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IASIS Healthcare
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Korie Newby,
RN, cares for a patient at Davis Hospital. Davis was ranked
as the top IASIS hospital for Inpatient Satisfaction in
the first and second quarters of 2005.
About 85 percent of
patients rate their hospital experience as good or very
good, which means that most patients are basically satisfied
with the care they receive at most hospitals.
At first glance, that
might seem like positive news. But, in fact, as healthcare
becomes more competitive, and as patients begin to look
more closely at hospitals to determine which facilities
have the best quality outcomes and the highest customer
service scores, good isn’t going to be good enough.
New
Competitive Landscape
To compete today, to attract patients and to keep them
loyal, to recruit and retain doctors and nurses and other
healthcare workers, hospitals have to move beyond good.
They must become expert at a number of things –
including quality, financial performance, and customer
service.
Today’s patients
aren’t simply comparing IASIS hospitals to other
healthcare experiences. They compare a stay in the hospital
to every other experience they’ve had as a customer
– experiences at restaurants and department stores
and hotels. Hospitals have to be as good or better than
patients expect, or those patients will begin to find
other hospitals that do provide excellent customer service.
Measurement
is Key
Patient satisfaction surveys are one important way hospitals
measure how patients feel about the care they have received.
In the Press, Ganey surveys used by IASIS, patients are
asked to rate the hospital and its staff on questions
related to the hospital experience. For example, the Admissions
section asks patients about speed and ease of registration.
The Nursing section asks about care and concern shown
by nurses and how quickly call buttons were answered.
Other key questions include the degree to which pain was
controlled, how well the staff worked together and whether
the patient would recommend the hospital to others. Patients
give a score from one to five on each question. A score
of one is a very poor rating, and five is a very good
rating.
There are four separate
surveys – Inpatient, Outpatient Services, Emergency
Services and Ambulatory Surgery. Press, Ganey conducts
patient satisfaction surveys for about one-third of the
hospitals in the country. Reports are issued each quarter
and hospitals are ranked by percentile to show how they
compare against the rest of the hospitals in the Press,
Ganey database.
Many
Hospitals Already Improving
Since starting the surveys at
the beginning of the year, many IASIS hospitals already
are seeing improvements in their scores and setting goals
to be near the top of the Press, Ganey database.
As
hospitals see the numbers go up, it’s exciting and
energizing for the staff. It feels good to be among
the best. And, something else happens as patient satisfaction
goes up. Employees tend to feel better about their jobs
– they find their work more rewarding. As employee
morale goes up, turnover goes down. Physicians become
happier and more loyal. Patients start to tell other people
about the wonderful way they were cared for, and the hospital’s
reputation improves.
Customer service –
at its most basic level – is exactly what healthcare
is all about. It’s about taking care of people and
making them feel better.
Moving customer service
from good to great requires a commitment from every IASIS
employee. But, imagine the possibilities. If every one
of nearly 10,000 IASIS employees exceeded a patient’s
expectations today, by providing excellent customer service,
what would happen? And, what if IASIS employees made up
their minds to do that every day?
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What a Nice Thing
to Say
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Patients are saying
very positive things about what happens
to them at IASIS hospitals. Every patient
who receives a satisfaction survey from
Press, Ganey is given an opportunity
to write comments. Here are some of
the nice things patients are saying: |
Inpatient
Services
Jordan Valley Medical Center
– Jett was my favorite nurse. I never
had to ask her for anything. She was always
bringing me what I needed, when I needed
it. I would recommend Jordan Valley to anyone
who wants a great hospital experience.
Davis Hospital and Medical Center
– Every single nurse was fantastic.
Honestly, some of them treated me more like
a friend than a patient.
Mesa General Hospital
– The food was excellent. I didn’t
want to leave. I congratulate you on your
good cooking.
Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital
– Angie and Rick took excellent care
of me. The dedication and professionalism
was outstanding. Please thank them for me.
