Gulf Breeze Hospital, a Baptist Health Care facility, is honored to be named a Press Ganey Summit Award recipient for patient satisfaction in the Inpatient, Emergency Department, and Ambulatory Surgery categories for the second consecutive year. Baptist Health Care’s tried and true methods of consistent customer-centered service has been the foundation for our award-winning survey results. However, we must continually seek avenues to improve our practices since what was once thought to be exceptional is now expected by our customers.

Gulf Breeze Hospital was built on a commitment to the community, and our team was built based on picking the best team members. The peer interview process is a continued best practice in our organization. The team is directly involved in the selection of new members who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that strengthens our ranks. In looking at our new hire processes, we found that our employee orientation program needed to be revisited. While we wanted to make sure new team members were getting the mandatory orientation and a taste of our culture, we also wanted to expedite the process and incorporate more leader interaction.

Components of the orientation were reevaluated and the schedule itself was realigned for better impact and interaction. The two eight-hour days of orientation were reduced to one five-and-a-half-hour day and one four-hour day. These efforts helped get new team members on board and into their jobs while they are enthusiastic about embracing our culture.

Because communication is of critical importance, it is one of our established standards of performance. After seeing note pads in patient rooms at another hospital, a Gulf Breeze Hospital nurse shared the idea with our satisfaction team and it was incorporated into an overall initiative called “JOT: Join Our Team.” A contest was held challenging staff to create a script to use with patients and their family members describing the intent of the JOT pad. Staff use the winning script daily and it is printed at the bottom of the pads—“Your thoughts and questions are important to us. We encourage you to use this pad to JOT them down. When you share information with the staff or your doctor, you Join Our Team to help assure that you receive the best possible care.” The bright yellow JOT pad is placed in patient rooms along with an ink pen. When a nurse or doctor enters a patient room they know to look for the pad to see if the patient has written a question or concern that needs to be addressed. The idea has blossomed and the pads were deployed into other departments.

Whether it is a shorter, more meaningful orientation for staff, or the simple act of providing a note pad at the bedside, our cultural focus on patient satisfaction has been the binding thread of our success. Patient satisfaction is also why many choose to receive care here, as well as those who want to affiliate their services and reputations with the integrity and commitment of an organization that puts first what is right for the customer.