Designing Patient Experience: New Cincinnati Hospital Establishes Excellence in Culture, Cooperation and Care
May 8, 2014
The opening of a new hospital introduces changes and challenges, to the healthcare provider as well as the local community it serves. Such change also offers the unique opportunity to define the vision for culture, commitment and care for patients---from the "ground up."
Mercy Health, a healthcare system serving communities in Greater Cincinnati through more than 80 network locations, recently merged two of its hospitals and consolidated staff in a new facility, West Hospital. With forward-thinking and a commitment to excellence in patient care, Mercy Health leadership engaged with GE Global Design to define and design for optimal culture, clinical processes and customer service as the hospital opened its doors to the local community.
GE Global Design is a comprehensive, cross-functional design organization within GE Healthcare whose core mission is to create breakthrough innovations across all phases of patient care in the hospital setting. The team's design philosophy, The Magic of Science and Empathy, leverages Design Thinking to humanize technology and improve the patient experience.
Mercy Health executives engaged with the Global Design team in a leadership workshop to identify a shared vision of the behaviors needed to deliver outstanding patient experience, establish a culture of confidence and collaboration among hospital staff and identify specific ways to continuously improve care.
More than 20 West Hospital leaders across a variety of roles, departments and care areas---from the hospital CEO to nurses, food delivery and maintenance employees---joined with GE team members for the two-day workshop.
Team members "walked through" the full hospital experience---from the parking lot to patient registration, to the exam room and check out---to see care through the eyes of the patient as well as staff. Employees discussed ways to establish empathy and cooperation to ultimately deliver the best care to patients as well as new ideas to improve environment, such as using music in more parts of the hospital.
Following the workshop, the Mercy Health West Hospital team established:
- A Care Commitment for employees to sign as part of staff on-boarding
- Specific success factors for hospital staff in all patient interactions---from handling phone inquiries to managing clinical protocols
- Employee training to communicate shared values and encourage accountability across all departments
- Processes to recognize and award staff contributions to excellent care among the West Health community
With a defined vision for excellence and a roadmap for success, Mercy Health West Hospital takes a proud new place in the west side of Cincinnati as it serves those who live there with the highest standards of compassion, customer service and clinical care.
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