When the Baptist DeSoto ED team decided to take a closer look at their rounding practices in 2016, they turned to the Studer Group’s coach-support-coach concept. Their goal was to improve a patient’s experience, as well as increase the team’s understanding and engagement.
Nearly two years later, the team received the Studer Group® Emergency Department of the Quarter award for achieving real results in patient satisfaction and employee engagement.
The team began by viewing patient rounding on many levels, focusing on quality, safety and immediate feedback. Not only did leadership provide feedback, the nurse manager began conducting monthly audits to help ensure the team understood the “why” behind their work. Eventually, the audits happened quarterly. Other key practice changes involved:
- The nurse manager and medical staff director conducted rounds to review quality and safety.
- The pair also visited with patients to evaluate the patient’s knowledge of their own care and their ability to identify the provider and care team.
- Weekly team work meetings with the director, nurse manager and the medical director to provide additional coaching and feedback on improvement opportunities for ED support staff.
Over time, a culture of servant leadership grew, leading the team to identify and remove barriers. Team members felt more engaged and looked for ways to improve. Real results include an increase in employee engagement from 3.99% to 4.33% and patient experience scores rose from 7% to 48% over one year.
Congratulations, Baptist DeSoto ED team!
