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ACHE's 2005 James A. Hamilton Book of the Year

 ~A Healthcare Best-Seller with over 500,000 copies sold~

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This captivating book filled with stories and examples will leave its readers inspired with fresh insights and energized with hope. It needs to be in every hospital manager’s library and required reading for every healthcare employee.

Fred Lee had the enviable distinction of having been both a healthcare executive of a major medical center and a cast member at Disney University. With an insider’s experience and a keen eye for cultural comparisons, he shares his passion and concepts of creating an exceptional patient experience and compassion of caregivers.

The 9½ principles in this engaging and refreshing book will help any hospital team gain the extraordinary competitive advantage. Some of those 9½ principles are:

• Make Courtesy More Important than Efficiency
• Decentralize the Authority to say YES
• Change the Concept of Work from Service to Theater
• Measure to Improve, Not to Impress
• Harness the Motivating Power of Imagination
• Create a Climate of Dissatisfaction and
• Close the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

One of the key thoughts of the book is to teach the main difference between a service and an experience. It will explain the three levels of care. The bottom layer is our competence, the next layer is courtesy, and the top layer is compassion.
It goes on to teach your staff about the power of compassion and remember, scores do not motivate people, stories do. The imagination created by stories is a gold mine for motivation and taking action.

And finally, it teaches how to hire and coach for an individual’s “role” in the patient’s experience.

One of Fred Lee’s favorite quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was: “Knowing is not enough. We must apply. Willing is not enough. We must do.”

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Fred Lee (1939-2017) had the enviable distinction of having been both a senior vice president of one of the largest medical centers in the United States and a cast member at Disney University. Disney recruited him because of his expertise in helping hospitals achieve a culture that inspires compassion and elicits both patient and employee loyalty. At Disney, he helped adapt and facilitate Disney’s Approach to Quality Service for the Healthcare Industry. Using his insider’s experience and his keen eye for cultural comparisons, he wrote his best-selling book and shared his insights with healthcare groups all over the country and around the world.

His seminars were dynamic, inspiring, and immensely practical. He motivated healthcare managers by talking their language, using real-life hospital examples, and having walked in their shoes. His lectures were captured during a two-day live seminar and are available on DVD at www.SecondRiverHealthcare.com.

Fred won the 2005 ACHE James A. Hamilton healthcare book of the year award with his book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9½ Things You Would Do Differently, which has sold over 250,000 copies in English and almost 250,000 copies in Dutch, Portuguese, and Korean. A bestseller, the book is being translated into Mandarin Chinese expecting to be released in China in 2017.

From the time Fred wrote his book in 2004, he traveled with his wife and business partner, Aura (a former director of nursing in Orlando, Florida), lecturing across the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, England, and The Netherlands, sharing his passion and teaching concepts of patient loyalty, the patient experience, and compassion of caregivers.

Fred began his healthcare career at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. During his five years there as vice president for marketing and development, he won several national awards for innovative approaches to patient satisfaction and loyalty. In 1990 he became a trained Baldrige examiner and a consultant in total quality management, instructing hospital facilitators in the Deming PDCA process improvement cycle. He was then invited to be a senior vice president at Florida Hospital in Orlando, where he developed a nationally acclaimed guest relations program.

When Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, won the national Malcolm Baldrige Award, their Chief Nursing Officer credits Fred Lee’s teachings with finally giving their managers a new approach to patient perceptions that brought them breakthrough scores that put them over the top for the Baldrige Award.

In April 2015, Fred was appointed to the “My VA Advisory Committee” by Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of Veterans Affairs of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This was a prestigious appointment that let Fred share his passion with some of the leading healthcare leaders in the country.

Although he was born in Kunming, China, spoke Mandarin Chinese, and his surname was Lee, he was not Chinese. His parents were Caucasian American missionaries who were also born in China to missionary parents.

Fred’s greatest desire was for healthcare leaders and caregivers to instill these concepts for future generations. He will occupy a permanent place in American Healthcare’s Pantheon of Patient Loyalty, Patient Experience, and Compassion by caregivers.

Fred Lee passed away on Sunday evening, March 26, 2017, of complications from neurosurgery due to glioblastoma.

Fred M. Lee

Author, Lecturer, and Guiding Light

08/08/1939 to 03/26/2017

He will truly be missed

To learn more about Fred Lee and his passion for improving the Patient Experience & Patient Loyalty, please visit www.Heartwiring.com.

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David T. Feinberg, MD, Vice President, Google Health, Mountain View, California (March 2020)  
"I still remember the first time I read Fred Lee’s If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently. It was 2007. I was stepping into the role of interim CEO of UCLA Health, and thinking about what it meant to deliver care that truly puts patients first. At the time, UCLA was renowned for its world-class physicians – but was ranked in the 38th percentile for patient satisfaction among US hospitals. Something was seriously wrong. 

Fred’s book resonated with me, reinforcing what I’d learned during my years as a child and adolescent psychiatrist: You have to treat patients like people with real lives. You need to provide for the whole person, giving them engaging, compassionate — and yes, even delightful — experiences. Top-notch care alone isn’t enough to help people heal and move forward. And when you treat your patients that way, everybody wins. Which is why, when I picked up Fred’s book just as I was embarking on my transition at UCLA, I realized, "Yeah, this is exactly the same journey that we're on." 
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Tony Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Panama City (February 2020)
"If Disney Ran Your Hospital contains timeless ideas for better patient experiences that Fred artfully correlates to better clinical outcomes. Our rehabilitation hospital embraced the ideals that Fred Lee personally presented to my entire hospital team a few years ago, and we have seen sustained improvement in patient experience scores as well as “Best in Class” employee engagement scores." 
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Sue Kong, Director, National Health Service - Elect, United Kingdom (February 2020)
 "How to wow: delivering compassion in every emotional interaction

Fred Lee was ahead of his time when he wrote If Disney Ran Your Hospital in 2004 as he was the first to bring together the disciplines of customer experience and quality improvement in hospitals. These concepts are the yin and the yang of excellent patient care - patients may see improved clinical results on their discharge notes but the patients may not feel any better!

