Thursday, August 12, 2010

A team approach to exceptional healthcare

Orange Regional Medical Center’s mission is to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional healthcare. Providing exceptional healthcare is not the lone responsibility of our clinical staff. The responsibility belongs to each and everyone working in the hospital, both in clinical and non-clinical areas. As a team, we have the power to create a positive patient experience. Everyone has a role in positively affecting patient satisfaction whether you’re delivering care to our patients, treating our patients and their family with compassion and kindness, being courteous to and supportive of each other, offering a smile or modeling professional behavior at all times.

In July, I received a letter from a gentleman, James Bair, who shared some words about his wife’s experience at The Bone and Joint Center. Mr. Bair was extremely thankful to all of the employees he and his wife encountered and, with their permission, an excerpt of his testimonial follows. It speaks volumes of our capabilities in providing exceptional healthcare as a team:
“I wish I knew the names of all the hardworking staff members that came in contact with my wife while she was in the hospital. Their attitudes were excellent. They were all, every one of them, focused on the mission to see that she was given the best care they could provide. This applies to the entire staff - the volunteers, the environmental services staff, the aids, the nurses, the surgeon and the food service employees. They all did their jobs efficiently, effectively and with a smile. Because of the way they approached their responsibilities, we knew that all these busy people were ‘in the game’!”

We need to be ‘in the game’ everyday if we are to exceed our patient’s expectations. It is necessary for all of us to foster an environment that promotes exceptional healthcare. When we do, we become the "provider of choice" for our community, the "employer of choice" for our staff and the "workplace of choice" for our doctors. Everyone wins!

I congratulate everyone who made Mrs. Bair’s stay an exceptional one.