How Hospitals Treat Staff Makes All the Difference
I recently had the opportunity to visit two large, well-known local hospitals within the same week. The difference was remarkable....
They both recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars on facility improvements and upgrades, and they were both visually impressive. What struck me however, was the difference in the way patients and visitors were treated at each of the hospitals. At one hospital I was treated with genuine kindness and staff went out of their way to help me. At the other staff seemed more concerned with their "tasks" than with helping people. Employees at this hospital made attempts at being friendly and helpful, but their attempts seemed hollow. It was obvious to me that they weren't genuinely interested in helping me.
How does this happen? I could tell that staff at both hospitals had similar training (i.e. ask people if they need help when they look lost), but only one of them executed that training well. So what makes the difference? My theory: how they're treated.
Your thoughts?
They both recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars on facility improvements and upgrades, and they were both visually impressive. What struck me however, was the difference in the way patients and visitors were treated at each of the hospitals. At one hospital I was treated with genuine kindness and staff went out of their way to help me. At the other staff seemed more concerned with their "tasks" than with helping people. Employees at this hospital made attempts at being friendly and helpful, but their attempts seemed hollow. It was obvious to me that they weren't genuinely interested in helping me.
How does this happen? I could tell that staff at both hospitals had similar training (i.e. ask people if they need help when they look lost), but only one of them executed that training well. So what makes the difference? My theory: how they're treated.
Your thoughts?
Labels: Barbara, hospital staff, morale, patient satisfaction
posted by Barbara at
2:26 PM
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Barbara O'Connell is a WhereToFindCare.com co-founder and blogs about navigating the healthcare system, how to find quality healthcare providers, how to improve healthcare and other musings from the healthcare world.
Dawn Hall is a WhereToFindCare.com co-founder and has over 16 years of experience in the health care industry improving processes and quality of the care throughout the delivery system.
Gregory Morad is WhereToFindCare.com's sales director and blogs about how you can use WhereToFindCare.com in your daily life.
Joey Granz is a WhereToFindCare.com co-founder, with 5 years experience as a healthcare worker in nursing homes. She blogs about current health care news.
