Wilhelm Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award
Thirty years ago, Bruce Wilhelm began his career in the Human Resources field at what was then known as The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (MIBH). He was 22 years old and fresh out of college. Three decades later, his colleagues at Bassett have honored him with the Ambassador Lifetime Achievement Award for all he’s accomplished on behalf of Bassett.
“Bruce defines what it means to be an ambassador; he brings to other people what we want them to think about Bassett,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. William Streck to a crowd of 300 people at Bassett’s Service Recognition Dinner recently where Wilhelm was presented with the award and his 30 year pin. “Bruce is a remarkable man and what he does with his wit, so well known to all of us at Bassett, is something we’ve all admired. He is so humane and perceptive in using his wit to deal with complex issues and personalities that it’s other worldly at times. It’s a skill that has succeeded, time after time, in allowing us to move past an issue,” concluded Streck.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bertine McKenna, Ph.D., adds, “Bruce represents the best of how we believe Bassett’s values should be lived in our organization. His compassion, kindness, humor and fairness are an inspiration to all of us at Bassett.”
Wilhelm accepted the Ambassador Lifetime Achievement Award to an extended and standing ovation. In his remarks, he took the crowd back to April 12, 1982, his first day on the job at Bassett.
“When I started, I had to complete orientation and as part of that I met with Assistant Administrator Leon Bailey, Bassett’s first personnel director. At the time, MIBH had around 1,200 employees between the hospital and three community health centers,” recalls Wilhelm. “I asked Mr. Bailey what advice he had for me to succeed at Bassett and he said, ‘You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.’ ” Simple, but sage advice. Wilhelm says those words have remained with him throughout his three decades of work at Bassett. “Sometimes in my role you don’t always get to give out good news. I’ve always tried to treat everyone with respect and with Leon’s words in the back of my mind.”
Wilhelm began his career at Bassett as a personnel assistant in what was then Bassett’s Personnel Department. His responsibilities included recruiting for service positions, and he quickly saw an opportunity to take advantage of the proximity of several colleges in the region. Wilhelm created the On-Campus Nurse Recruitment Program, travelling to college campuses to introduce students to career opportunities at Bassett. The program was very successful. Wilhelm was promoted to Personnel Director in 1984 and remained in that role for over a decade. In 2001, he became Director of Employment and Employee Relations for what is now known as Human Resources.
Wilhelm’s work on behalf of employees in his time at Bassett has been tireless. He created the Ambassador Program to recognize individuals who go above and beyond in their day-to-day work. He established the annual Service Recognition Dinner to honor employment milestones of staff. He set up the Employee Advisory Committee to be sure staff’s collective voice is heard. And, he helped create and implement the Employee Suggestion Award Program to recognize and reward employees who suggest a change that helps build a better, more efficient Bassett. Wilhelm also initiated Bassett Families Helping Families, a program that allowed staff to adopt families in need during the holiday season through Opportunities For Otsego (OFO). “The first time we did that was one of the best days of my career at Bassett,” remembers Wilhelm. “We were able to drive two truckloads of gifts to the door of OFO, and I knocked on the door and said, ‘We’re going to need some help unloading the trucks.’ They sent out one person and she started crying when she saw how generous staff had been.”
Four years ago, Wilhelm was called upon to use his talents outside of the walls of Bassett Medical Center to lead a complex project in his boyhood hometown of Sidney. Bassett had been asked to resurrect a hospital in this vital Delaware County village and Wilhelm was tapped to lead the effort. Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, he cut the ribbon on Tri-Town Regional Hospital (TRH) as its CEO. TRH represented a new model for the delivery of health care in communities needing more than primary care services, but not able to support a traditional hospital model. Having achieved success with TRH, Wilhelm was then asked to return to Bassett Medical Center as the Vice President of Human Resources. It is in that role that he accepted the Ambassador Lifetime Achievement Award.