The Medical Center of Southeast
Texas – God has truly blessed
each of you to do the job you do. You are
an amazing group of people.
Emergency
Services
Mesa General Hospital –
It was the fastest trip I’ve ever
made in the ER. Service was awesome! In
and out in less than two hours.
Southwest General Hospital
– This was my first visit to your
ER. I was prepared to wait hours, but I
was pleasantly surprised. It was a good
experience
Town and Country Hospital
– They were very fast, and really
helped me with my pain. It’s a good
hospital.
North Vista Hospital –
Patrick is a wonderful nurse. He was so
gentle when he gave my son a shot. There
should be more nurses like him.
Outpatient
Services
Salt Lake Regional Medical Center
– All of the staff that I encountered
were professional and caring. There’s
a new attitude at this hospital! It renewed
my faith in healthcare.
Pioneer Valley Hospital
– This is a pleasant hospital and
the staff is so friendly. We were very satisfied.
Memorial Hospital of Tampa
– The people here were very sensitive
to my needs. They are GREAT. I’ve
already recommended this hospital to other
people I know.
St. Luke’s Medical Center
– Barb, Edith and Trinidad were so
very friendly and helpful. Their smiles
are contagious.
Ambulatory
Surgery
Pioneer Valley Hospital
– My recovery nurse was so kind and
comforting. Everyone took good care of me.
Odessa Regional Medical Center
– The anesthesiologist didn’t
just speak to us. He acknowledged our 5
year old son. He took the time to shake
his hand and put a smile on his face. Thank
you so much!
Palms of Pasadena Hospital
– I have already told other people
what a great experience I had at this hospital.
If I need a hospital again, I want to come
here.
| Kudos
to Top Performers
Congratulations
to the following hospitals for the
best IASIS patient satisfaction scores
during the first two quarters of 2005!
Ambulatory
Surgery
1st Quarter: Odessa Regional Medical Center
2nd Quarter: North Vista Hospital
& Town and Country Hospital
Emergency
Services
1st Quarter: Salt Lake Regional Medical
Center
2nd Quarter: Jordan Valley Medical Center
Inpatient
Services
1st Quarter: Davis Hospital and Medical
Center
2nd Quarter: Davis Hospital and Medical
Center
Outpatient
Services
1st Quarter: Memorial Hospital of
Tampa
2nd Quarter: Palms of Pasadena Hospital |
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Texas
Goes High Tech
Rollout
of new clinical technology
hits three Lone Star State hospitals
They say that
everything is bigger in Texas, and this summer three
IASIS hospitals can say that everything is quicker,
too.
Southwest General,
Odessa Regional and The Medical Center of Southeast
Texas are going live with the time-saving advanced
clinical technology coming to all IASIS hospitals
in the next couple of years. Traveling Electronic
Documentation systems (TEDs), the mobile computers
that keep patient records updated electronically,
replace low-tech, time-consuming paper charts. Bar
codes on ID bracelets, quickly scanned by nurses,
immediately match patients to their proper medications,
and a physician portal gives doctors 24/7 secure
Internet access to the most updated information
on their patients.
“It helps
me stay connected to my patients even when I’m
not at the hospital,” said Abraham Alecozay,
M.D., an obstetrician at Southwest General, of the
physician portal. “I can check on patients
from my office during the day, or from home in the
evening. By staying informed, when I get to the
hospital I already know what is going on with that
patient.”
Southwest General
began using the new technology in June. Odessa Regional
will add the technology in August and The Medical
Center goes live in September.
The update is
part of IASIS Healthcare’s $40 million commitment
to equip its hospitals with advanced clinical technology.
Beverly
Rhodes, Director, Risk Management, Sarah Vogel,
RN, and Jeanine Trantham train on the new system
at Odessa Regional.
