Sodexho to improve hospital stay for patients

FM Staff

Given the choice between an open back hospital gown and a bathrobe, which would improve patientsatisfaction scores? Quite simply, the bathrobe.

With that in mind, Sodexho Health Care Services Division—North America will focus a new initiative on tactics that emphasize the ways individuals are treated; this includes patients, visitors as well as hospital staff.

Dubbed, Total Patient Experience this approach is currently being piloted in ten test sites among the company's 1,500 healthcare clients.

"We want to focus on empowered patient consumerism," says Tucker Schuldt, senior vice president of strategy and planning. "A patients experience begins when an individual leaves home and extends through food delivery, communication with nursing and nonclinical staff and family. It also involves followup at home with visits or phone calls. Hospitals aren't equipped to deal with the softer side of this business, yet patients compare us to retailers and restaurants when it comes to evaluating care."

Areas to be studied include room service, cleanliness, patient counseling, sensitivity training, and human resources hiring and training practices.

"Patients are the heart of everything we do, and our teams will be focused on the details that make a difference," said Schuldt. "We want to establish an environment that promotes healing."