Archive for July, 2012

Improving the Patient Care Experience

Mike Esterday and Harriet Butler of Integrity Solutions, LLC, a solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, on improving the patient experience and increasing employee engagement. Interview with: Mike Esterday, Chief Executive Officer, and Harriet Butler, Executive Vice President, Integrity Healthcare Solutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In today’s uncertain healthcare environment, most hospital CEOs realize the importance of having a strong service culture, according to Mike Esterday, Chief Executive Officer and Harriet Butler, Executive Vice President, Integrity Healthcare Solutions. However, the challenge for many is understanding how to engage the hearts and minds of employees to support this goal.

From a solution provider company attending the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, in Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, Esterday and Butler talk about how improving the patient experience and increasing employee engagement impacts the bottom line.

What are hospital CEOs concerned about today?

Mike Esterday: There is a lot of uncertainty as to what will happen with increased federal regulations, the possibility of reimbursement cutbacks and how that will impact the quality of care hospitals will be able to provide. It is critical that hospitals achieve certain standards, including a positive patient experience. Moving forward, Pay for Performance will be impacted by HCAHPS scores.

How can they improve the patient experience?

Mike Esterday: Research has shown that in order to improve patient satisfaction, you must improve employee satisfaction, yet many organizations overlook the importance of this part of the equation. Our strength is a unique learning process that translates knowledge of service and coaching skills into new behaviors. It is not only what people know that counts, but what they do. 

Harriet Butler: We place a strong emphasis on the importance of attitudes, motives and values in addition to service skills. Customer service is doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do for patients, families and each other.

How do you identify the gaps that need to be addressed?

Harriet Butler: We often begin with a service culture inventory to capture employees’ perception of elements that support engagement and impact the patient’s perception of care. These findings provide valuable insights as to opportunities for improvement.

For example, it is not uncommon to learn that employees do not feel their managers show appreciation for the work they do, so we help leaders understand how recognition impacts engagement and retention of top performers. This may relate to a formal recognition program, but it is often a matter of taking the time to say thank you or show appreciation for a job well done.

What helps hospital employees feel engaged?

Mike Esterday: We begin by working with hospital leaders to understand their role in creating a strong service culture. This requires leading by example, supportive coaching, and building a culture of accountability. Everyone has to understand how their job impacts the patient experience, which reconnects people to their purpose in the organization.

Also, many employees do not realize that customer service is not just about how they treat patients but also how they treat each other. It is only by valuing each other that they will be able to create an environment that supports a positive patient care experience.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Stonebriar, Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on physician alignment strategies, perfecting the ACO model, improving patient satisfaction and experience, cost-containment case studies, the future of the US healthcare system and much more.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Integrity Healthcare Solutions

Integrity Healthcare has partnered with over 150 healthcare organizations to improve the patient experience and employee engagement. A variety of resources support these objectives – a comprehensive leader/manager development curriculum, service cultural surveys and a unique service training process that engages the hearts and minds of all employees. Results include higher patient, employee and physician satisfaction, stronger accountability and increased retention.

www.integrityhealthcaresolutions.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

Making the Facility Part of the Solution in the Healthcare Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For many years now, healthcare organizations have tried to find efficiencies in their supply chain and staff, but most have not considered the facility as part of the solution, according to R. Wayne Estopinal, AIA, ACHA, LEEDAP, President, TEG Architects, The Estopinal Group. The good news is that it is not necessary to build a new facility to achieve the efficiency and productivity gains that TEG Architects considers possible.

A solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, in Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, Estopinal discusses how better designed healthcare facilities can be the answer the industry has been looking for.

How can healthcare facilities become more profitable?

Maintaining profitability, in spite of declining margins, is the biggest issue in the industry today. In our opinion, the only way that healthcare facilities can achieve the patient outcome, staff productivity, efficiency, to satisfy reimbursement metrics, is by utilizing innovative planning and design strategies, and letting facilities become part of the solution. This is a new weapon for successful and dynamic healthcare providers, titled Efficient Design+Productive Care, at TEG planning and design strategy.

What innovative strategies could you share?

We have conducted many years of evidence-based design, research looking at how facilities can add efficiency, and planning and design with innovative clinical solutions coupled with facility metrics to reduce your staffing costs for decades to come. Understanding how a hospital’s clinical utilization fluctuates throughout the day and year, we identify opportunities for more efficient departmental designs and adjacencies of departments which are supportive and in many cases diametrically different in functions. Designing departments for their peak capacity is unnecessary, if the same space can be used for different purposes at different parts of the day.
 
