Case Study Casey Daviss experience developing a Rehabilitation Department

Casey Davis had spent the past 5 years working in the long-term care environment
where he had advanced through the ranks from a student intern to director of
environmental and dietary services, assistant administrator, and ultimately
administrator.
Casey Davis was recently hired by the county hospital as the Director Outpatient
Rehabilitation. He was hired with the understanding that his primary goal was to
develop an outpatient rehabilitation services program. The hospital had a
rehabilitation program that offered primarily inpatient services and some outpatient
services. Appointments slots were always full and new patients were difficult to
squeeze in, especially since the hospital only had two full time physical therapists,
one occupational therapist, and three therapy assistance on staff. The hospital used
pool or contract therapists to offset the shortage and provide services. Of course
contract staff is never optimal especially when developing a new program. Prior to
joining the hospital Casey had been promoted from director of environmental
services to assistant administrator and then to administrator at two nursing homes.
From this career growth and consistent progression Casey believed he was a
competent healthcare leader. Casey was excited about the new position and the
opportunity to showcase his leadership talent developing a rehabilitation services
line for the hospital.
Casey went to work learning about the rehabilitation services currently offered
including: patient volume, wait time from request to actual visit, number of contract
staff used each week, and therapists productivity. Casey learned while conducting
the research that the Director of Physical therapy had applied and been passed over
for his position, which explained the cold shoulder and the reluctance to share
information.
Casey met with Craig Redd, the COO about once each month for breakfast at one of
the local restaurants to discuss his progress and resource needs in developing the
rehabilitation services program. He also met informally with Connie Hartford, the
CNO, Max Oldman, Senior Vice President Outpatient Services, and a couple
of department heads who he often sought out for advice on how to navigate the
hospital politics.
Recruiting a Director of Rehabilitation Services was critical for the programs growth
and credibility with the physicians. Casey interviewed by phone five potential
candidates, one stood out in his mind Gary West an occupational therapist who had
been managing a therapy department in a town 60 miles away. The interview
agenda for Garys visit included breakfast with Casey, an hour with the
rehabilitation department staff including the Director of Physical Therapy, a tour of
the hospital, and a visit with the orthopedic surgeons. At 2 PM on the day of Garys
visit, Casey was paged to the C-Suite, where he was met by Connie Hartford and
Max Oldman who wanted to know when they could meet and interview Gary. Casey
replied that there was no time for them to meet Gary, his day was full. Craig Redd
advised Casey that Max should be included and requested that Casey adjust the
agenda and add a meeting with Max.

Casey was impressed with Gary and interested in bringing him on board. One
afternoon while Casey was in the C-Suite retrieving his mail Max motioned him into
his office. Max wanted to share his interview findings with Casey and elaborate on
why he didnt believe he was a good fit for the organization. Casey listened without
responding, thanked Max for his input and left. As he walked down the hall Casey
thought, what does he know about Gary?, I spent a whole lot more time with him
than Max did. Anyway Craig said I was in charge and could hire who I wanted.
Casey hired Gary and began his search for a physiatrist, a physician who specializes
in rehabilitation medicine. After countless phone interviews and little to no interest
in moving to a small town with a small county hospital, Casey found a physiatrist
from Oklahoma who was interested. Dr. Charles Persons schedule was much busier
and included a dinner with the hospital leadership and local physicians. Casey
believed that the day was going well; Dr. Person had met with the Gary and the
rehabilitation staff, Max, and one of the orthopedic surgeons. Dinner was scheduled
for 6:30 to allow for an informal meet and greet as people arrived. At 6:45 Casey,
Gary, and Max sat down and began to eat an embarrassing dinner with Dr. Person.
No one from the medical staff came; none of the other C-Suite leaders were in
attendance. Casey began to wonder what had gone wrong. After dinner he thanked
Dr. Person for coming for the interview and hoped that he had enjoyed his visit. Dr.
Person flew home to Oklahoma the next morning. Casey tried to reach him multiple
times over the next few weeks to follow up on the interview; Dr. Person returned
none of Caseys calls.
Discuss Caseys level of emotional intelligence. What actions/behaviors contribute
to this decision?
Casey needs to improve his emotional intelligence to continue to grow and
thrive as a healthcare leader:

He is self- motivated as he has moved up rather quickly and is

challenging himself to a new work area in rehab as he was
previously in a long term care facility. He also went out of his way to
speak with leaders frequently to learn more about his new position
and ways to improve the system.

I contrast though I believe he lacks social awareness as he didnt

take the suggestions and feedback from Max very well nor did he
even really respond to him when he shared his opinion on hiring
Gary. He should have discussed why he thought Gary was a good fit
for the company and tried to negotiate and see if him and Max could
have came to a common ground on whether or not to hire Gary.

