Bryan’s problem-solving and critical thinking are "out of the box." He always takes the initiative to try something new to help our floor and patient’s needs. Sometimes, we, as staff, ask, “Why is it done like this?” He is always open to explaining and sharing his critical thinking and thought processes. It’s amazing! His problem-solving and critical thinking have changed our dynamic in Surgery Medicine. We all love working here now. Bryan comes to us with all the new policies and projects in the hospital and encourages us to participate in them so that we can better our nursing care. He is the person to go to when we need to "organize our thoughts" or develop new processes. He is very flexible and tries to work both with and for his staff. He is our advocate, addressing staff concerns in a timely manner and supporting us in any situation (even if that means setting up in-services and education sessions to clarify policies). He truly is our "chaos coordinator." Recently, he has implemented new ways to keep track of daily duties and included all staff (not just CNAs or RNs alone) in the process of making sure those duties happen. He never leaves blame on one person, group of people, or shift; he creates a team environment that I knew I wanted to be a part of when I graduated nursing school.

Bryan always has his door open for staff to come in and vent or express concerns. When we come to him with ideas, he brings them to the next level. He always adheres to the STHS Appearance Standards and holds staff accountable for doing the same. He addresses staff in a respectful manner and doesn't downgrade staff when we have any conflicts. He teaches us what we could do better next time. Bryan is always available for staff. He is either in his office, a phone call, or a text away. He checks on the staff's mental well-being as well as our needs for the floor. There is no one that I have ever worked with that has been more motivating and truly invested in his employees. He is incredibly approachable, and he encourages us to come to him with anything at all. There is not one employee on this unit that I have ever heard say anything to the contrary. He is the glue that holds our unit together, and we all know it - he makes us an awesome team!! Bryan is by far the best manager I have ever had the honor of working with. You will never find a day that he stays in his office, unless he really is busy that day. He engages the nursing staff on the unit daily (maintaining a friendly and professional relationship with us), checks in with individual staff regularly, and always offers a helping hand. I'm not sure if an open-door policy is required, but he also brings an open attitude - no question is too big or small to go bug him with. One of my strongest memories of Bryan going above and beyond was when I was still an RN resident. My patient needed a STAT EKG, and he offered to help retrieve the equipment. It seems so small, but I had never experienced a manager offering their direct hand in a "minor" task before.

Bryan is highly engaged in our department. If we are falling behind on any HCAPHS scores, he will bring them forward to all staff so we can correct them. If the reason is because of staffing issues, equipment problems, or technical problems, he is quick to get it fixed for us to be able to do our job in a safe and efficient manner. Bryan has started several projects to improve Quality Metrics for the hospital as a fall. He was very big in the Falls project. He supported me as Fall Champion with all the education and resources that I need to help educate all staff. He is proactive with any CAUTI or CLABSI concerns. He does root cause analysis then brings back to staff for education and solutions. He asks us what we need to do to make things better. If it's " Hey, let’s make a list of any high-risk CAUTI pts for all staff to see on the whiteboard," a sign is created, laminated, and implemented immediately. There is so much I can say about Bryan as a Director. He has truly brought up all of our scores, a very low turnover rate, and I believe we have no vacant positions on our floor because so many people are happy with his leadership. Great leaders lead to happy employees. People want to work here because of that. More employees are picking up on our floor throughout the hospital. He encourages us to work well together. We are a fully staffed unit, and we are all focused on providing the best patient care. He keeps us up to date on the goals we need to reach and really listens to us when it comes to brainstorming to end up with the best possible outcomes. For example, he was really instrumental in educating staff about a recent Port infection we had. He took the time to speak to each of us about this and addressed our comments and concerns. Morale stays high, and the staff are willing to continue to learn and change to adhere to unit goals. 

He also takes time to help facilitate a debriefing on any major events that happen on the unit. He leads with encouraging words, asks us how we felt we could improve, and allows us to follow up with him individually if we feel the need to do so (with questions, comments, concerns, or just seeking advice for managing future incidents).

I believe he truly does embody the mission, works toward the vision, and genuinely possesses the values of St Tammany Health System.

Finally, Bryan encourages and communicates any potential for educational advancement. When I pursued my BSN, he was very supportive about how to pursue scholarships and register for school. He has hired serval nurses in the Residency Program, which has produced very strong floor nurses. He does a great job at interviewing and screening applicants. He knows who the right fit for our floor is. Whenever there are education opportunities, he posts flyers and sends texts to staff. He will cover our patients while we go to education. He has given me several opportunities to precept nursing students and new hires. He truly believes in his staff! He pulls out our best assets to teach new and upcoming staff. I am fortunate enough to have been assigned senior students along with residents, and our international nurse, Bryan, is always offering us the opportunity to precept. He also encourages us to participate in our Unit Based Council and Shared Governance. He is truly inspirational, as he is always taking opportunities to educate himself further. He often educates us on journals he has read and offers ideas to improve our profession. He is truly a gift to St Tammany and I am so grateful to work for him! As a former resident and nurse tech myself, he hired me on staff and has empowered me to get my ALS certification and train to take DIEP breast flaps. Another nurse on my unit had always wanted to do pediatrics and made that clear to Bryan on hire. Recently, Bryan coordinated with the House Supervisor to get her shadow shifts on the pediatrics unit and introduce her to the staff there, should a position open up for her.