Cookies,
Coffee and Collaboration
Odessa
ER works on relationships and volumes go up
Breakfast is
the most important meal of the day, and that’s
especially true for Odessa Regional’s Emergency
Room. Every month, the hospital hosts educational
breakfasts for the area’s firefighters and
EMS workers— a program that helped increase
ambulance deliveries to the hospital by 37 percent
between the second quarter of 2004 and the second
quarter of 2005.
In addition
to the breakfast sessions, ER staff regularly visit
fire stations to get to know EMS workers on a personal
basis. “Our goal is for our ER staff to develop
relationships with the firefighters and EMS workers,”
says ER Director Pam Castellano, RN. “We want
them to remember us and bring patients here.”
Before the breakfast
sessions started, Castellano worked closely with
EMS administration to provide a one-hour continuing
education credit for each attendee at the breakfasts.
After the first session was well-received, ORH asked
for their input in planning future breakfasts. Topics
have included carbon monoxide poisoning, 12-lead
EKG, burns, snakebites and heat stroke. In addition
to the topic of the day, attendees learn about any
changes that are taking place at the ER and can
offer their own recommendations for improvement.
The breakfasts
are a huge success, according to Jacqui Gore, director
of marketing and community relations. ER visits
are up 10.5 percent from the previous year and admissions
through the ER have increased 61.5 percent. Perhaps
the ER visit that said the most about the success
of the breakfast program came one day in May, when
an ambulance delivered two injured firefighters
to ORH. Gore says, “We were thrilled that
they trusted us enough to bring in their very own
for care!”
Odessa Regional Medical Center ER and Critical Care Services
Director Pam Castellano, RN, offers firefighters
some cookies.
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You can’t
sell me. I’m a comparison shopper. I have to
convince myself. Before I bought a new car last year,
a quick Internet search turned up information about
safety ratings, price, engine specs, gas mileage and
accessories. Just a few minutes enabled me to compare
models through independent and trusted sources. I
felt confident making my decision based on reliable
and expert information.
In the near future,
people will be able to shop this way for healthcare.
And, if our hospitals are not established as the standard
against which other hospitals are judged, then we
will have dug a very difficult hole for ourselves.
The best perceived healthcare providers will thrive,
and the rest will suffer.
You can already
find lots of information about medical providers.
But, data about a local hospital or doctor is still
likely to be complicated, confusing, incomplete, dated,
and in some cases, inaccurate. That will change. Making
comparisons will get easier, clearer, and more accurate.
As patients become
more active participants in their healthcare decisions,
they are demanding detailed information about how
much experience a hospital has with a certain procedure,
costs, the percentage of positive outcomes achieved,
and what they can likely expect with respect to comfort
and their personal experience.
We’ve always
been focused on delivering high-quality healthcare,
of course. But that’s not always the same as
saying every patient has the very best personal experience
possible. We must be relentless in our quest to provide
the best quality and service.
I support the
goal of transparency in healthcare. After all, I’m
a comparison shopper. Consumers should certainly be
as informed about their chosen hospital as they are
about the cars they buy, and as providers, we need
to understand this very simple fact — consumers
have a choice. They also have the information with
which to make it.
Information about
our hospitals is available with the click of a mouse.
We must all be committed to making this a positive
event for us.
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Memorial
Doctor Honored
Albert Tawil, M.D., a physician on the medical
staff of Memorial Hospital, was named the Family
Physician of the Year by the Florida Academy
of Family Physicians. The award recognizes the
compassion and clinical ability Dr. Tawil has
consistently displayed in his 42 years of practicing
medicine, as well as his influence on young
doctors in the area. He’s been teaching
medical students at the University of South
Florida for 30 years and has inspired many of
them to choose family practice. |
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Tempe
St. Luke’s
Donates Equipment to School
The children of Tempe Pappas Regional Elementary
can breathe a little easier thanks to Tempe
St. Luke’s donation of a portable oxygen
tank and other medical equipment. While the
oxygen tank will benefit those with respiratory
illnesses, other equipment will help identify
middle ear infections and measure anemia levels.
