'How' trumps 'what' in patient experience success

by Jason A. Wolf Since my last blog post where I stressed the need for our continued commitment to push the patient experience movement forward I have had a positive, life-changing experience. Early on Friday, April 19th as we were wrapping up Patient Experience Conference 2013, my wife called to let me know she was having contractions. "Nothing imminent," she calmly told me. It is not often you spend three intense conference days stressing the critical importance of patient experience--of people and process, patient perspective, strategic imperative--only to turn around and be that patient or family member yourself. But those three days were followed by three days admitted to the hospital--experiencing labor and delivery (L & D), post-partum care and watching everything our caregivers did to provide for my wife, our new son and me. It reinforced the point I often stress--that we will all be patients and family members some day. As I switched roles to the receiver of care, I keenly observed all I could in the hospital setting--the incredibly calming and intent support we received from the individual in admissions as she carefully but purposefully pushed my wife up to L & D. As we went through the process of labor, delivery and our following two nights as inpatients, I saw all the things I know great organizations do--effective use of communication boards, purposeful hourly rounding, tent cards from housekeeping on the importance of cleanliness (including a ...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs