By Elizabeth Landry
Both Seth Kronenberg, MD, and Lynne Shopiro, RN, have deep ties to Crouse Health – they both used the word “family” when talking about their connection with the hospital.
For Dr. Kronenberg, Crouse’s President and CEO, Crouse was there from the very beginning: it’s the hospital where he was born, and where his four daughters were also born. The first clinical position of his career, before going on to become a private practice internal medicine physician admitting his patients to Crouse, was as a pharmacy technician at the hospital. Over the years, Dr. Kronenberg also served as Crouse’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer before following in his father’s footsteps, who served as Crouse’s President and CEO from 2004 to 2014.
For Shopiro, who has served as Crouse’s Chief Nursing Officer since 2019, her professional connection with Crouse dates to when she enrolled at the Crouse Irving Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1980, graduating in 1982 and beginning her nursing career in 1983 at Crouse as a bedside nurse on a medical floor – a role she held for half her career. She eventually went on to become the nurse manager of the cardiac care unit, then the director of the cardiac services line at Crouse, before stepping into her current role. She’s now enjoying the 43rd year of her career with Crouse.
“Even before I came to nursing school here, this was my family hospital. My father had multiple surgeries at Crouse. I kind of grew up here, so it’s very family-oriented to me,” Shopiro shared.
One aspect of Crouse that both Dr. Kronenberg and Shopiro identified as being an integral reason for their long-standing, successful careers at the hospital is the organization’s deep-seated culture of respect among providers. For Dr. Kronenberg, this important, community-based culture stems from Crouse’s unique position as a high-quality, regional medical center with a strong commitment to the local area.
“We’re the only locally-governed hospital in Syracuse – we’re the only community hospital in the state that has a regional perinatal center and a comprehensive stroke program,” explained Dr. Kronenberg. “Our stroke team is consistently meeting – and exceeding – national averages for door-to-treatment times, and we’re the only hospital in the region with two hybrid operating suites to provide the most advanced endovascular stroke rescue capabilities. To be able to balance the high-acuity, high-end clinical care with that community hospital culture is something we’re very proud of. We’ve spent a lot of time continuing to enhance that, and it’s why I love coming to work every day.”
A Culture Built on Respect, Support, and Teamwork
According to both Dr. Kronenberg and Shopiro, a key element of the culture at Crouse is the strong sense of teamwork shared among the various providers and staff members.
“We’re all part of the care team. We say it takes a village to take care of our patients, and the relationships that our nurses have with providers, therapists, our environmental services staff, our nutritional services staff – it takes all of us,” said Shopiro. “To be able to have that culture where we’re all working together for what’s best for the patient, it’s priceless.”
Dr. Kronenberg shared that although working in healthcare can be very stressful and challenging at times, Crouse’s culture rooted in respect helps overcome challenges so employees can enjoy coming to work.
“Our culture is our people, and it’s about how everybody treats each other with mutual respect. All of us play an integral role in the patient experience. Healthcare can be extremely challenging, but when relationships are based on mutual respect, you’re able to get through those challenges,” he said, adding that the collaborative relationship between physicians and nurses especially is critical for high-quality patient care and patient outcomes, and is one of the things that makes Crouse special.
Since stepping into leadership roles at Crouse, Dr. Kronenberg said he’s gained a stronger realization of how important culture is to an organization. “Crouse’s mission is to provide the best patient care and promote community health. You can’t do that without a vibrant culture; you can’t have high-quality health care, have engaged employees and continue to enhance the services the institution delivers without that amazing culture as the backbone,” he said.
Workforce Development Pathways for Retention and Success
Looking back over her decades-long career at Crouse, Shopiro emphasized how the supportive culture among nurses and providers made each step of her healthcare journey enjoyable.
“I can’t say enough about the people who have supported me and mentored me through my career, particularly the nurses and physician staff here at Crouse. As a bedside nurse, the providers supported me in my journey, taking those teachable moments and helping me become the best caregiver I could be that patients deserve,” said Shopiro.
Alongside mentorship of newer employees, Dr. Kronenberg and Shopiro shared that Crouse leadership has also prioritized hardwired workforce development pathways as a means of increasing retention and battling workforce shortages across global healthcare as well as specifically within nursing – leading to more career longevity.
