A22—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1980
Lebanon farmers , bust
Hoover, Broderick exchange
LEBANON What does it
feel like to go from farmer to
administrator of a large
hospital? And, can a hospital
administrator handle the
complexities of a day m the
life of a farmer’
To find out, you’d have to
talk to fanner Abe Hoover
and Good Samaritan
Hospital Administrator
Dave Broderick. Each ex
perienced hectic days while
wearing the other’s shoes.
For Abe Hoover, who is co
pastor of Gingrich’s Men
nonite Church along with his
farming responsibilities
being inside the hospital was
nothing new. But acting as
the administrator now
that was a new step.
Hoover explained that his
day at the hospital began at
7:30 a.m. with a department
of medicine meeting, where
physicians reviewed various
reports. The pace picked up
with a tour of the facilities,
an annual report review, a
meeting with nurses to
discuss staffing problems, a
meeting on the United Way
campaign, and a meeting
with the volunteer services
director.
That took him up to 3 p.m.
and a three-hour tour of
some more of the hospital’s
facilities. Then at 7 p.m. it
was off to the Jonestown
Lions Club to talk to the
group about hospital ser
vices.
According to Broderick,
who was at Hoover’s side
through this hectic day, it
was just a typical day of a
hospital administrator.
like his fellow exchange
participants, Hoover said he
was excited about the per
sonal relationships and
communications between
hospital employees and
administration. “Everyone
is treated on the same level,
no matter what the
position,” he said. “The
function or roles can change,
but everyone is important.”
Hoover added he was
impressed with the current
data available to the ad
ministrator through the
computer system at the
hospital, and reemphasized
the importance of keeping
daily records at the farm.
“I also noticed how im
portant it is to depart
mentalize,” he said. “Ex
pertise and specialization
are needed in various areas
m the hospital. This can be
easily applied to my farming
operation, where one of my
sons can specialize in field
crops, another in dairying,
another in chemicals and
fertilizers, and so on.”
Hoover pointed out that his
day as hospital ad
ministrator made him aware
of how much importance city
businesses place on
beautification. “It’s im
portant to keep the outward
appearance neat and clean
whether in town or on the
farm,” he said.
“And finally, it’s vital to
have a vision for the future
in the agricultural com
munity,” Hoover said, while
looking over blueprints for
future architectural im
provements for the hospital.
In describing his exchange
to the farm, Dave Broderick
commented, “I didn’t realize
how a successful farmer had
to be a good manager too. All
those cost accounting
records, future planning I
was impressed you’d
think Abe was president of
GM.”
Broderick recounted his
day on the farm which
started at 4:45 a m.
“After Abe listened to the
Western markets on the
radio at 5 a.m., we headed
for Farm No. 4 and opened
the doors for 50 dairy cows
that were waiting to be
milked. While there, we took
a look at the DHI records.
“Then, we drove to Farm
No. 1 where I learned the
mechanics of milking 80
cows.
“When we reached Farm
No. 2, we fed 185 head of beef
steers and talked a bit about
the crops grown on the
farms.
“At the next stop, the
Henry farm, I helped to
shovel feed for 40 dairy
heifers and dry cows. And at
the Smith farm, we fed 120
steers and 20 heifers.
“Then it was back to Farm
No. 4 where I watched the
milk being picked up by the
tank truck
“Later that morning, we
loaded 15 head of steers and
headed for Vintage Auction
On the drive down, we talked
about profit planning Abe
knew exactly what it cost
him to feed those steers, and
just how much he’d have to
get for them at auction
“After a swing by the
Lancaster Feeder Pig
Auction and the feed mill, we
headed back to the farm for
a big family dinner
Hoover Farms, which is a
family partnership under
consideration for in
corporation, consists of five
farms along with some
leased acreage. Along with
father, Abe, three sons,
Dale, Dean and Reed, work
full-time on the farms with
another son, Nevin, em
ployed part-tune.
There are numerous en
terprises at Hoover Farms,
including 130 milking
registered Holstein cows
plus 80 replacement heifers.
They also raise about 100
head of hogs and 600 head of
beef steers each year, along
with keeping 7000 laying
hens.
What makes Hoover
Farms a successful
operation 1 Abe concluded by
saying, “We operate as
stewards of the soil and
believe that God is owner of
everything. Our success
reflects God’s goodness. ’ ’
In it’s first attempt at a
farmer-city businessman
exchange, it appears that
Lebanon’s Farm City efforts
have been successful, too
"Agriculture needs to
have a vision for the
future," said Abe
Hoover, second from
right, while looking over
future hospital building
plans with Dave
Broderick, Good
Samaritan Hospital
Administrator, left;
Naomi Loy, Associate
Director of Nursing, Bob
Hoffman, Director of
Community Relations;
and Wilbur Weik, Interior
Designer
left,
and
de
del
Abe
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