The hospital didn't come by those accolades by accident. Customer service training starts with Saint Joseph's employees' first day on the job with an orientation steeped in an emphasis on respect for the individual, and it continues with follow-up training tailored to specific areas. The hospital sponsors an ongoing "word of the month", such as courage or compassion, which is posted throughout the hospital as a reminder of service. It rewards any employee who is nominated by patients or fellow workers for an act of kindness that goes over and beyond expectations. When employees accumulate several of these "Caught by an Angel" awards, they receive a recognition pin for their badges, and as they earn more, they are invited to lunch with Phipps herself. "I can't think of anything that doesn't encompass customer service at Saint Joseph's, from preadmission through billing," says Phipps. "We train everyone."
Volunteers, too. At Saint Joseph's a cadre of approximately 300 volunteers escorts patients from admissions, keeps families up to date on a patient's progress in surgery, drives courtesy carts from cars to the front door, serves crackers and juice in waiting rooms, runs the gift shop, and more.
To monitor effectiveness, Saint Joseph's measures performance internally and externally. Scores from patient satisfaction surveys are posted throughout the hospital to keep service at the forefront of employees' attention. If someone registers a complaint of a certain magnitude or nature, Phipps immediately gets an email alert. In regular evaluations, managers report on four equally weighted areas: customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, clinical performance and financial performance.
Saint Joseph's also measures how well it is pleasing patients in the underserved populations of the uninsured, the homeless and those with AIDS that it serves through its Mercy Care ministry in downtown Atlanta and along the Buford Highway corridor. Saint Joseph's staffers complete these surveys one-on-one while the patient is in their facility because follow-up is often difficult with these groups.
Whether in its main facility that is undergoing a 64-bed expansion or in its outreach locations, a thread runs throughout Saint Joseph's care: respect for the individual. "Patient satisfaction is woven into our fabric," Phipps says. "It is as important as our clinical care."
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