The Meaning of Green

I was talking to a Nursing Home Administrator from Cleveland last fall, and he said he really appreciated the fact that we wear green.  “I can always find your people just by looking around,” he remarked.  It’s true: when our patients, their family members, or staff at any location need us, they simply have to look around.  While that’s certainly an advantage, that’s not why we wear green.

For Crossroads employees, wearing green (or more specifically, our green) means something much greater than identification.  For us, our green color embodies the ideals of everything we’re striving to be.  At the heart of these ideals is the translation of our logo, Arête’.  That funny little logo with its arms spread wide actually comes from the Greek language and literally is translated as “reaching your highest human potential.”

That’s what being a member of the Crossroads team is all about.  Whether we’re stretching the limits of national averages in care, or we’re coming up with another innovation for our patients and loved ones, the Crossroads team is dedicated to never being satisfied.  I love it when our care teams ask me, “What are our new benchmarks goals? This year?”

As Kermit the Frog sang so beautifully, “It Ain’t Easy Being Green,” and this has never been truer.  Not only are the Crossroads care teams performing their jobs and tasks for which they have been trained; they are continually learning how to improve, as well as exploring new care ideas on how to enhance the total care experience. The Gift of a Day, Gift of Giving, and Gift of Gratitudeprograms have been joined by Veteran to Veteran and Veterans Recognitionto add to the care that each patient and family member receives from us.

At the heart of these efforts is our mission, a mission that can be summed up in one word: “More.” The Crossroads team is always expecting MORE from each other and that’s why we want our patients, family members, and partners in care to expect MORE from Crossroads.  That’s what the Crossroads special green color really means.  When you see that person in green walking into your home or down the hall, that person is trying their best to always give you MORE.

Not to mention, working for Crossroads means never being pinched—we’re always wearing green! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Perry Farmer, President of Crossroads Hospice