Healthcare construction in the US costs USD 300-600 per square foot. That is capital that does not need to be poured into bricks and mortar or inefficient designs that cause you to spend more on staffing that would be required utilizing TEG’s Efficient Design+Productive Care Strategies.

Another way is looking at how departments function and flow, and identifying how staff can be cross-utilized, how adjacencies can improve patient care and outcomes and how clinical capacities can be increased while staffing remains the same or is reduced. Our time and motion studies of multiple hospitals has found that staff spend only 30 per cent of their time on patient care, the rest going on moving between locations and getting the materials they need to provide care. Hospitals must improve on this, but most do not consider the facility as being integral to achieving efficiency and productivity.

If building a new department or building is not an option, can this be achieved easily by reorganizing and renovating an existing facility?

Yes, building a new hospital is not the only way of changing how care is delivered. We have proven that hospitals can achieve a similar impact on the metrics of their clinical departments by implementing these strategies with a clinically-proficient designer during renovations and expansions.

Any final words of wisdom?

The dynamic changes in the healthcare industry must be incorporated into facility planning and design, that must be patterned upon a strategy of efficient design and productive care in every project, regardless of size. Facilities have to be part of the answer and not ignored; approaching healthcare planning and design as it has been performed for 40 years is not the answer. Efficient Design+Productive Care offers you a better way, today.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Stonebriar, Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on physician alignment strategies, perfecting the ACO model, improving patient satisfaction and experience, cost-containment case studies, the future of the US healthcare system and much more.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About TEG Architects / The Estopinal Group 

TEG Architects offers an opportunity to learn a dynamic and innovative approach to healthcare planning and design.  TEG’s studios of planners, architects, engineers, interior designers and illustrators offer our clients over 23 years of intense worldwide healthcare experience.  Our staff of 60 highly collaborative professionals and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our innovative facility solutions.

www.theestopinalgroup.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

The Role of Integration in the Healthcare Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Today’s healthcare leaders should not underestimate the value of their hospital’s brand and connecting employees with it,” advises Jon Headlee, President and CEO, Ten Adams, a healthcare brand and marketing company. “In many organizations, there are huge gaps between their brand promise and the people, who are the culture of the organization,” he adds. 

Discussing the growing importance of reinforcing brand consistency between a healthcare organization’s core promise to the market and the focus of the people who bring it to life through their actions, at the upcoming marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, in Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, Headlee highlights the vital role that middle managers play and why integration between strategy, culture and marketing is crucial for a healthcare organization’s success.

What is missing in the healthcare industry today?

Too often healthcare is delivered in silos without the benefit of a shared vision which unites the organization. Healthcare is an extremely complex business and without integration between strategy, culture and marketing initiatives the best-laid strategic plans fail for the lack of reinforcing consistency between senior leadership’s direction, the day-to-day focus of the people who are the organization, and the core promise and messaging which defines the organization in the eyes of its customers and stakeholders.

How would this help the bottom line?

Power comes from visionary leadership committed to building a quality work environment that aligns employees’ best efforts in support of solid business strategy. An engaged workforce focused on continually improving business activities is a powerful combination. The result is an energized and empowered staff and a true competitive advantage that cannot easily be replicated or copied. In this way, integration of and the reinforcing nature of strategy, culture and marketing truly do build strong brands and drive greater business results.

What additional demands will the prospect of healthcare reform place on healthcare organizations?

Our nation’s healthcare system is at a critical crossroads. Unsustainable growth in healthcare costs poses a serious threat to our national fiscal integrity. The current fee-for-service payment system undermines healthcare providers’ efforts to invest in new approaches to raising the “value” of healthcare.

Accountable Care Organizations are being recognized as a promising new payment model that could successfully start to reward substantive improvements in the efficiency of care delivery while bending the cost curve through the distribution of shared savings. Whether it comes through federal reform efforts or the responsible actions of forward-sighted healthcare organizations, the answer lies in new, patient-centered methods of care which foster, enable and reward clinical integration across a patient’s lifetime. The old hierarchical ways simply do not support the new levels of care that payers expect healthcare organizations to deliver. As clinical integration becomes more of an economic necessary, healthcare organizations must work to develop new interconnecting, reinforcing relationships with and among staff members and stakeholders.

