Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare | Health Scene | Fall 2018

A t Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare (GVMH), we want to make sure you feel safe and well cared for as a patient, which is why we want your feedback. After a stay at our hospital, either inpatient or outpatient, you may receive a phone call from Press Ganey, a professional organization that is conducting a patient satisfaction survey for GVMH. The survey results, which are confidential, help GVMH measure the experience of patients in order to pinpoint what we’re doing well and where we can improve, says Tina Jones, Director of Quality at GVMH. “This is an opportunity to help us be the best that we can be for you,” Jones says. The survey asks questions such as: ●  ● How well did your nurses and doctors communicate with you and respond to your needs? ●  ● Did they do a good job explaining your medications to you? ●  ● Was your room quiet and clean? ●  ● Were you treated with courtesy and respect? ●  ● Did you receive discharge instructions before you went home? ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE BETTER Hospitals around the country conduct patient satisfaction surveys, which are tied to Medicare reimbursements. (Better-performing hospitals are reimbursed better.) Gauging the patient experience, however, is also the right thing to do, Jones says. “We really do want to be the best place to get healthcare,” she says. “In order to do that, we have to continually ask ourselves how we can get better. The feedback you give us helps us identify where we need to focus our energy.” Jones says the surveys measure things that often matter to patients, like whether a doctor took time to explain things in a way that was easy to understand. She reviews the survey results weekly, as do other hospital leaders. If you include a comment with your survey, you can be sure she’ll see it. “I personally read every single comment,” Jones says. Quality care 2 HEALTH SCENE If you want to know more about hospice, ask your provider. You can also call Twin Lakes Hospice at 660-890-2014 or visit twinlakeshospice.com . SEAMLESS CARE ACROSS A LIFESPAN It made sense to team up with Twin Lakes to provide hospice care, says Craig Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at GVMH. It means that GVMH is able to care for people across their entire lifespan. “Twin Lakes has always provided great service and made access easy to the people who needed their care,”Thompson explains. “I believe that access to hospice will be more seamless now. And it is a more holistic approach to care because one organization is able to meet that patient’s needs regardless of the care setting.” The merger was a natural marriage,Thompson adds. Twin Lakes and GVMH serve the same area. And both nonprofits provide care regardless of ability to pay. The union helps ensure that Twin Lakes has access to any resources they may need to continue to provide great care. —Continued from front page What’s on your mind? Share your thoughts with us any time on our website. Go to gvmh.org/contact-us.aspx and click on “Send Us Feedback” under “Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare.” BETTER TOGETHER We’d love to hear about your stay