THE PROBLEM
The largest provider of maternity care in the region, with over 7,000 births per year sought to improve their patient experience scores and make their facility more hospitable, an aspect of care that is critical to patient engagement, patient confidence, and healing. The administration needed a solution that could directly address patients’ comfort during their stay while not increasing the workload of their care teams. With the goal of elevating the patient experience and improving their scores, the group sought help from Circles to build a world-class patient concierge service that would make patients feel cared for and comforted during their hospital stay.THE SOLUTION
With the help of Circles, the hospital established At Your Service (AYS), an innovative concierge program for addressing both inpatient and outpatient needs. AYS associates attend to all non-medical patient needs; from ordering outside meal delivery to providing books and magazines as well as providing personal care items to patients, salon services, external errand running, travel and transportation requests – nothing is beyond the scope of the assistance AYS delivers. Within the first year, AYS had received almost 12,000 requests for service from patients across the Women and Children’s service line from the ordinary to the extraordinary, with one associate even helping a patient finalize her rental agreements and book movers, so her new apartment ready upon her discharge.
“There was a very young patient at the hospital who recently found out she was pregnant. She was excited but also terrified of the road ahead. Her family was not close by, and she did not have anyone to turn to during this time. During her stay, AYS ran all her errands and made sure that she felt supported.”
>THE RESULTS
Since implementation, the hospital’s patient experience numbers have grown dramatically, with satisfaction rates jumping ten points from 75 to 85 in the first month of service and hovering around 90 after that. Nursing staff reports that patients have responded with grateful enthusiasm to the program.“The work AYS has done in helping us achieve improved patient experience scores is vitally important,” said VP of Patient Experience. “We’re proud of those numbers because they reflect the fact that we’re making an even bigger difference in the lives of our patients, helping them achieve and maintain wellness by creating a healthcare environment that is truly patient-centered.”
