UHC Recognizes HHS for Consistently Achieving High Patient Satisfaction in a Tough Environment
March 30th, 2011
The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) recently asked Hospital Housekeeping System's Senior Environmental Services (EVS) Director at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Larry Yeager, to share how he and his team have been able to achieve "Patient Satisfaction in a Tough Environment." Yeager and his team were recognized by UHC as a consistent top performer in hospital cleanliness based on an analysis of four quarters of members' Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) data.
On March 2, 2011, Yeager addressed 68 representatives from 46 UHC member academic medical centers (AMCs). According to Kathy Vermoch, the leader for UHC's Patient Satisfaction HCAHPS Benchmarking Project, "Strong performance on cleanliness scores is especially challenging for large, complex university health systems to achieve, and we were very impressed with the high scores of UMISS. We invited Larry to share his approaches with colleagues at other AMCs, including the focus on extensive hospitality training and the practice of regularly discussing HCAHPS performance and scores with staff."
Vermoch went on to say that "attendees were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the Web conference and asked Larry many questions. They gave the event a 4.5 (out of 5.0) rating, which is excellent!"
Conference evaluations included comments such as:
"I took so many great notes during this; thanks to Larry for sharing!"
"Great content; speaker was very professional and informed about the topic. Very helpful webinar."
When asked how his team managed to achieve consistently high HCAHPS scores in room cleanliness, Yeager replied, "It is simple-our systematic approach to cleaning and patient interaction can dramatically impact HCAHPS scores regarding room cleanliness."
"We hire the best employees by identifying candidates that are well-suited for hospitality during the interview process," Yeager reported. When asked how HHS's management and staff training differed from that of other contractors or in-house programs, Yeager explained, "The initial training and development process is followed by daily management quality inspections, ensuring consistent quality and on-the-job training."
HHS managers are also required to undergo annual retraining, to ensure that each one possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully manage the patient satisfaction system.
"We believe that by consistently coaching and encouraging our teams, as well as by providing incentives for achieving the desired quality results, we are able to dramatically affect patient satisfaction at any facility," Yeager said.
Implementation of systems can have an immediate and positive impact on patients' experiences and overall cleaning outcomes, according to Yeager. One of the tools all HHS teams, including Yeager's, use is Goal Boards. These Goal Boards help teams set-and achieve-high standards in both cleaning quality and patient satisfaction, through achievable goals. The boards are reviewed by each team on a daily basis and winners are awarded for top scores in each area on a monthly basis.
"Our foundation for success is based on detailed program engineering, in which fair, equitable job descriptions are developed for each EVS team member," said Yeager. "This, coupled with a motivated, patient-focused staff, allows us to achieve high quality results on a consistent basis."
"In closing," said Yeager, "we are all aware of the importance of patient satisfaction in healthcare, both now and in the future. Cleanliness has a direct impact on each patient's comfort while under the hospital's care, and as service providers, we have control over quality outcomes by which systems we choose to employ-we can have a positive or negative effect on each patient's experience through how we clean the facility and how we interact with the patients and their loved ones."
For additional information, please contact info@hhs1.com.
The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), Oak Brook, Illinois, formed in 1984, is an alliance of the clinical enterprises of 112 academic medical centers (AMCs) and 252 of their affiliated hospitals representing approximately 90% of the nation's nonprofit AMCs. UHC's mission is to create knowledge, foster collaboration, and promote change to help members succeed. Visit www.uhc.edu for more information.
