It was a perfect early September day, and Germantown Ave. had been closed off so community members could stroll up and down Chestnut Hill’s main street and enjoy the Fall for the Arts Festival. Every medium was represented, from watercolors to jewelry to leather, but one of the tents getting the most attention wasn’t selling art. It was the booth for Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital, where President and CEO Richard Newell, MPT, DPT, joined physicians and staff to meet festivalgoers and talk about the exciting new developments on campus.
“We had at least 10 people an hour stop by and tell us about a great experience they’d had at the hospital,” Newell says. “They had such positive things to say about Chestnut Hill and Temple and Fox Chase. And they weren’t stopping by for five seconds, either—these were three to four minute, and sometimes 10 to 15 minute, conversations.”
Many of these conversations were focused on the new specialty services at Chestnut Hill, especially those offered through Fox Chase. The tent was also staffed by team members from across the hospital, who could speak to a variety of departments. “We had representation from our clinics, Patient Education, Case Management, Patient Registration, Performance Enhancement, and Marketing,” Newell says. “You could tell that everyone was very proud of what they do, and I think the people who came by could sense that.”
Several community members were even inspired to inquire about employment at Chestnut Hill. “A couple of practitioners wanted to learn more about our hospital,” Newell says. “They said, ‘I work for another health system, but I live in Chestnut Hill. What if I want to switch?’” We gave them the contact information for HR, and we’ve received several follow-ups to our HR team.
A Commitment to Community
Chestnut Hill Hospital has a long history of participating in the Fall for the Arts Festival, and was one of the primary sponsors for this year’s event. For Newell, this kind of engagement is “our responsibility to the community we serve.”
“We’re Chestnut Hill’s largest employer, and we’re the healthcare facility that’s the most accessible to the people who live here,” he says. “We need to be advocates for our community and for its healthcare needs. If anyone has an issue, I want them to come to us. An event like the Fall for the Arts Festival is great, because it allows us to connect with people from all over our service area. People came from Germantown and Mt. Airy, as well as Chestnut Hill, and that’s our community as well. We just had such a great day of talking to everyone there about how we can help them.”