving their communities.

By Renee Jensen

Active listening is an essential skill for anyone who leads others. Ensuring others feel heard and understood is part of what builds strong teams, but I have found that when you’re having a conversation as a team or with an individual, listening to what they aren’t saying is just as important as listening to what they are saying. I’m not just talking about body language (though that speaks volumes), but rather the omission of information or opinions or what isn’t laid out on the table.

By Renee Jensen

In past articles, I have shared about my (fairly new) love for running. Truth be told, though, I am not sure I actually love running itself as much as the escape that running offers me. I love the pure physical exhaustion that lets my mind be free of everything and present in the moment. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I reach a new milestone, but not necessarily running. For these reasons, I often say that I don’t consider myself a “real” runner. (Although, once a friend scolded me for saying that, reminding me: “You run; therefore, you are a real runner.”)

By Renee Jensen

There are many things that the COVID pandemic has taught us. For me, the experiences of the past year have reinforced something many of us already knew: your state of mind can be a very powerful influence on the outcome of your work, your day, and even your life.

By Renee Jensen

If you are part of your hospital’s front-line staff, think about the last time a member of the executive team rounded in your department. Did the staff scatter, hide behind the computer, and hope to not be noticed, or pretend to be too busy to be interrupted? Did you take one for the team and entertain the executive until they finally left?

By Renee Jensen

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this:

You’re in a meeting where everything is going along smoothly. You are feeling optimistic—you may get done early so you can get back to your office and have a few minutes back in your day! All of the sudden, someone in the room derails the conversation and direction of the meeting causing a flurry of discussion, debate and disagreement.

By Renee Jensen

The topic of career transition is something that strong, successful leaders rarely talk about, despite the fact that it is something that almost every professional will experience in some way, at some point in their career.

Lessons I learned from my dad

By Renee Jensen

When was the last time you evaluated your own risk tolerance? In life there are all kinds of risks to consider: financial investments, adventures, personal relationships, professional decisions; the list could go on and on.

By Renee Jensen

This is a trying time for leaders in the healthcare industry. The pandemic is putting stress on operations and financials, and is straining the capacity of the entire healthcare system. We have huge challenges to overcome, but it’s difficult to know how to lead and find a way forward in a situation no one has experienced before.

By Renee Jensen

At one of the hospitals I served as CEO, I brought in an executive coach to work with our senior leadership team. At the end of our time together, the coach complimented my team, saying it was one of the most high-performing groups he had ever worked with. I was shocked.

In retrospect, I truly believe the reason for our ability to perform at a high level was our deep trust in one another, established through a genuine desire to know and care for each other.

By Renee Jensen

As healthcare leaders, we want to inspire and empower our employees to do creative, high-quality work that serves our patients and our communities. There is seemingly no end to the methods executives can use to accomplish this goal, but I have found that no strategic plan, incentive, or leadership development program can foster this kind of work like an organizational culture where it’s safe to fail. When employees aren’t afraid to take a risk on an innovative idea, they are free to do their very best work.

The Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (AWPHD) has named Tom Jensen, CEO of Grays Harbor Community Hospital (GHCH), Board Chair for the year 2020. The AWPHD serves as the trade association for Washington State’s 62 hospital districts. Jensen was elected by his peers and has previously served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the organization.

Grays Harbor Community Hospital and Harbor Medical Group said they have continued to care for patients throughout the incident and were able to recover some patient data using backup procedures. "At no time was patient care compromised," the organizations said in the online statement.

In early 2017 GHCH CEO Tom Jensen, his executive team and Harbor Medical Group providers, began the journey of transitioning the primary care clinics to a hospital-based Rural Health Clinic (RHC) designation.

“The hospital-based RHC designation significantly increases current reimbursement for primary care services and reduces hospital costs in subsidizing the clinics,” explains Jensen. “This will enhance the hospital’s ability to expand access to care, which is profoundly needed within our community.”

Above & Beyond Award

• Renee Jensen

• Summit Pacific Medical Center

Summit Pacific Medical Center CEO Renee K. Jensen is leaving to a position within EvergreenHealth as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for EvergreenHealth Monroe, the community in which she was raised.

“Renee was a gift to the district,” said Drew Hooper, board chairman of Grays Harbor Hospital District 1, which operates Summit Pacific. “It’s been a privilege to watch her lead this organization from the brink of closure into the nationally recognized medical center it is today.”

CEO Renee Jensen cannot praise the staff enough for the work they have been doing this past year. “It’s been amazing to watch our staff come together and work toward this common goal,” she shares. “I know they have all been pushed to their limits, but they continue to deliver top-notch patient care while spending a lot of extra time meeting with peers to re-design workflows, meeting with software staff to share information and spending countless hours learning the new system.”

Shortly after assuming the role of CEO of Mark Reed Hospital (MRH) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, in 2007, Renee Jensen was faced with the realization that the hospital could barely meet payroll. The finance manager told her that if collections that day were sufficient, and if the checks—which had already been cut—weren’t all cashed immediately, the hospital might be able to cover salaries.

Renee Jensen, CEO of Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma and Tom Jensen, CEO of Grays Harbor Community Hospital were both recently awarded the prestigious Joe Hopkins Memorial Award for outstanding leadership.

The two were recognized by the Washington State Hospital Association for their excellence in serving their communities.

For the first time in its history, the Washington State Hospital Association awarded the prestigious Joe Hopkins Memorial Award for outstanding leadership to two CEOs: Renee Jensen, CEO of Summit Pacific Medical Center, and Tom Jensen, CEO of Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

The two leaders were identified by the committee of past recipients for their excellence in serving their communities.“Through their tireless commitment, their creativity, and their sheer determination, Renee and Tom have ensured that their communities will have health care,” said WSHA board chair Gregg Davidson. “The awards committee was unanimous in their desire to see both of them honored. It’s always risky to make an exception, but exceptional people deserve to be recognized.”

HealthCare Business News spoke with Tom Jensen to find out what makes his hospital, Grays Harbor Community, unique. Jensen spoke of the challenges as well as the opportunities.

HCBN: What do you believe helps your hospital to stand out?
TJ: The hospital is a community hospital – we’re community focused and community driven. We serve the community, but the community is very supportive of us as well.

Renee K. Jensen, FACHE, CEO, Summit Pacific Medical Center, Elma, Washington, recently became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders.

Google Plus is standing toe-to-to with Facebook, but—as Tom Jensen and Lonnie Hirsch discuss in today’s podcast—Google Plus is closing the competitive gap, and it’s a hospital marketing tool that can boost organic search results.

Renee Jensen, CEO of Summit Pacific Medical Center, is a 2014 40 Under 40 honoree.

Renee K. Jensen is CEO of Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma, Wash. She has served as CEO since 2007, beginning her term at the Mark Reed Hospital in McCleary, Wash., which was shuttered in 2013 after the opening of the new $23 million Summit Pacific Medical Center.

Summit Pacific Medical Center is a level V critical access hospital with 24-hour emergency services.

Ms. Jensen has previously worked for the Columbia County Health System in Dayton, Wash., where she held numerous leadership positions, including associate administrator, director of quality improvement and laboratory manager.