At the Becker's Hospital Review 5th Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 16, L. Keith Granger, CEO of Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., shared how his hospital leaped from middle of the road HCAHPS scores to the top ranked its market.
Improving performance that translates into higher HCAHPS scores begins with what a hospital's leadership aims to achieve and how these goals appear to physicians, nurses and staff. Creating a culture of caring and high expectations that employees can embrace is key. "They need to buy into the vision and passion or you will never succeed," he said. "Win the hearts of your team."
In 2009, Trinity Medical Center had an HCAHPS score of 70 percent, but by 2013 the medical center was outperforming every other hospital in the market. Mr. Granger recommended three core steps to take:
• Build a shared vision and expect 100 percent performance
• Create a culture linking performance to purpose
• Establish a concurrent review process
The push for internal improvement not only radically boosted the medical center's HCAHPS scores, but also triggered change in the hospital's culture. Physician and employee satisfaction rose drastically as infection rates plummeted.
All of Mr. Granger's efforts have taken place as the hospital prepares to move to a new multimillion-dollar facility. The changes did not require a major financial commitment, but rather a galvanic effort by each member of the staff. "It is about building an internal product at the bedside," said Mr. Granger. "The new building will only be the home of the product we are building today."
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