Healthcare organizations working with Ten Adams benefit significantly from integration between staff, physicians and their brand promise. Integration has a direct, reinforcing impact on care delivery, strengthens competitive positioning, and improves market leverage. A distinctive and powerful brand promise is critical in creating new relationships that will help prepare healthcare organizations to lead the industry’s transition from a volume-driven orientation to a value-focused model of improving health status within the populations they serve.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Stonebriar, Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on physician alignment strategies, perfecting the ACO model, improving patient satisfaction and experience, cost-containment case studies, the future of the US healthcare system and much more.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Ten Adams

Ten Adams is a strategic healthcare partner whose sole purpose is to help hospitals build strong brands from the inside out to offer positively remarkable experiences for patients, staff and the public. Unlike traditional advertising agencies, Ten Adams succeeds in this realm by implementing strategies born of a deep understanding of the entire organization—from strategy to culture to marketing.

For more information, please visit: www.tenadams.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

The Details that Make a LTC Facility a Success

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Moving to a long-term care (LTC) facility is a big change for a senior, says Jane Ganz, ASID Founder & President, Directions in Design, Inc. A facility that looks like a resort yet feels like a home is likely to stand the test of time, however, there are many architectural and design details that make a real difference to a senior’s life and should not be disregarded, she adds.

From an award winning interior design company attending the upcoming marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, in Weston, Florida, July 16-17, Ganz talks about strategies to improve architectural and design details that LTC facilities are lacking in today.

What is missing from LTC facilities today?

One of the biggest things that is missing from facilities today is good lighting. This is such a critical element, as good lighting helps create a friendly and safe environment. Dim lighting is a safety hazard and depressing, especially for seniors with failing eyesight, while bright lighting is unpleasant and too hospital like.

Color is also critical, as it affects the seniors’ wellbeing. Some facilities are so greyed, dull and depressing that they look more like an office building. This is a different environment. Vibrant colors can help keep the seniors’ eyes and emotions more inspired.

We also focus on easy flow and accessibility to meet the needs of the residents, as many of them have mobility issues. It is also important to make it easy for the staff to service the residents.

What design solutions stand the test of time?

A facility that looks like a resort yet feels like a home is likely to stand the test of time. Sometimes seniors want the resort look, but it should still feel like a home they might have moved out of or a home that they would have liked to have lived in. It is important to enhance the facility with architectural details in order to create the type of environment that the residents feel comfortable with, without being too trendy or technologically sophisticated.

How does this help LTC organizations maximize the reimbursement for their services?

Reimbursement is increased by the type of clientele that they are able to attract to their facility. A well designed facility will also attract better staff and create programs that can be offered to provide more variety and interest for the residents.

Staff will feel motivated when they see that the owners care enough about their residents to create a beautiful and warm environment. The entire community responds more positively to a well designed environment, which ultimately impacts the bottom line of the facility.

Any final thoughts?

I have met facility owners who are extremely friendly and caring with residents. They know their names, and ask about their grandchildren or pets. This makes a huge difference in this industry, and should be extended beyond key staff. This is unrelated to the design of the facility, but from my experience, I feel it is missing from many LTC facilities today.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure, Weston, Florida, July 16-17, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on the Health Care Reform, innovative quality improvement, and staff recruitment and retention strategies.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal 

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Directions in Design, Inc.

Directions In Design, Inc. founded in 1975, is a comprehensive interior design firm working nationally and internationally with specialization in Senior Living and Healthcare facilities. The WBE and DWBE Certified firm’s project base is built on extensive repeat business and a strong client referral network. DID, Inc. consistently earns awards for excellence, including recognition by Forbes Magazine as Missouri’s Leading Design Firm.

www.didstl.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

Turning the Rehab Department into a Profit Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Many rehabilitation departments in long-term care facilities today do not have the resources to properly comply to regulations, but the financial consequences of not doing so are greater than they have ever been, says Mike Capstick, Executive Vice President, Select Rehabilitation. “Although the rehab department is small in many facilities, it should be a large profit center,” he adds.

From a solution provider company at the upcoming marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, in Weston, Florida, July 16-17, Capstick highlights the benefits of outsourcing the entire therapy department, including the staff recruitment, training and day to day operational management.

What do facility directors overlook in the rehab department?

They tend to overlook the amount of time and resources it takes to actively run a rehab department in a facility. The level of talent that is required has increased dramatically over the last year, but staff training has not been consistent. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has also not been very clear with its regulations.

Many long-term care facilities do not have the resources, time or staff, to properly obtain, track and monitor new regulations. Yet the financial impact of not being current can be devastating. 

How can they maximize the reimbursement for their services?

