Putting Patients First at Griffin Hospital

By Dale Wolf

Hospitals are beginning to figure out what hotels have known all along – customer satisfaction is critical to market share and share of wallet. Yes there are nay-sayers who tell us that there is little evidence that customer satisfaction and creating customer advocates has a financial payoff. I see too many examples where companies that are dedicated to customer satisfaction are the best-in-class for growth.

Take Griffin Hospital that was once a struggling institution in the working-class Lower Naugatuck Valley of Connecticut. The board made a commitment to patient experience and now 20-years later – instead of closing their doors as was originally recommended – they are a shining light in the entire medical community. Griffin is financially successful, steadily expanding its programs, its buildings, and — a key metric for hospitals — its market share. It is the only hospital named by Fortune magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America for seven consecutive years, ranking No. 4 in 2006.

Customer Satisfaction is ALWAYS Delivered by Employees

Research by Press Ganey shows a clear relationship between employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and quality of care as an interactive, reinforcing relationship. Not only do satisfied employees deliver better care—which results in better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction— but working for an organization that values patients and delivers quality drives employee satisfaction, retention, and loyalty.

Staff Interaction Leads to Patient Satisfaction

One such Press Ganey survey of 139,380 former patients of 225 hospitals revealed that none of the top 15 patient satisfaction factors had anything to do with the patient’s health outcome. Instead the main factor was staff interaction, and there was a strong correlation between staff interaction and employee satisfaction.

Four Drivers

Analysis of data in the Press Ganey Employee Perspectives database has identified four key drivers of employee satisfaction:

1. Overall organization impression
2. Participation
3. Senior leadership
4. Recognition

Facilities where employees evaluate these dimensions positively experience improvements in employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, clinical quality, and other critical outcomes.

Putting Patients First

According to Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin and Patrick Charmel in their book: Putting Patients First, listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. “It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way.”

What Makes this so Hard?

“Perhaps the simplest and most profound of all human interactions is KINDNESS. But if it is so simple, it is surprising how frequently it is absent from our healthcare environments. Many staff members report verbal ‘abuse’ by physicians, managers and coworkers.”

Griffin Hospital — The First Five-Star Hospital

As reported in “Strategy + Business” … While most hospitals are hacking and trimming in desperate efforts to survive, the executives at Griffin and other “five-star hospitals” have taken a different tack. They’re attempting to build health-care centers with the customer-friendliness of Nordstrom, the reliability of FedEx, and the transactional accuracy and simplicity of American Express. They believe that making hospital stays more pleasant will pump up market share and revenues, boost the quality of clinical care, create less stress for the staff, and generally turn their business around. They are transforming themselves to better serve the consumer.

Griffin Makes Radical Change

Griffin’s revolutionary childbirth center opened in 1987. Griffin’s maternity business — a profit center for any hospital — doubled in just four years from fewer than 500 births per year to more than 1,000. An extraordinary one-third of its “customers” came from outside the Naugatuck Valley. Patient and staff satisfaction surveys resulted in perfect scores. Then they rebuilt the medical/surgical patient facilities. They replaced the harsh fluorescent lights with indirect incandescent lamps, installed carpeting to absorb sound, and constructed family rooms and kitchens stocked with snacks. Volunteers came in to bake muffins and cookies for patients and staff, filling the corridors with comforting, homey smells. Musicians were brought in to play live music, and visiting hour restrictions were eliminated.

Griffin’s Efforts are Paying Off

In recent years, inpatient admissions have leaped 25 percent (from 5,866 in 1997 to 7,349 in 2004), and its outpatient services have grown even faster (from 94,567 in 1997 to 160,427 in 2004, an increase of 70 percent). This is three times the average growth rate for the state. Many of Griffin’s doctors have been able to expand their practices, bringing in other doctors.” At the same time, Griffin’s work-force turnover has dropped. “We under-compensate our employees,” CEO Patrick Charmel admits, “and we probably work them harder [than do other hospitals]. But they become much prouder of what they do.” Griffin has also become a model for other institutions. More than 500 medical centers — 10 percent of the hospitals in the U.S. — have sought out Griffin for benchmarking tours. Griffin is no longer everyone’s last choice in health care.

One Last Word from “Putting Patients First”

“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget. Kindness is free.   Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way.”

Living Proof

Fortunately, for me, that’s exactly the kind of hospital I go to. So I am living proof that the research by Press and Ganey and the wisdom in “Putting Patients First” is legitimate. My hospital is Bethesda North in Cincinnati. Every time my family has needed lab work, outpatient services or ER … everytime, the registration process is compassionately handled with speed and accuracy. And the staff that have cared for us after the registration process was over all delivered the same level of kindness. Sure it takes outstanding doctors, nurses and specialists … sure it takes great front-office and clinical technology, but even more, it takes a caring culture.

Filed Under: Patient Experience