“The children of this school face many
challenges, including many easily cured health
conditions,” says Tempe St. Luke’s
CEO Jeff Egbert. “As Tempe’s only
hospital, we believe it is vital to be the healthcare
leader in our community and help these very
special students at the Tempe Pappas school.”
Salt
Lake Regional
Gets Artsy
The 29th Annual Utah Arts Festival, which strives
to introduce new artists to the public and foster
an appreciation for fine art, took place in
June. In addition to providing first aid coverage
throughout the four-day festival, Salt Lake
Regional’s Sports Medicine Center sponsored
the event’s annual Art Attack 5K Run.
Volunteers from the hospital distributed nearly
1000 water bottles to participants finishing
the race. |
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The
Medical Center
Named Best Hospital
The Medical Center of Southeast Texas received
its first award since opening its doors on April
16. IASIS’ brand new hospital has been
named the “Best Hospital in Port Arthur”
by the readers of the Port Arthur News. The
annual readers’ choice contest asks Port
Arthur residents to rate local businesses in
dozens of categories, including retail, dining
and medical care. |
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Zapping VAP
IASIS hospitals
focus on
reducing pneumonia cases
For critical care patients, ventilator-acquired
pneumonia (VAP) can be deadly. For hospitals,
it’s a costly risk. To protect both patients
and the bottom line, several IASIS hospitals
have taken steps to reduce the number of cases.
In March, the staff at Mesa General Hospital
underwent a special training program on oral
care protocol for ventilator patients, provided
by Infection Control Officer Kevin Waldrop.
With several units working together on the educational
effort, staff compliance increased by 50 percent,
and the hospital reported zero cases of VAP
in the months of April, May and June.
“We’re pleased that in our continuing
efforts to improve the quality of care, a focused
effort was made to reduce rates of VAP with
excellent success,” says Wendy Larson,
Director of Emergency Care Services and Critical
Care Services.
Ron Mitchell, Director of Respiratory at Memorial
Hospital of Tampa, says that a large drop in
VAP was noticed when the hospital did a study
on bacterial growth to determine how long a
ventilator circuit could be used without causing
harm to patients.
“We came to the conclusion that it was
safe to push our circuit change out time to
14 days because the more you open the clean
circuit to room air, the higher the risk of
VAP,” he explains. “Before we had
been changing the circuits every few days.”
In the past four years, Memorial has reported
only three cases of VAP and two of those were
transferred patients who were ventilated before
they came to the hospital. Another major factor
in Memorial’s success is the aggressive
weaning of all ventilator patients. A close
relationship and team effort between the ICU
nurses and physicians makes that possible.
“The faster you can remove the vent the
lower the risk of infection,” Mitchell
says. “We push for the average ventilator
days at Memorial to be 3.5 days.”
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While
many of us hear about the war in Iraq from the newspapers
and television, some of us have more personal connections.
One of our own IASIS family, Joe Sereno, Assistant CFO at
The Medical Center of East Texas is stationed in Tikrit.
We asked Sereno to share what life is like in Iraq, and
he sent us some excerpts from his journal He writes from
FOB Danger.
My position is Executive Officer
(XO) of our battery. I coordinate personnel, equipment,
vehicles and tasks to meet our mission needs. I have gone
out on several combat patrols. I regularly work with the
local vendors we buy from. It is Iraqi custom that when
a business deal is done, you either smoke a cigarette with
them or have tea. I don’t smoke, so tea is the obvious
choice. I am learning Arabic, working with an interpreter,
and I have to tell you that Arabic is a hard language to
learn!
On base, activity has picked up
in the last couple of weeks. We had a mortar attack near
our dining facility that was a little too close for comfort.
A vehicle borne improvised explosive device went off last
week just outside of our base — not the best way to
wake up. On Monday, my combat patrol came across an improvised
explosive device. We were able to detonate it and no one
was hurt. We have stepped up security on the base and taken
the offensive to drive the insurgents out of our area.
