Freeman Health System
Located in Joplin, Missouri, Freeman Health System is a 485-bed, three-hospital organization providing comprehensive healthcare to an area that includes more than 450,000 from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The not-for-profit health system is composed acute-care and critical access facilities: Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital, and Ozark Center, a behavioral health division.
Since the May 22, 2011 tornado, Freeman has enhanced its services and opened new facilities to stay ahead of community needs. Throughout the health system, beds have been added, services have been expanded, new technology has been installed, and programs have been established to meet the increasing demand for excellence in healthcare.
In the fall of 2014, Freeman Health System’s administrators agreed something different had to be done to improve patient satisfaction but were still guarded about implementing change across the system at one time. So, the Morrison team of six managers overhauled the system and implemented it on one floor every two weeks.
Boost Patient Satisfaction
Morrison Healthcare is uniquely geared to foster bold ideas and innovation in the food service management industry. Our culture fosters the ability of our associates to provide solutions that address your needs with speed, substance and a success rate that no one else in the industry can rival.
How success was achieved
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CBORD’s patient meal ordering solutions worked for both Dining on Call and Catering to You programs. The system enables clinically based hospital room service that improves patient, guest and employee satisfaction as well as reduction in overall cost.
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Tablets were provided to the catering associates for discussing individual meal orders at the patient’s bedside.
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Tray Monitor software also was used to help the nurses know when trays were to be delivered.
Rounding
Rounding also was key to success. Leaders effectively rounded every day enabling good nursing and patient outcomes. Catering associates stayed on the floors except for breaks and lunch to round between meals and meet patients’ needs for snacks, tea, coffee, etc. Other important keys to success were:
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Reinforced a consistent, easy to understand message daily. -
Trimmed the team down to one operator.
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Identified ambassadors across the health system.
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Dedicated food runners.
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Service excellence was recognized at meetings.
Results
In October 2014, Healthstream ranked patient satisfaction with food services in the 7th percentile.
A positive response to the new program from the nursing team and patients was immediate and impactful. Patient satisfaction rocketed to the 50th percentile in 60 days by December 2014. Excitement around the changes caught on like wildfire, and food services personnel received the first patient satisfaction incentive in three years. Front line staff have embraced accountability for the satisfaction on their floors.
As of March 2015, patient satisfaction had again climbed to the 66th percentile.
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