Lodi Community Hospital - Lodi, Ohio

Compass Award Winner: Outpatient Services Greater Than 75,000 Procedures

Lodi Community Hospital, a member of Akron General Health System, is a fully accredited,  25-bed critical access hospital located in rural Medina County, Ohio.

Personalized patient care has always been a service hallmark of Lodi Community Hospital. However, it was important to form a lasting foundation upon which our organization could successfully cultivate service excellence. Creating a true culture of patient satisfaction was a key focus that led to continued improvement in patient satisfaction scores.

Employee Engagement Initiatives—Sending staff members to Press Ganey Regional Workshops is a technique used by the administration to engage, reward, and educate team members. The GREAT program, an employee-driven recognition program, acknowledges staff members who have displayed service excellence.

Communication Initiatives —Scripting is a focused initiative of our Service Excellence class. The importance of key communication is emphasized to help enhance the overall patient experience. Press Ganey surveys are reviewed monthly by the Service Improvement Team, management, and staff. Service Recovery calls are made when necessary to determine areas for improvement. In addition, quarterly senior management rounding was implemented to allow staff to share what’s working and what’s not in each area, and to identify patient safety issues.

Convenient, Coordinated Care Initiatives—Hospitals, no matter the size, can seem vast and confusing to patients requiring testing or treatment, which is why convenient, coordinated care has become a focus of Lodi Community Hospital. Expanded hours and flexible scheduling in Radiology provides the necessary convenience our patients prefer. Sharing best practices among technologists allowed for increased patient comfort during lab draw procedures. Pre-registration, including obtaining insurance eligibility and verifying medical necessity, was implemented for all scheduled outpatients to help improve the speed and efficiency of the registration process.

The improvement efforts that have been applied to create a culture of excellence in patient satisfaction are truly investments that yield long-term results for our patients and our community. From a volume standpoint, overall outpatient growth has experienced a 6.9% increase between 2007 and 2008. Individually, Radiology services has averaged a 4.8% increase, the Lab has experienced a 10% increase, and Physical and Occupational Therapy has achieved a 10.7% growth in volume. From a public  image standpoint, Lodi Community Hospital  is gaining forward momentum every year.  Press Ganey surveys continue to offer testimonials of support and appreciation for all the renovations and improvements, and declarations of newly discovered loyalty to the hospital. Employee satisfaction, as measured through a survey every two years, has also increased as a result of the initiatives, and pride in our organization is evident at all levels. Each of these cultural, communication, and coordinated care initiatives has propelled our hospital along its journey.