This is about forming the right partnerships, with a vendor or consultant, who will make sure that your staff has the training and resources needed to stay current in the business. Although the rehab department is small in many facilities, it should be a large profit center. Some facilities may be so focused on cost control, that they miss out on the revenue generating opportunities.

Why can’t the recruitment and training of rehab staff be done in-house?

There is a significant shortage of therapists in general. In addition, finding therapists who are competent in all of the latest regulatory and reimbursement issues within the long-term care industry is a tremendous challenge.

With all the changes that are taking place, many therapists do not want to manage programs. Without a strong, competent manager, it is difficult to achieve a profitable rehab department.

Having all the different kinds of therapists in-house all day is also a cash drain, even for a large facility, so the best solution is to have partners moving the programs forward, training staff and following up on every patient to ensure clinical needs are being met, while also keeping abreast of all of the regulatory issues coming up.

Finding therapy staff requires much more than an advertisement in the paper or the services of a professional recruiter, who would just be providing a short-term fix to a long-term problem. It requires constant training and oversight to ensure compliance once they are hired. 

Any final comments?

Focus on the future, two to four years down the road, where I believe that managed Medicare will be the path we end up taking.

Those who plan, educate and invest from today will be better positioned financially and educationally to meet their community’s needs and to prosper in the future.
 

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure, Weston, Florida, July 16-17, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on the Health Care Reform, innovative quality improvement, and staff recruitment and retention strategies.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal 

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Select Rehabilitation

Select Rehabilitation provides comprehensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy services to patients in a variety of settings including skilled nursing facilities, continuing care retirement centers, acute care hospitals, and outpatient clinics.  Emphasis is placed on patient focused, outcome driven services that allow patients to achieve their greatest recovery potential and maintain quality of life.

www.selectrehab.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

Adding Value to Long-Term Care Facilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Many long-term care (LTC) facilities today are outdated and do not serve the needs of their residents and caregivers, according to Lisa M. Cini, President, Mosaic Design Studio. However, not many of those designing or renovating such facilities have the background in healthcare that is required to arrive at the ideal design solution, Cini adds.

From a solution provider company at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, in Weston, Florida, July 16-17, Cini talks about maximizing reimbursement and how to improve a LTC facility’s bottom line.

Maximizing reimbursement is a major priority in this industry. How can LTC facilities improve their bottom line?

We understand that reimbursement is a critical factor in this industry. We have previously been in-house and know that projects have to finish on time as every day that a room cannot be rented is a day without any income. We also know what it means to live with the repercussions of a designer choosing a low-quality material or coming up with a layout that does not work nor flow and creates extra work for the organization.

Many LTC facilities today are outdated. With paperless charting, they may be able to gain more resident rooms or convert some space into a short-term rehab, outpatient rehab or hospice. All of this translates into more revenue and gravitating into areas that are getting reimbursed the highest rates. Design should be more about adding value than just re-decorating. We have grown up in a community where it is all about the lowest bid with clients suffering the results of bad decisions and we have created a better solution to deliver the best results economically.

What are the Baby Boomers looking for?

The Baby Boomers are looking for a country club feel. Instead of the old school assisted or senior living facility where everyone dined together at a certain time, they now want multiple dining and activity options like a country club. It is quite similar to a cruise ship, but instead we have treated it like an institution. Cruise ships understand the thinking behind having multiple venues for entertainment and dining. The more they leverage the space they have and create engagement opportunities, the more bookings they get. The facility obviously needs to have great caregivers, but this physical part makes a big difference to the Baby Boom generation. They want to live life to the fullest.

Where do you see the future of this industry?

I think we have just touched the surface of what home health care can do for LTC, and how to properly leverage that. Most seniors today are engaged in their health care. They are doing their research, monitoring or tracking their cholesterol or sugar levels, and getting second opinions. Unless we further engage this generation, there is going to be a disconnect soon.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure, Weston, Florida, July 16-17, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on the Health Care Reform, innovative quality improvement, and staff recruitment and retention strategies.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal 

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Mosaic Design Studio

Mosaic’s mission is to improve quality of life through design! Award winning and nationally recognized, Mosaic Design Studio specializes in Senior Living environments: Independent, Assisted, Memory Care, Skilled and Short-term Rehab in the USA and Canada. Mosaic provides turnkey design, procurement and interior renovation solutions. Mosaic’s design and implementation approach helps to foster innovative and cost/time sensitive approaches to design and product solutions.

www.mosaicdesignstudio.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com