Illinois Medicine

QA 5 QUESTIONS John DeNardo '71, MS '74, MPH, FACHE, became CEO of the University of Illinois Medical Center 11 years ago after a long career at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. DeNardo shares his thoughts on patient satisfaction, including his reactions to the most recent survey of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, conducted by the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which gave high marks to the Medical Center. 1 The CMS survey shows that 89 percent of patients rated their overall satisfaction at the medical center at least 7 out of 10— and 58 percent answered either 9 or 10. Why do you think that is? Patients need to feel comfortable where they go for care. Our staff reflects the communities we serve. We have a large population of Spanish-speaking patients and a significant number of Spanish-speaking staff. Even before HCAHPS, we did our own patient satisfaction surveys. We ask, 'Why did you choose us for care?' The No. 1 reason has always been, 'Because of your physicians.' 2 Indeed, the survey showed that 82 percent of patients at the medical center said their doctors always communicated well—higher than Rush, Northwestern, University of Chicago and Loyola. How do you ensure that? It's part of the fabric of our culture. A major focus of the medical center is the education of the next generation of health care workers. In the pursuit of learning, there tends to be a lot more communication with patients and their families, about their illnesses, and about how to provide the very best care. 3 When there is dissatisfaction, how do you respond? We have an initiative, started under our patient safety program, in which we, the medical staff, monitor patient complaints against any staff member, including physicians and nurses. When necessary, proactive interventions are taken. The physicians and nurses have really welcomed this. For example, if there's a clear-cut case of medical error, we tell the patient immediately. When you start to take a look at reporting of unsafe conditions, or near-misses, you can quickly see where other improvements are necessary. 4 How has the current economic climate affected patient care? There's no doubt that resources are tightening. We're going to need to be a lot more efficient in how we deliver services. We are reviewing the entire continuum of care as well as the support provided by our administrative departments. We're looking at 'How do we order supplies, from where do we order, how many of these things are we stocking? Can we consolidate purchases or consolidate vendors?' Some of the money and the resources that you squeeze out of these allow you to reinvest in patient care activities. 5 How do you work to empower nursing and other staff? We are on a journey toward 'magnet' status for nursing. It involves empowering staff to do what's best for patients. On a monthly basis, we recognize staff members who are singled out by fellow employees or by patients and their families for outstanding efforts toward patient care. At one recent awards ceremony, we highlighted a daughter who wrote about her 82-year-old mother and her experience in our neurosurgery ICU. Until she met Pam, the daughter met many different nurses. She said that when she met Pam, she could go home and sleep well because she knew her mother was in good hands. That's the kind of thing you don't achieve through cost savings or process improvements—that's achieved through cultural improvements that value the patient and the family as people. 40 | WINT ER 2 011 PHOTO: KATIE MARCHETTI

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