Wilford considered going into the ministry, but one memorable day, a friend of the family suggested that he and his twin brother should think about hospital administration as future careers. "That stuck with me," Wilford says.
He and his brother went into the medical service corps in the Army to see whether they liked being around medicine, and found that they did. Wilford went on to Washington University in St. Louis and earned his master's in 1966. His brother took a similar path and is now a hospital administrator in Dalton, Georgia.
In hospital administration, Wilford says, he can combine business interests with service to mankind. He finds it a challenging and rewarding profession, more challenging than it used to be. The merger, now well into its seventh month, has challenged him, though he says that overall, it's going well.
"It takes time for cultures to come together," Wilford says. "We need to respect each other's culture, appreciate the differences and take the best from both."
Until 1972, Memorial was a Baptist institution. That year it broke with the Southern Baptist Convention and became an interdenominational hospital. "We still train more chaplains than any other hospital system in the world," says Wilford.
Hermann doesn't have that tradition. It has mainly been known for its emergency room, Dr. Red Duke and its medical center location -- attributes that made it desirable to Memorial.
It didn't have teddy bear characters on employee badges, either -- not until Memorial showed up. The fact that some of the Hermann employees find the bear image disgustingly saccharine ("It's demeaning," one said) points up just one of the cultural divides.
According to some employees, the best people at Hermann are leaving, upset by the insurance forms, the bear badges and the shift to what some see as an overbearing, paternalistic culture.
Meanwhile, Wilford insists that nothing is designed to hurt or alarm anyone, or to limit any employee's access to full medical, dental and vision benefits.
Pre-existing conditions such as illness or pregnancy revealed by the insurance questionnaire will not affect hiring or promotions, Wilford says. "We have gay people in every hospital. We never discriminate against them. Hospitals sometimes attract those people. Because they are caring and want to help others.
"I've been here 14 years. I have never personally discriminated against anyone.
"We think spirituality is a part of health. Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist -- we are trying to support that. We are trying to be an organization that supports."
The questionnaire asks whether an employee who feels he needs help at his home would like to talk to someone. Who would the hospital send? "Human resources people, social workers, chaplains," Wilford says.
"This is an added value. We are not trying to take anything away."
E-mail Margaret Downing at margaret_downing@houstonpress.com.