Lee recognized the perception of care, the genuine connection with every patient and their personal story create that all important pixie magic dust called trust. Without trust, you could be the best care giver in the world technically, but the patient would be withholding vital pieces of information in their medical history that would be critical to their prescribed medical plan, therefore affect the efficacy of their overall treatment.

The stories Lee told from his time working at Florida Hospital and Disney remain fresh and I continue to use in our patient experience workshops in the UK. Who can forget the porter who decided to speed up with his wheelchair before entering the Outpatients department to test his assumption that the patient's perception is their reality? Or the welcoming Disney car park attendant striking up friendly conversation with each arrival by simply looking at the car bumper stickers and finding a way to connect and make their guest feel at ease.

If Disney Ran Your Hospital is a must read for everyone working in healthcare who are creating memories of excellent care experience for every patient in a consumerist age." 
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Chantelle Percy, Former Veterinary Practice Manager, Pet Health Insurance National Team Leader (January 2020)
"I have worked in the Veterinary Industry for almost 20 years. If Disney Ran Your Hospital could have just as easily been written for the veterinary health industry as the human health industry. In fact, it was at a Veterinary Conference in Florida where I first met Fred. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person and being able to tell him I literally had his book in my suitcase! It is not every day that you get to tell someone in person how much they have changed how you manage a hospital. Fred’s books help people implement more ‘humane’ protocols and policies starting in the first chapter. He provides the language and examples and leads you through a miraculous journey to where his extraordinary approach for humans and pets becomes ‘normal’ in your workplace.

I have been to Disneyland many times, and it is “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Fred makes your workplace “The Most Humane Place on Earth.”

I recommend his book almost daily to colleagues in the Veterinary field." 
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Mark David Jones, Former Disney Executive, President of Small World Alliance, Inc.
"When we hired Fred Lee at Disney, it was to bring his healthcare perspective to our new program on delivering world-class service. Working with Fred was a life-changing experience. His insights have proven to be transformative to the healthcare industry. If Disney Ran Your Hospital – 9 ½ Things You Would Do Differently is a game changer for every healthcare leader who desires better patient outcomes and staff engagement and shares these valuable insights on how to provide the most effective, compassionate care…and optimize the potential of your hospital!"
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Katie Lydon MSN, RN, NE-BC, CPXP--Director, Women and Children’s Services, NorthBay Healthcare Group, Magnet Recognized® (January 2020)
"If you put on a name badge and cross the threshold of a healthcare system, whether you are the environmental service employee, the newest nurse, the most esteemed physician, or the most successful CEO this book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital, 9 ½ Things You Would Do Differently, is a must read. It is often cited that evidence generated through research takes 17 years to reach clinical practice…Fred Lee was awarded Book of the Year in 2005 from ACHE…what are you waiting for? You will be inspired to examine your work through the eyes and ears of your patient. Fred was a master storyteller and the clarity of his message and the connections he creates opens your eyes and your heart to have the energy to come back and make a difference." 
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Dennis D. Pointer, PhD, Austin Ross Professor (retired), Department of Health Services, University of Washington
“When If Disney Ran Your Hospital...arrived, I skimmed it—like I do with more than 60 books a year. Then, on a coast-to-coast flight, I read every page with a hi-liter in hand. Uncommon wisdom, high-leverage advice. The book is now required reading for graduate students taking my course in health services marketing at the University of Washington. Bravo Fred!”
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Pamela Thompson, CEO of the Association of Nurse Executives (retired) 
“Fred Lee’s message speaks to the heart of nursing leadership. This is exactly what nurse executives are looking for...a practical guide with vivid illustrations and profound insights that can be put to use immediately. It goes to the core of leadership in a healing organization.”
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Kimberly Palazzi, JCAHO & Service Excellence Coordinator, Hunterdon Medical Center 
“Fred Lee is exceptional! His real life experiences combined with his intellect, compassion, and courage create an unforgettable experience for anyone who hears his message.”
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Larry Sullivan, MD, Director of Emergency Services, Decatur General Hospital 
“This book is a must read for any healthcare provider, especially physicians. Fred Lee’s approach is direct and refreshing. It truly requires a cultural change for every department.”
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James J. Londis, Ph.D, Director of Ethics and Corporate Integrity (retired), Kettering Medical Center Network 
“This groundbreaking work challenges several assumptions that have defined the customer service philosophy for healthcare. Filled with illuminating cases from the author’s and responsible ethics to define how those served by healthcare should be treated. I highly recommend it.”
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Jerry Pogue, Publisher, Second River Healthcare 
“I wish I had read this book when I was a hospital CEO. I would have given one to every employee.”
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R. Lynn Wilson, President & CEO of BryanLGH Health System (retired) 
“Fred Lee is one of the most insightful people I know regarding leadership development and building customer loyalty. Our management team has rated him as one of the best speakers to ever present to our organization.”  
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Ken Finch, Former President & CEO of Metroplex Adventist Hospital 
“I highly recommend Fred Lee to anyone who is serious about exceptional service. He has provided consultation and training to the employees, physicians and leadership of Metroplex Adventist Hospital for many years. His style of presentation is clear, practical and very effective.”

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