It's Always All About YOU . . .

When couples argue, the phrase, "It's always about YOU...  can sometimes be a hard reality check for the offending party.  Well, in our environment, that phrase, It's All About YOU, is our mantra.  It is where we, as a hospital, live and breathe.  Patient Centered Care is NOT just a meaningless saying for us.  It is not an advertising slogan.  Rather, it is the crux of a philosophy intended to change the way health care is delivered. 

When you enter our hospital, you should be greeted by our stakeholders.  If you are not sure where you are, they should not tell you, but will take you to your destination.  If you have a problem, they will listen and try to find you the answer. 

Patient Centered Care is about making you, the patient, the center of care.  It is not about the physician, nurse, tech or administrator being the center.  It is about YOU, the patient.  It is to be all directed toward you, All about YOU.

In order for this to be possible, the entire philosophy of most hospitals must be significantly altered.  How does this transformation begin?  It begins with compassion, commitment and an iron will to bend steel because the past is like a steel beam that runs through the very center of the medical structure. 

It is a commitment to direct every resource toward the patient; to stop tolerating employees who truly believe that it is all about them; to create an environment that demystifies health care, that focuses on healing modalities, and that creates a support system with only one goal, to improve the circumstances for YOU.

In the early days of our attempts to morph, we had physicians who, knowing full well that the patient was in distress, would simply leave for a long lunch, to work out, or just to relax in a break room.  I'm happy to report that the vast majority of those physicians are no long practicing here.

When we first began, we had employees who were just MEAN.  They were mean to our patients, their families and their peers.  The vast majority of those employees are gone as well.  We helped them find jobs at other hospitals.

If you or your loved one do not receive the respect, dignity or care that you expect or deserve, please tell ME because the buck does stop here.  We will deal with the person, the issue or the moment.  Remember that niceness is not weakness, and that we do not embrace bullying manifested in any circumstance.

Comments

[Mike]

I really think you stand by your words Mr. Jacobs. Windber must be a great place. Too bad many other CEO's of healthcare organizations just pay lip service to this philosophy and don't support the idea with actions. I don't suppose you could clone yourself, our organization's CEO just announced his retirement and the 1st chair is open.

[Tom]

Nick - Was there a grace period for docs, nurses and staff to adapt to the patient-centric norms and values? I've heard that adopting EHR systems often involves a similar "get with the program or find another job" approach to make written notes/verbal orders go away. Great blog, btw. Faithful reader. Tom