In the MemorialCare health system, each employee is considered part of “one big family,” says CEO Barry Arbuckle.

And taking care of that family is job number one, he says.

Because behind the hospital group’s network of doctors, hospitals and medical centers, its support staff is making the whole system run smoothly.

More than 1,300 staff at MemorialCare Shared Services’ business operations are the backbone providing support with services such as information technology, human resources, physician support and finance. They are “the infrastructure, the back-office activities for the entirety of our health system,” Arbuckle says.

“The purpose of doing it like that is, really, to make it run as efficiently as possible, so we can be as efficient in providing healthcare as we can,” he says.

The MemorialCare health system will require all of its workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of September, officials announced. (File photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Since the virus dramatically changed the workplace, company leaders have focused on providing mental health resources for staffers and offering paid time off to use them. Arbuckle said these efforts were aimed at letting MemorialCare employees know “that you’re not alone.”

During the pandemic, Arbuckle said he and the company have stressed that it’s “ok not to feel ok” and to take advantage of help when needed.

“Sometimes in health care, the people do a really great job caring for other people and sometimes forget to care for themselves,” Arbuckle said. “And I must say, the pandemic was powerful at pointing out how important it is to make sure you care for yourself and your own family because family is such an important thing to keep people feeling balanced.”

We spoke more with Arbuckle on how the company makes its employees feel appreciated and connected. His answers have been edited for length.

Q: What is it about MemorialCare and Shared Services that makes it a place where people like to work?

A: Very, very early on in pandemic, we said, you know, our job, one… is the safety of the MemorialCare family, which is how we refer to folks in the health system. And that was really kind of our north star, guiding light in how we approached this. We took a very, very proactive approach at securing everything needed for the employees to feel safe and cared for. And I can’t count the number of times over the last year and a half I’ve heard from folks who left other locations to come to us, saying ‘we’ve heard about what you’re doing and we feel safer here.’

Q: What have you done to boost morale and keep employees happy during the pandemic, when colleagues can seem so far apart?

A: We really focus a lot on the culture of our care sites. And as you know, much of culture happens in the hallway, in the cafeteria, in conference rooms and meetings, where you interact with people. All of a sudden, people were working remotely, and we were concerned. We don’t want to lose that MemorialCare family-like culture.

So we’ve really ramped up our communications in multiple ways: by email, by webcast and we did town hall meetings virtually. We found creative ways to engage with employees and make sure that managers would engage with their staff.

We also invested heavily and have really leaned on our behavioral health teams — that’s psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, as well as our spiritual care teams, to not only send out information to folks but also be in multiple locations… In addition to mental health professionals, we offered people paid time off.

Q: Have there been any lessons learned over the past almost two years now, as the pandemic has shaken up workplaces, that MemorialCare will take into the future?

A: The pandemic, I think, really shined a light on how important communication is. People just want information and regular information.

Virtual care is something, I think, is well warranted in the United States. It was kind of lagging behind in many respects. I think after the pandemic, you’re going to see a lot more virtual and remote home monitoring opportunities [and] incorporation of digital tools to interact with your provider.

MemorialCare Shared Services

Founded: 1983

Headquarters: Fountain Valley

Industry: Healthcare

OC employees: 1,397

Website: memorialcare.org

“We are a community-based nonprofit. I don’t have to worry about giving reports to shareholders every fiscal quarter and then wondering what we’re doing with spending money, and that’s allowed us just to do the right thing for the long term. MemorialCare has now developed a reputation for doing the right thing and making sure that their teams are safe and the community feels safe.” – CEO Barry Arbuckle

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