On a positive note, I attended a
ribbon cutting ceremony for a new school that was built
by U.S. funds. The old school was outdated and the kids
are very happy to have classrooms with all the amenities
(electric, heat, A/C and new desks). I’m also a contracting
agent for some other area schools, making sure that they
get the necessary improvements. This is a fulfilling mission
because we are helping the children have a better life.
The school visits definitely give you a better appreciation
of how good American children have it.
We all wish Joe a safe tour of duty
and a speedy return home.
Think Social Security
will be Enough?
Think
Again
If your grandparents or parents are
making ends meet on Social Security, you might be
thinking, “I can do that. No problem.”
If you are, it may be time to reconsider. Retirees
are living longer than ever before, and with more
active lifestyles, they need more money during retirement
– as much as 85 percent of their preretirement
income.
Old
Notions Don’t Stand Up
The old retirement savings notion of the “three
legged stool” (Social Security plus a traditional
pension plan plus personal savings) doesn’t
stand up in today’s world. Fewer and fewer companies
provide traditional pension benefits, leaving Social
Security and personal savings to carry most of us
through retirement. In 2004, the average annual Social
Security retirement benefit was approximately $11,000.
That means if you earn $35,000 each year, Social Security
will provide about 31 percent of your preretirement
income. It’s a start, but it won’t be
enough, and that’s why your personal savings
are so important.
Your personal
savings are more than just the money you save at your
local bank. They also include money set aside for
retirement in your IASIS Healthcare 401(k) Retirement
Plan. And while all personal savings are good, here
are four great reasons why your 401(k) plan is the
best way to save for retirement: 1) you get immediate
tax savings on your contributions, 2) you get tax-deferral
on investment earnings, 3) you get free money (a.k.a.
employer match), and 4) you can choose from a wide
array of investment fund options.
As an IASIS employee,
you can save as much as 50 percent of your eligible
earnings up to $14,000—the maximum dollar amount
allowed by law in 2005. If you’re 50 or older,
you can save even more by making catch-up contributions.
Your contributions come out of your paycheck before
income taxes are taken out. And don’t forget:
the taxes on any of your investment earnings are also
tax-deferred, so you won’t pay any taxes on
your deferred compensation earnings until your account
is paid to you. In addition to your savings, IASIS
makes a matching contribution on the first six percent
of pay you save. That’s free money, and who
would turn down free money for retirement?
Set
Goals, Make Choices
One really great feature of the plan is the number
of investment funds that are available to you. While
the thought of making investment choices can be unnerving,
setting goals and knowing how much risk you’re
willing to take will make the task easier. Take time
to look at your options and break down the reasons
why they could work for you. Your fund choices include
everything from stable value assets to bonds to stocks.
You can learn more about your different investment
choices by reading each fund’s prospectus. You
can also find many books, journals, and Internet sites
that offer free information, including the IASIS Healthcare
401(k) Retirement Plan website (http://retirementplan.wellsfargo.com).
Doing your homework and choosing funds that work with
your specific situation will pay off in the long run.
Finally, if you
don’t know how much to defer, think about it
this way: most of us can afford to put a few dollars
aside every payday, especially when IASIS is giving
you free money as part of the bargain. And if you
think that saving a few dollars a week won’t
make a difference, consider this: if you save $30
each week and your investments earn an average of
5 percent each year, your savings will grow to more
than $20,000 in just 10 years. $30 a week is less
than $5 a day, and there are ways that each of us
can save $5 a day: fewer trips to Starbucks, passing
on pop corn and drinks at the movies, bringing a lunch
to work, etc. And, don’t forget while you’re
contributing $5 each day, IASIS is giving you another
$2.50. At the end of 10 years your account could grow
to $30,000.
So, don’t
wait to think about how and what you’re going
to live on when you retire. Your 401(k) plan is the
easy, smart way to save for retirement.
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Fred
Gottlieb, MD & Gail Knight, LPN
In the aftermath of
December’s deadly tsunami that decimated parts of
Asia and Africa, many IASIS employees opened their pocketbooks
to help. But, two IASIS employees went the extra mile and
traveled half way round the world to lend a helping hand.
