Center gets best ideas from its patients
Center gets best ideas from its patients
Survey, staff help it reach 98% satisfaction
Do you want to make changes needed to keep your patients happy, but unsure what needs to be changed? Ask them!
At St. John's Clinic: Head & Neck Surgery in Springfield, MO, patients are sent home with a survey and a self-addressed stamped envelope, says Lynda Dowman-Simon, RN, the OR manager. The survey asks questions such as "What did you like most?" and "What did you like least?" Also, patients are asked to rate the center on a 1-5 scale on a variety of areas. [The survey is included.]
"Whenever I get back, on the 1-5 scale, one that has a low number, 1 or 2, I call and find out what was the problem with that one thing," Dowman-Simon says.
An area at the bottom allows patients the option to write in their names and phone numbers. The survey also includes Dowman-Simon's name and phone number for those patients who prefer to talk by phone. When Dowman-Simon receives a completed survey, she sends a thank-you note and a $25 gift certificate. This reward has resulted in a return rate of approximately 50%.
Many of the suggestions have been small and quickly implemented, such as adding seats to the waiting room and adjusting the room temperature, Dowman-Simon says. One major change was made in response to a parent's suggestion after his 6-year-old son had a reaction to medication and woke up "wild" after surgery, she says. It took five staff members to hold him down, Dowman-Simon recalls. They wanted to bring his dad in the room, to see if a familiar voice would calm him down; however, "we couldn't leave him because he woke up so agitated," she says.
As soon as the medication started to wear off and the child began to calm down, the father was notified. His response was, "Why didn't you get me sooner?"
As a result, the center installed a "panic button" in recovery. "It's within arm's reach," Dowman-Simon says. Now, if a staff member needs help, he or she can push the button, which makes a whistling sound. "We wanted one that would alert people in the surgical suite, but not alarm patients," she said. "We wanted to be sure to have a sound, different from the beep of a call light, that notified the OR we needed help in recovery stat!"
Another consideration was that the sound not be overheard in the waiting room.
When technicians hear the sound and aren't scrubbed in, they can assist by locating the family and providing information. The center has had to use the panic button only once, when a young girl woke up agitated. It assisted the staff in locating her mother and getting her back to the area quickly.
Changes such as the panic button have helped the center achieve higher than 98% patient satisfaction. "We're real proud of that," Dowman-Simon says. "We produce anxiety, send people home in pain, because they've had surgery, but to produce that kind of satisfaction is quite an homage to our staff. They go the extra mile for our patients. You can't get those kinds of number without terrific caregivers."
Resource
The panic button used at St. John's Clinic: Head & Neck Surgery in Springfield, MO, is an earlier version of what is now the ProCare 1000 System from GE Healthcare. The price range is $300-$950 per room. To e-mail for more information, go to www.gehealthcare.com/contact.html.
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