Mike Dishman is driven by the details.
His attention to those details is one of the many reasons the senior director of learning and development is the newest recipient of Sanford Health’s annual Compass Award. The award recognizes an employee who demonstrates integrity, excellence or initiative in supporting a culture of compliance.
“It’s so important that our recognition aligns with what we value as an organization broadly,” said Ashley Wenger-Slaba, senior vice president of employee experience, education and workforce relations. “This award in particular really aligns with our SAFE (Sanford Accountability For Excellence) culture. It’s everybody’s job to speak up for safety, to speak up for compliance.”
Dishman’s hands are in several areas of human resources, including onboarding clinical staff, new employee orientation and educating team members.
But his wheelhouse is operations – learning how things work and how they can work better.
“It’s just part of how I operate. I want to know the data. I want to know the details to make good decisions,” said Dishman. “You can have a belief of, ‘I think we’re doing OK,’ but if you can’t measure it objectively, then it’s kind of hard to always have 100% of the story.”
Intuition and integrity
Dishman’s mindset and commitment made him an ideal person to help with a compliance project that lost a project manager last year.
Every year, Sanford clinicians, executives and board members submit any conflicts of interest they may have with their role. Prior to this project, it was a labor-intensive collection process for the compliance team.
“He’s always thinking of a streamlined way to do everything,” Wenger-Slaba said. “If people are sharing a problem with him, he’s inclined to suggest a different way to look at it or a way to streamline the process. That’s just how his brain works.”
Dishman’s contributions helped coordinate an automated process to collect conflict-of-interest submissions. That new process reduced the need for manual entry as well as opportunity for errors. There’s also a dashboard that provides better visibility for the compliance team.
“You have over 3,000 clinicians, a couple hundred executives, about a hundred total board members across the enterprise that have to fill it out,” Dishman said. “So having a process that’s sustainable and scalable made a big difference for that team.”
There were other details that stood out to the team.
“Mike’s actions not only improved efficiencies, but also ensured greater transparency, benefiting both the department and the organization as a whole,” said one award nomination.
“His direction helped address potential issues before they occurred and flag potential conflicts,” added another.
The nomination also highlighted Dishman’s calm-under-pressure demeanor: “He was surprised, yet unfazed, when the process had to quickly expand to roughly 3,000 additional individuals within a short timeframe – and during one of his busiest times of the year. He responded with kindness and understanding regarding the importance of the work.”
About the Compass Award
For the Compass Award, Sanford Health and Good Samaritan employees nominated a co-worker or leader who met these criteria:
- Demonstrates integrity in their words and actions
- Maintains an “open door” policy
- Takes accountability for doing the right thing
- Uses mistakes as opportunities for improvement
- Promotes compliance awareness
- Goes above and beyond to fix a process
- Prevented, detected or corrected a compliance issue
Previous Compass Award winners include medical information officer Roxanna Lupu, M.D., in 2023, Sanford Fargo hospice director Liz Weisbrich in 2022, behavioral health director Ashlea McMartin in 2021, respiratory care manager Teresa Kershaw in 2020, clinic president Luis Garcia, M.D., in 2019, patient and financial services director Tony Morrison in 2018, and nuclear medicine supervisor Bill Beard in 2017.
“The list of people who’ve received the award are some pretty important people, so I feel like I got added to an exclusive list,” Dishman said. “I was very humbled by it.”
‘It feels good to be recognized’
Dishman learned about his nomination for the Compass Award during a team meeting. It came shortly after he’d returned to work after being away for nearly three months for cancer treatment.
“I was completely surprised. I just felt like I was doing something that I enjoy doing,” he said. “I’m glad that I could help my teammates out in a way where I hadn’t planned on it.”
Those who work with Dishman were not surprised about his recognition.
“Even as he’s been in increased leadership roles, it’s never about Mike. It’s always about, ‘How do we provide a better service to our employees or to our patients or residents?’” said Wenger-Slaba. “I can’t think of a more deserving person.”
Compliance is an ongoing process. Dishman routinely checks in to see if the team has support needs – and to go over any other details.
“Being an operations guy, compliance is something that is non-negotiable,” he said. “It feels really good to be recognized in that way where you may not be a clinical person, but you can still impact compliance.”
Learn more
- Medical info officer is ‘vested in doing the right thing’
- Hospice manager helps coordinate care when needed most
- Mental health leader makes patients’ lives easier, safer
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Posted In Awards & Recognition, Corporate Services & Administration, People & Culture
