More Than a Moving Hospital Experience

Hospitality is not a lost art. It is increasingly embraced as a fundamental part of patient care. Attention is also riveted on high-impact patient satisfaction practices in response to Medicare's new reimbursement policies.

Crothall's Patient Transportation teams do more than getting a patient from Point A to Point B. They have developed a whole portfolio of optional enhancements, designed to pamper both patients and staff. Many of these innovations have been adopted from the hotel industry and specific client needs. These services also present solutions to hot-ticket issues such as patient throughput, staff and patient safety and satisfaction, and an over-taxed clinical staff.

Preserving the Nurses for Patient Care

Patient Throughput Zooming

Patient throughput issues are usually complex and involve a multiple-department solution. One strategy is Patient Throughput Zooming, which improves patient flow through expedient discharge bed cleaning and availability. "With the use of TeamThroughput and TeamTrip, we are able to automate each phase of discharge and room preparation for a new admission without ever involving a nurse," says National Director of Patient Transportation Diane McCullough.

Elite Discharge Teams and XPDITE Service

With these optional enhancements, dedicated, specially trained Patient Transport staff members are stationed strategically on patient care units and designated areas to expedite the discharge transport process. XPDITE Service focuses on 4- to 8-hour peak time windows. At Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte and Florida Hospital Altamonte, discharge teams were established during peak hours in response to TeamThroughput studies of discharge times.

All Aboard: the "Patient Express" Elevator

A dedicated elevator operator provides a "patient express" service to expedite trips for patients and those accompanying them. Frustration caused by long waits for an elevator can be completely avoided and satisfaction scores improved.

Other smart options that impact nursing time off the unit include Courier Service, Equipment Technician Services, and Portable Oxygen Tank Exchange Services.

Safety First

Supplementing the basic Patient Transportation program are services designed to minimize dangerous activities for nurses such as lifting, transferring, and ambulating patients. The Safe Patient Handling Program protects both the health and productivity of a hospital's crucial clinical staff and contributes to staff recruitment and retention.

Lift Teams

Dedicated transporters, who are trained in proper body mechanic techniques in lifting and transferring patients, work together as a Lift Team. At Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, the two Lift Teams were welcomed with open arms by doctors and nurses alike and now perform over 3,000 lifts per month.

Walking Partners

When patients need to be ambulated, this enhancement offers specially trained, CPR-certified transporters as Walking Partners to assist the patients. Mobile Infirmary's Walking Partners program performs over 1,300 walks monthly, allowing nurses to focus on patient care.

Hospitality

Hospitality must influence the satisfaction of both internal and external customers. These Patient Transportation enhancements put the "icing on the cake" for a hospital's patients and employees. After all, happy employees = happy patients!

Hospitality Resource Center

Crothall's Hospitality Resource Center offers more than a one-number call center for support service requests and follow-up; it serves as a repository of systems that can monitor and measure patient flow and throughput. Through specially-trained dispatchers, Crothall not only tracks requests from service users and patients on response and completion times, but also reports transaction times for patient movement that sometimes causes bottlenecks in patient flow. At Presbyterian Hospital, the HRC manages incoming requests for 3 services and is staffed 17 hours/day, 7 days/week. Dispatchers manage TeamThroughput software centrally, improving accountability for all associates and response time to requests.

Custom Care Services for Patients, Guests, and Staff

Patients who get a "hallway" pass from their nurses can take advantage of a scheduled trip to the Gift Shop or Chapel or get a breath of fresh air with the Custom Care Service. Similarly, the staff enjoys delivery of preordered, prepaid food from the cafeteria or items from the lobby. Customized services, such as errand running, booking reservations for employees, or assisting with other time-consuming activities, can be added to the service.

Patient Companion "Sitter" Services

Specially trained Patient Companions can be used as "sitters" for non-restraint patients. "They are taught to respond to specific conditions based on hospital procedures and protocol and can offer customized services like reading a book to a patient," explains McCullough.

Guest Services

At University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the Guest Relations Program has greatly increased patient satisfaction. Uniformed greeters welcome arriving patients and visitors, provide wheelchairs, and open car doors. At the information desks, greeters also give directions and find appointments. They control visitor traffic to limited areas such as the ICU and act as the "go to" person for status updates and doctor reports. They also shuttle patients and visitors around the UAMS campus on golf carts! At Presbyterian Hospital, a dedicated PT lobby attendant helps coordinate the smooth pickup of patients leaving the hospital with a valet or personal transportation.

Click here to read the full Presbyterian Hospital, Mobile Infirmary, or UAMS case studies.