Quest For Excellence

Happy Patients, Staff Focus of Service Initiative
Employee-driven project overhauls customer service, improves patient satisfaction

It’s a simple notion: Happy employees mean better customer service. Better customer service means happier patients.

Knowing that customer service is just as much a part of a hospital stay as medical care, the staff at Baltimore Washington Medical Center have embarked on a “Quest for Excellence” – a campus-wide initiative to achieve the best patient experience.

“Hospitalization is a significant event in a person’s life,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Office Karen Olscamp. “Along with quality healthcare, we want to provide stellar customer service. When you walk in the door, expect to be greeted with a smile. When you need help finding an office, expect a medical center associate to guide the way. People should expect the best from their visit.”

Quest for Excellence is employee-driven, meaning BWMC employees make, review and approve service suggestions. Throughout the past year, employees have laid the framework for the initiative, assembling teams, establishing goals, holding leadership seminars and introducing employees to the new way of doing things. Guiding employees are the newly established standards of excellence: attitude, appearance, accountability, communication, courtesy, privacy, safety and teamwork.

“We’ve always valued customer service here, but now, it has a constant place in our every day routines,” Olscamp said. “We want to live by the basic rule that every interaction with a patient or visitor be friendly and helpful.”

Some of the significant changes under Quest include:

• Valet parking for all patients and guests.
• Peer Recognition In Developing Excellence (PRIDE) – a new employee recognition program.
• BWMC staff members greet and escort patients and visitors.
• Standards of excellence used to select job candidates.
  
  

More Quest changes are on the horizon, as the initiative will continue indefinitely.