Inova Alexandria Hospital
Morrison Healthcare is uniquely geared to foster bold ideas and innovation in the food service management industry. Our culture fosters the ability of our associates to provide solutions that address your needs with speed, substance and a success rate that no one else in the industry can rival.
Inova Alexandria Hospital
The vision for Alexandria’s community hospital began in 1872 and it continues today as Inova Alexandria Hospital, a nationally recognized, 318-bed community hospital that offers a full range of healthcare services. During its rich 140-year history, the leadership of the acute-care, urban hospital in Alexandria, Va., has been dedicated to continually expanding programs and services to ensure the healthcare needs and expectations of the communities it serves are met.
Patients and family members consider everything from renowned physicians and compassionate nursing care to clean floors and good food when rating the overall quality and satisfaction with a hospital. As part of its focus on patient satisfaction feedback, Inova Alexandria leadership decided to change its food service delivery method from Dining on Call to Catering to You to best serve patient expectations. The experience Catering to You brings to patients is that of hotel-style personal attention.
Results
In 2013, Professional Research Consultants (PRC) reported Food and Nutrition patient satisfaction quarterly overall rankings ranged from 10.3 to 41.3 and the mean score ranged from 70.3 to 72.7. While comparing 2013 to 2014 has its challenges due to Inova’s change from PRC to Press Ganey, there is no denying rankings and scores improved considerably.
The year-to-date, fourth quarter Press Ganey ranking is 56 and the mean score is 83.1 for 2014. Over the four quarters of 2014, rankings ranged from 49 to 65 while mean scores ranged from 82.4 to 83.9.
Beyond improved rankings and scores, results included:
- The staff became owners patient satisfaction scores and the process. They are more engaged and proud to be a part of a team that strives to serve high-quality food and provide excellent service.
- Managers learned the importance of being on the line at each meal, rounding on patients as well as holding themselves and their teams accountable every meal at every touch point.
How success was achieved
- With full support of Inova leadership, the Inova employees who were engaged and understood the importance of complying with standards were training delivers provable improvements in patient satisfaction and HCAHPS scores. invited to join the Catering to You Morrison team.
This helped get the right staff (those who wanted to be there and create quality food) in the right places (assigned associates to units that fit their personalities).
- Training began by teaching expectations to managers and supervisors as well as culinary and catering associates. Training involved audits at all meals to look at recipe compliance, quality, taste and temperature and showing the management team what to look for and that it is expected to send food back that did not meet standards. Taking the extra time and effort proved to management and staff why it’s important to follow recipes and standards.
- Managers were expected to round on patients daily and patient visitation meetings were implemented to discuss patient and nursing feedback about recipes, which were changed if unsuccessful, and staff program compliance and follow up with patients.
- High achieving associates were recognized with movie tickets and meal vouchers to celebrate wins when and where they occurred as well as being recognized verbally at daily staff meetings.
- Issues and not meeting expectations were not allowed to go unaddressed. They were discussed at daily visitation meetings and weekly management meetings.