“Workforce development is one of our most important strategic priorities. We are in a global health care workforce shortage. When someone starts their journey at Crouse, we want them to spend their entire career here. In addition to being a hospital, we’re a very large business with 3,500 employees. Anything you want to do in your career, you can do at Crouse. That’s why we say, at Crouse, grow with us,” said Dr. Kronenberg. “We don’t want anyone to have to figure it out on their own. We’re partners with our employees, and offering those hardwired career pathways to help people progress is extremely important to us.” A partnership with Crouse’s union, SEIU 1199, offers a training fund program to help employees advance in their careers, he added.
On the nursing side of the equation, specifically, the Pomeroy College of Nursing is an important aspect of helping employees progress in their professional journey at Crouse.
“We’ve had several of our employees attend our nursing school and now they’re working as RN’s though out our hospital,” said Shopiro. “Recruiting exceptional nurses is important – but retaining the talented nurses we already have is equally essential. We want to be an organization where nurses choose to build their careers, grow professionally, and feel valued for the meaningful work they do every day.” Experienced nurses play an important role in mentoring, developing, and inspiring the next generation of nursing professionals, she said.
“We really focus on listening to our staff. I believe we have a strong shared governance model here at Crouse, including a structure where nurses are part of the decision making. I think nurses really feel held to an organization where they know they can make a difference,” explained Shopiro. “We also do a lot of wellness initiatives here at Crouse, and recognition is really important, as well. We want to make sure our nurses are recognized for doing their jobs well, and we do that through participating in the Daisy Foundation.”
Expanding, Advancing and Caring for the Community
For Dr. Kronenberg and Shopiro, maintaining the unique culture among providers and nurses at Crouse and building and retaining a strong workforce is central to Crouse’s mission to provide the best care for patients. In many cases, this can start in the Emergency Department where Crouse has the shortest wait times.
Several recent expansions and enhancements of Crouse’s health care services are advancing this mission, as well, Dr. Kronenberg explained, including the Sunny B Would Care Center that opened in July of this year and the recently completed transition to the state-of-the-art electronic medical record system, EPIC.
Crouse plans to expand cardiac services at the Miron Cardiac Care Center in the near future, which currently includes interventional cardiology, an EP lab and the region’s only pediatric catheterization lab. As the largest group of employed cardiologists in the area, and the first to offer Heartflow technology and the first to implant a Watchman device, this expansion will continue to grow Crouse’s cardiology service offerings.
Additionally, Crouse plans to modernize and expand the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Providing high-risk care for moms and babies from 17 affiliate hospitals within a 14-county region, Crouse is a Regional Perinatal Center with the highest-level NICU. With an average length of stay of 33 days, the NICU at Crouse cares for approximately 900 babies each year, including about 300 transferred in annually. As a Regional Perinatal Center, Crouse is able to provide access to a continuum of timely, appropriate obstetric and pediatric specialized care for those moms and babies who are high-risk, helping to produce healthier outcomes for the region.
Crouse’s outpatient footprint will expand, as well, through a new ambulatory site that is planned for the old Switz’s and CXtec building on South Bay Road in North Syracuse. Alongside expansion of services, Crouse also plans to continue and grow its role as a pillar in the community.
“We greatly value the trust that the community gives to us to provide care, and we want to return that trust by remaining active members of the Central New York Community,” said Dr. Kronenberg. “Crouse is the only locally governed, independent hospital in Syracuse. We have the ability to make local decisions about what’s best for our patients here and what the community needs. We’re more than a hospital, we’re also a member of the business community. So, community engagement is something we spend a significant amount of time on, whether it’s providing a visit to Hospital Land for first-graders or partnering with the Syracuse City School District or working with the American Heart Association. We greatly value our role in the community.”
Looking back to the organization’s history and looking ahead to its future, Dr. Kronenberg is excited about how Crouse’s unique position in the Central New York community will continue to serve the region for years to come.
“Crouse has been here for 140 years and we’ll be here for another 140 years,” he said. “We’re active members of the community, and we know there’s no solution for health care in Central New York that doesn’t involve Crouse Health. We’re very excited for all the growth that’s coming to our region, and we know we’re going to be here to meet the demands of the community as we move forward.”