Wellness, revolutionized. - Children's Hospital Central California

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A high-energy leader for a high-energy moment.
“It was exciting, nerve-wracking
and everything in between,” recalls
Denise Zeitler, who was handpicked
by Hospital executives to be
project manager for Children’s technology
transition. “I felt a particular
responsibility to ensure that everything
went well.”
A leader known for her dedication
to quality and spirited style,
Zeitler will never forget the day
Children’s transitioned from the
legacy system to the new platform.
The Hospital had determined
that the only way to effectively
launch the system was to bring
all elements online at once.
And it worked. Mostly.
Not long after flipping the
switch, problem reports
began coming in from
different areas of the Hospital. Already
prepared, Children’s administration had
set up a Command Center to identify and
address issues. Even with the thoughtful
preparation, though, the number of
concerns began to look overwhelming.
She creates confidence in everyone
and everything around her.
“Given what we were hearing during that first 72 hours we thought
perhaps this was a disaster,” said Zeitler. “It was intense.”
According to Beverly Hayden-Pugh, Children’s vice president and chief
nursing officer, this is when the “high-energy” high performer is at her best.
“She was like the general in that Command Center,” said Hayden-Pugh.
“She’s direct and in your face about the right thing. She holds herself and
everyone around her accountable, and what she is most passionate about
is doing what’s best for the patient and clinician.”
After staff began to dig in and solve the immediate problems, it became
apparent that the conversion was going to be a success. No issues were
raised that couldn’t be resolved in a manner that would keep the Hospital
from having to move back to the old system.
Several briefings were held during the first days of the transition to
update nurses, doctors and managers, with Denise presenting a transparent
and bold assessment of the situation. She was up-front about problems,
but presented solutions just as energetically.
“With Denise in charge, you just knew that everything was going to
come out right,” said one manager about the briefings. “She wasn’t going
to let it come out any other way. She creates confidence in everyone and
everything around her.”
A tour of the Hospital units confirmed this assertion. “I expected to see
chaos,” said Zeitler. “But as I looked around, people were doing what they
needed to do to take care of our kids. A physician came up to me and said,
‘People are doing fine with this,’ and that gave me perspective. I realized
we were OK and it wasn’t as bad as it seemed in the Command Center.”
Executive team and project leaders, including Zeitler, spent the next two
weeks problem solving, working around the clock.
For Zeitler, a former Pediatric Intensive Care Unit director and ambulatory
manager at Children’s, and former chief nursing officer at another
hospital, the conversion was one
of the most challenging assignments
of her career.
“This was the most complex
project I’ve managed,” she said.
“The intricacy of the initiative
and technology could be mindparalyzing
at times. The most
daunting task was bringing up
the entire organization at once.
It took everyone coming together
to make that happen and we did
it well.”
Executive Vice President
and Chief Operating Officer
Todd Suntrapak was certain of
his executive team’s recommendation
when he drafted Denise
out of her regular job.
“Zeitler was perfect for the
moment,” he said. “She was the
obvious choice. We felt that our
best chance at success was to put
this project in her hands, and we
were right.”