Madigan Army Medical Center staff received accolades for their efforts to improve the inpatient experience at a ceremony on Nov. 18 at Letterman Auditorium, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
I Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza thanked a cross-section of clinical and administrative staff for their commitment to integrate patients' feedback into real changes, which resulted in five consecutive quarters of improvement as shown through the Tricare Inpatient Satisfaction Survey.
Lanza also recognized Staff Sgt. David Nagle, Madigan's simulation training center noncommissioned officer in charge, for competing at the U.S. Medical Command level's Best Medic competition. The general said Nagle is "indicative of the caliber of noncommissioned officers that we have in the hospital."
The caliber of the hospital at large is shown in the way that staff throughout Madigan partner and share with each other.
"The greatness of this hospital is how this team works together," said Lanza.
In fact, Madigan is one of the top five performing hospitals in the Army, and is above the national average with inpatient satisfaction as seen through TRISS scores.
"TRISS will tell us what we're doing right and where we can do better. (It gives us) the voice of the patient telling us what's important to them and where we can make their stay, their care, the care of their loved ones better," said Col. Tracy Baker, Madigan's deputy commander for inpatient services.
To tackle improving the inpatient experience, staff formed a multidisciplinary working group to implement hourly rounding, use consistent medical language across team members, conduct patient advocate rounding, provide single rooms for new moms, keep inpatient floors quieter at night, upgrade food services, and provide clearer patient education.
Patient feedback provided the direction for these efforts.
"That's why it's so invaluable when they fill out the survey to begin with and if they have any verbatim comments that give us further insight into areas we can improve on," said Baker.
Although the hospital has continuously improved for more than a year, they're not going to rest now.
"Our aim is to be not only the best in MEDCOM but one of the best hospitals in the nation, and we won't stop until we are," said Baker.
Multidisciplinary team members recognized by Lanza include Lt. Col. Tanya Foster, Maj. Brian O'Reilly, Maj. Kristine Lynn Hannah, Maj. Anthony Pansoy, Dr. Katelynn Blume, Dr. Michael Braun, Janice Daniels, Carole Lail, and Jeremy O'Bryan.
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