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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
Inform, appreciate and give back
SMI Surgery Center does more than personalize treatment of staff and
patients, says Ms. Harless. It also makes sure that staff are informed
and engaged with things going on — from updates after partner meet-
ings to providing input on the types of benefits they receive.
"I share as much as I can with them, so that there is a transparency
at work," Ms. Harless says.
The center also recognizes and celebrates its staff through a Staff
Appreciation Week, which includes such perks as catered lunches
every day as well as gifts such as thank-you notes, backpacks and
movie tickets.
empower them to make positive changes at the facility. When she first
got to the center, she says, only 40% of cases started on time. By mak-
ing changes like keeping circulators in the OR before cases and show-
ing staff examples of how delays affect patients — like the elderly cou-
ple, hungry and anxious, in the waiting room — the staff has raised that
number to 80%.
And when the center's staff "gets caught getting it right," Ms. LeBrun
says that the facility makes sure to show its appreciation with anything
from thank-you cards to personalized video awards shown at quarterly
meetings.
While the staff is reporting increased satisfaction, so are patients.
After starting with patient satisfaction survey scores in the 30th per-
centile, Ms. LeBrun says the center's most recent results have them
placed in the 96th.
"It's just about empowering the people who are at the bedside with
the patients," she says. "I feel like I'm more of the support staff in a
way. They're the stakeholders and they know what it takes."
— Kendal Gapinski