Gail Knight, LPN at
Palms of Pasadena hospital, traveled to Thailand to help
build an orphanage for tsunami survivors. The two-week mission
was organized by St. Petersburg’s Pinellas Community
Church. The volunteers made cement and rebar and helped
lay the foundation for the facility.
“It was monsoon
season, so it was raining all the time,” says Knight,
adding that the workers sang silly songs to keep their spirits
up. But, meeting the people whose lives were affected by
the tragedy was a sobering experience. One man Knight met
lost seven daughters in the tsunami.
“You just heard
story after story – heartbreaking stories,”
she says. It wasn’t the first mission trip for Knight,
who traveled to Nicaragua with her church last June. And
she hopes it won’t be the last.
“My dream is to
become a medical missionary,” she says. “I love
to help people – that’s why I’m a nurse.”
Fred Gottlieb, M.D.,
an internist and geriatrician at the Senior Clinic at Salt
Lake Regional Medical Center, also felt a pull toward the
region after the tragedy. Armed
with a master’s degree in Asian studies and a command
of the Indonesian language, Dr. Gottlieb joined an International
Medical Corps mission and spent five weeks in Sumatra, primarily
in rural areas where help has been scarce.
Traveling to a region
in the midst of a 30-year civil war, Dr. Gottlieb says he
was warned that the population might not take kindly to
foreigners, but his experience was quite the opposite.
“They were as
warm and open as I could imagine,” he says. But the
physical devastation left by the earthquakes and tsunami
was far worse than he had expected.
“I went with some
knowledge of what had occurred, but on the ground it looked
like pictures I’ve seen of Hiroshima,” he says.
“In some areas, it looked like somebody came through
with a bulldozer and scraped everything off the land.”
The bulk of Dr. Gottlieb’s
time was spent helping rebuild the local health care system
to restore it to full capacity. Since his return, he has
continued to work with IMC to set up protocols.
Both Knight and Gottlieb
are extremely grateful that the IASIS hospitals where they
work encouraged them to follow a calling close to their
hearts.
“It is a
privilege to be able to help out in these situations,”
Dr. Gottlieb says.
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You
Told Us…
What is your dream
summer vacation? |
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We asked you to tell us where you would visit
if you could go anywhere in the world on a summer
vacation. Congratulations to Shannon King and
Cristina Mancha, who each won $100 for their
answers!
Shannon King
Mesa General
“I have been a single parent for 17 years,
but my son and I have never taken a vacation
together. I’d like to take him to New
York, and show him where I grew up, have him
meet all my family, and go to the Yankees game!”
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Cristina Mancha
Odessa Regional
“Guatemala. My husband and I sponsor a
child there. He’s five. We receive letters
and pictures, but we would love to go to Guatemala
to meet him, and see the country where he lives.”
Sylvia Soto
IASIS Call Center
“I would go to Australia to go snorkeling!”
Kathryn Williamson
The Medical Center of
Southeast Texas
“I’d go to Washington, D.C., and
spend two weeks going from museum to museum.”
Therèsa Patton
Palms of Pasadena
“I’d love to play in a waterfall
in Hawaii with my fiancée!”
Dora Sepulveda
Southwest General
“I’d be on a beach in Cancun, laying
out in the sun, and having a manicure.” |
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Win
$100 in cash!
Tell Us:
What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
Have you ever gone hang gliding? Para-sailing?
Have you gone swimming with sharks? Or, climbed
Mount Everest? Tell us and we'll feature selected
entries in the next edition of forum. We'll
also give one lucky winner $100!
Mail:
Forum Newsletter
28 White Bridge Road, Ste. 209
Nashville, TN 37205
Include your name, title/department, hospital,
phone number and your most daring adventure.
Fax:
(615) 627-2197
Email:
forum@iasishealthcare.com
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