In February, NorthShore Health Centers welcomed Dianna Myers as their new Chief Human Resources Officer. She brings a wealth of experience in healthcare to the table and has a vision for an HR team that staff knows is on their side.
“HR usually gets a bad rap; there’s a perception that when HR comes into a room heads are going to roll,” Myers said. “My goal is to come in, assess what the perception is here and if it needs to be softened, and make those changes.”
Just a few weeks into her new role, Myers is already excited about the progress she and her team have made in making HR more accessible.
“There’s a lot more communication happening with employees and managers, and hiring processes are going smooth,” she said. “We’re still working through things like evaluating our processes, what our policies look like, and improving our turnaround time. [Hall, CEO] has been very supportive making adjustments to help us support our employees.”
Myers believes that a reliable and positive HR team for her staff is especially important for a healthcare provider – as the work they do always filters down to the patients.
“If we’re supporting our employees, they’re supporting our patients,” she said. “It’s a trickle effect. We’re helping people, often in the most difficult times of their lives, so you need compassion. It’s times like when an employee is going through cancer – we help them get family medical leave so their job is protected. When someone’s having a baby, we’re helping them get paid while they're off on maternity leave. That’s why we need that HR interaction to be positive.”
Myers’ experience in healthcare mostly comes from working in local hospitals. She had heard of NorthShore and about the work they do as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) – providing quality care for everyone regardless of their ability to pay. She is excited to support that mission now that she is a member of the team.
“The providers here are quality providers, that’s the really important part of the mission,” she said. “Patients have access to all aspects of healthcare, not just urgent care. They can see family practice, cardiologists, dentists, there’s so much they do here to make the process easy for their patients. Everyone deserves to be seen and to get the care they need.”
If you go into Myers’ office, you’ll see a whiteboard with three, six, nine, and 12-month goals written out and she is excited for what the future holds.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about FQHCs and learning from my counterparts here in Quality, Compliance, and Operations,” she said. “When I come into a company I like to get to know other people’s practices, get to know them on a quasi-personal level so we can have a better rapport. And I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to make things better because we always need to strive for that.”
Myers stressed that she is always available to help out the NorthShore team, be it through a phone call, email, or even a trip to her office.
“I have a philosophy when it comes to HR – always have an open door, and we don’t say no,” she said. “If somebody needs me to help pass out paperwork, if someone needs help copying something, I’ll gladly help with that or find someone who can. There is an open door here, no one is bothering me with a phone call or email – we’re here for you.”
To learn more about NorthShore Health Centers, visit northshorehealth.org.
