How does an organization go about changing a culture? Taking that a step further, how does the organization then track success or failure of that culture change? These were questions posed by Family Health West (FHW) leadership in 2019. We know all things aren’t created equal, so aside from the nuances of where this doctor got her degree or this other caregiver did his residency, one aspect that could make a significant impact in the lives of our patients is with direct patient care and interaction. We like to say, “Customer service is alive and well here!”
It’s important how people are treated at Family Health West. Whether that interaction takes place over the phone to schedule an appointment, pay a bill, or inquire about a pending job application all the way to patients getting direct medical care in a clinic, the emergency department, or a spouse visiting a hospital room – every touch point our staff has is deeply coveted with the intention of providing excellent service.
“I just knew we could do better and wow, have we!” Lori Randall, Chief Nursing Officer said with a mix of pride and excitement.
The passion behind changing the culture has been championed by Lori. She’s been part of the fabric of Family Health West since 1996, when she was hired on as a nurse. She saw the leadership styles at that time and has described them as being altruistic.
“They cared for the greater good, and that was the mission I saw in action everyday at work,” Lori said. “They were good guys and did things with integrity.”
Those characteristics remain today and as time moves forward it’s always good practice to review and reinvest in organizational culture. With the onboarding of Dr. Korrey Klein, FHW President & CEO, in August 2019, the timing was natural for leadership to assess themselves and the organization.
FHW leadership invested in a program called Custom Learning Systems (CLS). The program has set curriculum for the first few years and then organizations use their internal trainers to tailor the content and messaging to staff on an ongoing basis and with new hires. Essentially, CLS was the vehicle to roll out – organization wide – a new culture.
Let’s talk about the results already! Have you looked up and reviewed any of our clinic, hospital, or even Flavors Grille Google reviews lately? Don’t mind if we do, take a moment to brag about how consistent and pleasant they are. Just the other day, Betty wrote about her experience with the FHW Hospital Radiology and Imaging department. She said, “the whole experience was great and easy, from check-in to my MRI. Everyone was so nice and the areas were all very clean. I also had a short wait time.”
FHW Radiology and Imaging department is one of the most consistent departments to get patient feedback which echo Betty’s sentiments over and over again. FHW Radiology and Imaging department has a 4.8 star rating out of 5! Google reviews are all customer based and not something organizations can pay to influence. It’s common in today’s society to pull up Google Reviews and read through them to get a sense of a service, organization, or business. People may feel like they are reading direct feedback from a friend or neighbor, even if the review is left by a stranger. With mobile phones at most people’s fingertips, reviewing feedback and comments is fast and easy.
Michelle Angelo is the Director of the FHW Radiology and Imaging department. She lights up when asked about the Google review rating and comments people leave about their experiences with a variety of services at Family Health West. Sixteen years ago when Michelle was made the the department director, Google reviews weren’t around yet. This change in technology has brought her hard evidence and reassurance of a culture created that is reinvigorating to her. Michelle beams with pride for her team, she’s like a new mom showing off her newborn baby.
“I love positive feedback. As a director, it gives me assurance that we are meeting our patient’s needs in many ways, such as our technical ability to provide quality images in an efficient way while taking time to have meaningful interactions with each and every person who comes to us,” she said. “At our last staff meeting, I shared with everyone all the 5-star reviews we’ve been receiving. We all like hearing the positive news and it will never get old!”
Michelle goes on to say, during onboarding of new employees we let them know that we may not offer all the unique or one-off services like corporate hospitals, but we can offer excellent customer service. We have a large number of patients who like to use our services because they can park close to the front door, come inside and get registered quickly, and be seen with little to no wait time. Patients are in and out and it’s simple, especially with our older population, these little touches make a huge difference.
Another form of review and feedback about the employee culture that patients experience at Family Health West is through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey – or, HCAHPS for short. It’s a standardized survey that measures patients’ perspectives on their hospital care. The survey was developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This survey is sent by mail to patients who have had a hospital stay and is solely a survey for the hospital stay. This survey doesn’t measure clinics or departments.
The HCAHPS survey focuses on communication between nursing staff, physicians, and patient; Cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment; and Care transition and discharge information provided to the patient. HCAHPS survey results for hospitals across the country are found online. In the third quarter of 2024, Family Health West scored at the 98th percentile for overall hospital experience on the HCAHPS. While the HCAHPS survey results have steadily increased since 2022, leadership is reassured that patients are having positive healing experiences in the FHW Hospital, Dr. Christopher Taggart, FHW Chief Medical Officer said.
Dr. Taggart also likes to point to the 4.7 star Google rating for the FHW Hospital, highlighting that this is the highest rating of all the hospitals in Mesa County. The FHW Urgent Care Clinic and FHW Hospital Rehab each have a 4.9 Google rating (out of 5 stars). Patients are taking notice and providing the feedback that consistently is in-line with the culture we are investing in. Our patients are giving us the feedback daily. Check out the many clinics and hospital services offered at Family Health West by visiting FHW.org.
