Personal, professional partnerships strengthen all

By Sean Williams / Guest Column

There are people who believe in going it alone – that they will be more successful if they work according to their own terms and rules. Most of us, though, learn early in life that no man is an island. With, and through, others we can accomplish much and do it faster and better.

By working together, with each of us putting something into the relationship, we get even more out of it. We call this partnership. From the world of music, art and big business, the energy and creativity that has come from partnerships is easy to see and appreciate.

Partnerships mean cooperation, collaboration, alliances, affiliations, relationships, fellowship and connections. These words describe many of the personal and business relationships in my life and probably in yours at work and at home. By coming together with others who have expertise and are specialists in their fields, we each gain and achieve more than we would have on our own. None of us can be an expert at everything and a good partnership brings the best out of each member, truly making the outcome of the work greater than either could have achieved on their own.

Partnership is integral to business, and in my case, the business of health care. While I don’t take care of patients, my contribution is to help assemble our team and assure they are well-trained and equipped. Together at Mercy Iowa City, we provide care that consistently ranks among the top 10 percent of all hospitals in the nation.

We partner with physicians who are among the very best at what they do, such as Steindler Orthopedics and OB/GYN Associates, just to name a couple of examples. A new partnership with Iowa Heart Center is bringing exceptional cardiology talent to Mercy Iowa City, one of only five hospitals in the state to receive Wellmark’s Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care recognition this year. Partnerships with Iowa City’s Ambulatory Surgery Center and Progressive Rehabilitation Associates ensure easy access and superior care in convenient locations far beyond the hospital walls.

Together with Kindred Health Care, Mercy Iowa City will open the second freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Iowa early in 2020. This new hospital will meet a significant need in southeast Iowa, providing a high level of specialized care that doesn’t exist in our service area, keeping patients closer to home.

MercyOne is another strategic partner for Mercy Iowa City, bringing deeper business relationships with new partners, and expertise to expand existing services and introduce new ones to our part of the state, including a Medicare Advantage Plan.

The partnerships above are but a few at Mercy but help illustrate the importance of strong, mutually beneficial relationships. The right partnerships strengthen each partner, but more importantly, allow us to provide the very best to those patients and families we serve.

Together we are stronger, providing better care for our patients and support to our communities.

Sean J. Williams is president and CEO of Mercy Iowa City.