Hospital leaders: Show your gratitude to front-line staff

by Thomas Dahlborg I recently had an opportunity to be a healthcare customer and, like each other time, learned a great deal. As my wife and I entered the facility and got in the long check-in line, we noticed a packed waiting room of nervous patients. Upon arriving at the glass "bank" window that separated the check-in employee from the patient, I was coldly handed some paperwork to complete and directed to find a seat. My wife and I eventually did find a couple of empty seats and again made note of the number of people gathered in mass for the same procedure. Part of me said, "Great, clearly this is the place to be." They perform high volumes of this procedure and thus must have perfected the process. This thought did not last long. A harried worker rushed into the waiting room and called out, "Christine? Is anyone here for Christine?" At this, an older gentleman got up and said he was here for Christine but she had just gone in ... is she okay? The employee stammered, looked around, put his hand through his hair and eventually realized and shared that this was actually the wrong Christine. He then proceeded to share details of both "Christines" within earshot of all in the waiting room. Eventually my name was called and I followed a nurse into her office for a pre-procedure check in. She checked my blood pressure, asked questions and collected responses. She then complained that this may take some time because "the EMR does not allow for an easy way to insert re...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs