Bay Park Community Hospital - Oregon, OH

Compass Award Winner: Physician Partnership

Bay Park Community Hospital is a 70-bed, suburban, not-for-profit facility that is part of the ProMedica Health System

Bay Park Community Hospital focused on communication and collaboration with the physicians.

We held three separate focus groups with physicians to discuss the top three areas identified as opportunities—physician communication and collaboration; responsiveness and communication with hospital administration, including emphasis on strategic planning; and ease of practice, including quality of care.

The president obtained feedback from medical staff leadership related to the strategic plan and specific goals for Bay Park. Having a president who was available and engaged with medical staff played a significant role in the positive movement of our physician satisfaction results.

Additionally, we created a workable action plan and provided updates to the medical staff at department meetings. The plan was then modified to accommodate the feedback. The action plan was a major focus of the president and his administrative team as well as the medical staff leadership.

• Provided web access to our physicians and email to all medical staff leadership to enhance communication
• Established agenda-setting meetings with medical staff leadership, the president, and medical staff office to discuss agenda items, action plan updates, etc.
• Action plan updates were a standing agenda item at all medical staff meetings in order to keep the focus on improvement opportunities
• The president maintained an open-door policy for ongoing concerns or suggestions, and met one-on-one with physicians
• The medical staff office sent out reminders about upcoming medical staff meetings to section chiefs and department chairs
• The president and the vice presidents made office visits to provide updates to physicians and to seek feedback on improvement initiatives
• A phone triage system—1-PROMEDICA—was instituted for all direct admits, which allowed for direct communication and easier access to care.