In terms of his self -regulation Casey is good with change but not
with impulsive urges. He is challenging himself by taking on a new
career choice but he should further research into his decisions
before hiring someone from an interview in one day. He also doesnt
understand the new culture that he is in yet and so he needs to
become more aware it and his environment

He lacks some social skills as well as he picks and chooses who he

wants to become friends with, which seem to be the department
heads and other leaders in the organization. Casey should also try to
become more social with his employees and physical therapists,
especially the Director of Physical therapy who he believes is a little
bitter towards him because he himself did not get the position. He
needs to try and amend this relationship instead of just letting it be

Casey understands his strengths but he doesnt understand his

weaknesses such as those mentioned above nor does he understand
how he is being perceived by others

Describe Caseys team building skills? What actions would have improved team
work and team contribution to the hiring processes?
Casey needs to improve his team building skills as he failed to get any of
the medical team to the dinner to meet the physiatrist. He also failed to
take any input from Max on hiring Gary.

He did not plan his meeting with Gary well nor did he plan the dinner
with the physicians and execs with Dr. Person. He doesnt have as
much experience nor the same skill set as his coworkers in this new
organization so Casey should rely on them more. He is also not
encouraging to his team and doesnt seek input from others that
would be directly working with the new hires such as Gary and Dr.
Person. He needs to meet with the therapists and get their feedback
and opinions to help strengthen his trust with them. Caseys
independent nature could be his downfall if he doesnt rely on his
team and build a strong foundation with them. He should have also
found a good time for all the medical staff and remaining C-Suite
leaders to do dinner with Dr. Person. And if dinner wasnt good for
any of them like it didnt seem to be he should of planned another
event or took the necessary actions that would have motivated
everyone to be in attendance to meet Dr. Person.

He could improve by getting more input from a broad group of

colleagues including bosses, HR, and the therapists especially when
administering interviews. He should also inform more of his team
when he is doing an interview and work to schedule them into it if
they would like to be included. In this case more people can be
involved especially those who will be working with him directly. After
talking with Max who wished to meet Gary, he should of fit him into
the agenda or at least let him call and talk with him on the phone or
do some type of Skype interview in the following few days. Casey
must improve upon building trust and transparency among his team
to ensure efficient outcomes as well as with others in the
organization such as the medical team. Lastly Casey must also

improve upon his idealized consideration, making sure to adhere to

his teams needs.
Describe Caseys behaviors and actions that could be considered
professional/unprofessional.
Unprofessional actions include:
o Ineffective communication with his team as he doesnt take
suggestions from others nor does he try to talk with them
about it to come to a better understanding. This also goes with
the director of physical therapy who he knows is bitter towards
him yet he doesnt try to reach out and amend things with him.
o Casey is selective in who he wants to build relationships with
as he should be striving to build relationships with everyone
he possibly can in the organization.
o Casey was also unprofessional in the way he set up his
interview with Gary as he excluded people from it including
Max.
Professional actions include:
o Going along with communication even though he doesnt
agree with Max he doesnt argue with him, yet respectfully
thanks him for his input and leaves.
o Casey is proactive right from the start as he knows his primary
goal is to develop an outpatient rehabilitation services
program, and so he sets up formal and informal meetings with
certain people in the organization for suggestions and input to
begin improving the matter
Found hires out of state with good bakcgrounds..
You are Craig Redd the COO, develop an action plan for Casey. Who will be involved?
What methods of leadership development will you use? What skills and abilities
does Caseys mentor and or coach need to possess? What is the monitoring plan
and timeframe?
1) Hire a coach with a background in HR who has experience working in a
physical therapy department [week 1]
2) Host a retreat to get to know his team better and bond with them
especially with the director of PT who may hold a grudge against him
[week 2 ]
3) Have the coach administer an emotional intelligence tests so Casey can
asses his strengths and weaknesses [week 3]
4) Have Casey a talent inquiry and further discuss these strength and
weaknesses and how he should improve upon them [week 4]
5) Shadow in the outpatient services so he understands what is actually
going on and what needs improvement [week 5 and 6]
6) He should be involved in another hiring process within the same
organization with the COO and CNO and HR employees so he can see
expectations for future employees and who is an appropriate fit. He
should also attend a seminar or watch a webinar on appropriate hiring
processes [week 7 and 8]

Timeline: 2 months
Support required: Human Resources, Out patient therapists, his bosses,
his coach
Resources available: A coach, inquires, seminar/webinar, emotional
intelligence tests, colleagues/boss [CEO,CNO,COO]

To earn points for the case study students need to have their own copy of the
responses to the questions (which will become part of the portfolio), and share with
the class a correct and in-depth response to the step they were asked to discuss.
Participated Wed Oct 28 and Mon
Nov 2
Written responses submitted in
drop box by 11AM Nov 2
A correct & in-depth responses
were shared with the class
Total points possible

25 points
25 points
50 points
100 points