Shoreline Medical Center "Promises" Patient Satisfaction
Essex, CT - Why would a medical center that has consistently garnered the highest ratings for patient satisfaction, begin a comprehensive patient satisfaction campaign?
According to Sheryl Lawrie, facility coordinator at the Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center in Essex, the answer is clear. "Our goal is to continually evaluate the needs of our patients and to improve the quality of service that we provide to them. Our goal is to exceed our patient’s expectations."
This philosophy provided the impetus behind the Medical Center's comprehensive patient satisfaction campaign, called "The Shoreline Promise," that began just about a year ago.
The campaign was the brainchild of staff at the Medical Center. According to the Center's Medical Director, William Lynders, M.D., "Although the Medical Center has consistently received high scores for patient satisfaction (most recently 99%) from Press-Ganey (the company that many hospitals in the state use to monitor patient satisfaction) the staff decided to focus on what they do best and try to improve upon it."
So, a committee was formed that represented the Medical Center's entire employee base, including the Emergency Department, laboratory, radiology and all of the other outpatient service areas offered there. Employees were provided with in-house training on patient service and every new employee undergoes this same training.
At this point, the majority of employees at the Medical Center have gone through training the necessary training for the program. How well employees do in the area of patient service is being integrated into their annual performance evaluations. Bulletin boards in each department serve as reminders of the campaign and a patient service newsletter is published monthly.
A number of facility-related projects have already been completed, including a new vending area in the waiting room that offers "healthy" snack choices, physical improvements to the Medical Center focusing on patient comfort and privacy, and books and videos donated by employees for patients. Also, a special garden project was conducted with the Essex Garden Club to improve the Medical Center's landscaping and general appearance.
According to Lawrie, "employees feel this is a very worthwhile program and have shown a great deal of enthusiasm." Lunches are sponsored quarterly by different departments and the "cost" of admission is to list one positive and negative patient service issue and one suggestion for improving patient service on a special form employees receive before entering the luncheon.
Lawrie acknowledges that the Shoreline Promise committees and subcommittees are very engaged in the process. "They have all put in many unpaid hours and everyone has pitched in to support these improvements at the facility. Employees realize that each one of them has an impact on the entire facility and that no one job is any more important than another when it comes to serving our patients," she said.
When Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center opened in 1970, it was the first and only freestanding emergency center in the state. Today, it serves over 80,000 shoreline residents annually. This includes emergency and urgent care and paramedic services, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; advanced diagnostic imaging, including CT and MRI, laboratory services, pre-operative testing, neurodiagnostics, endoscopy, infusion therapy, rehabilitation services, sports medicine, and occupational medicine.
For more information about the Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center, please call 860-358-3741.
Contact Information
Public Relations Director
Amanda Falcone
860-358-6980
amanda.falcone@midhosp.org