Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my time at UC Davis Health System and whether my work here will have had the kind of impact I'd always hoped it would.

Many of you took the time to write to me after learning of my decision to retire, and I am truly grateful for the many positive comments I received from all segments of our organization and beyond. It is extraordinarily gratifying to know that so many of you feel a sense of participation in the growth and success of this wonderful organization as it has evolved to be a nationally recognized academic medical center.

It is the collaboration and cooperation among all of us here — a spirit of community that so many of you expressed so well in your letters to me — that accounts for our success. I often think that if we could "export" our unique spirit of community, it would go a long way toward solving some of the problems that affect our society.

Indeed, it is our spirit of community at UC Davis Health System — this sense that we are all working together for a greater good — that will lead to a future in which we can continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

I would like to share with you a few very personal thoughts, as they may be relevant to what I think is beginning to rip at the very fabric of what has been our remarkably diverse, yet cohesive, community.

I am the only child of a father who was a hard-working, blue-collar steel worker, and a resilient, loving mother who devoted her life to caring for her family. I spent summers working in the mills, from the time I entered high school until I graduated from college. I understand firsthand the meaning of hard labor. And I saw firsthand the sacrifices that families make when labor and management are unable to reach accord. I have also seen the devastating impacts on communities — and the families who live there — when major employers fail or leave. These experiences helped shaped my life; they anchor me and give me a multidimensional perspective on the concerns affecting us in today's increasingly complex world.

I look back now on my 26 years at the University of California, and I consider myself extremely fortunate. UC has been an excellent employer. I sincerely believe the university treats its employees fairly. This is not to say there haven't been times when I have been disappointed by certain circumstances or disagreed with specific decisions. But compared to many employers, the university has remained remarkably stable and, despite ebbs and flows in the economy, has worked hard to extend that stability to its employees.

It is my personal belief that there is no greater satisfaction in life than the satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that one's efforts truly benefit the communities of which we are a part. It is this fundamental belief that lately has caused me to agonize over the hardening of rhetoric over labor issues at the university. It is as though we are unable to communicate clearly and effectively across and among constituent groups, without animus, vitriol and personal attacks. We are forgetting, it would seem, just how critical we all are to the well-being of the communities in which we live and work.

How we choose to communicate, as well as the decisions we make and the actions we take, have a lasting impact on this, "our" university community. What we do today affects our ability to work together in the future.

Over the next several weeks and months, as labor negotiations unfold, some of you will be forced to make decisions affecting not only your own lives and families, but the lives of other employees, our patients and their families. We will all face agonizing decisions. It is my sincere hope that we will make our decisions with compassion for the patients, families and colleagues who will be affected by them.

Diversity of opinion is a hallmark of any great university. As we express our differences, let's do so in ways that will protect our spirit of community, foster a sense of common purpose, and allow us to continue working together to make life better for our patients, our students and our own employees.

Robert Chason is the chief executive officer of the UC Davis Medical Center.