Improving the OR Patient Experience Devri Nichelle Cashe

Why Patients are Important They are our customers They bring revenue to the hospital They are the reason we have jobs They trust us with their lives They can choose to receive care elsewhere They come to our hospital out of necessity or loyalty A loyalty patient will tell others about a great experience; not just a positive outcome.

How Do We Treat Our Patients Surgeons arrive late to cases RN don’t answer call lights Families don’t know where their loved ones are located Nursing stations are loud at change of shift/night time They receive poor communication from staff Patients are repeatedly asked the same questions

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE PATIENT OUTCOME; IT’S ABOUT THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE OUR ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR MUST PROMOTE OUR MISSION OF RELATIONSHIP BASED CARE

How Do We Start A Change Process Lewin’s Change Process –3 major concepts Driving Forces Restraining Forces Equilibrium –3 major stages Unfreezing (letting go of the old) Change (moving to a new level) Refreezing (the new habit)

Driving Forces Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Press Ganey Survey Results

Restraining Forces Nay-sayers (constant complainers) Staff with negative attitudes (just at work to get a paycheck) Energy-zappers (problems at home that carry over to work) Staff suffering from burnout (lacksidasical—feels unappreciated)

Equilibrium Employee evaluations and raises are affected by poor HCAHPS and Press Ganey results. Leaderships initiates objectives to improves survey results. Disgruntled employees become less compliant and more disagreeable with leadership and their suggestions or changes.

The Unfreezing Leadership has to initiate change by example. Attitude is everything. Confront coworkers that always have negative attitudes. Offer seminar with CEUs, meals, giveaways, etc. to encourage staff attendance. Have staff participate in role reversals and record footage. Get influential staff involved, especially those well liked by their peers. Explain how you would want to be treated if you were in the patient’s place.

The Change for Staff Greet and introduce ourselves to the patients together as a team. Offer an apology if the patient’s procedure is delayed. Hold a hand/ offer a compassionate touch while speaking. Keep families informed. Acknowledge patients on litters going into OR not just your coworkers. Thank patients for choosing our hospital for their patronage.

The Change for Leadership Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. Involvement, Involvement, Involvement. Immediately address any barriers of negative people, and keep things real and coming back to how it relates to the business and the need for change. Make use of milestones and measurements. Be open to continual negotiation.

The Refreezing Be sure to recognize and celebrate success as a standard part of the change process. Establish performance and reward systems for monitoring the influencing the change consistency. Maintain regular review meetings with key staff and adapt the organizations meeting structure and agenda's to support the improved status and processes. Train personal where necessary and invite continued involvement in the processes.

Conclusion We can’t properly care for our customers until we take care of ourselves first. Patients will share their positive experiences which is good for business. Survey results will improve. Leadership and staff will reap the benefits of improved survey results; i.e. raises, notoriety among the top hospitals in the area and nation.

References consultant.com/kurt-lewin.html. consultant.com/kurt-lewin.html theory.org/theories-and- models/Lewin-Change- Theory.php