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Heartland Health President and CEO, Dr. Mark Laney, responds to suggestions/comments submitted by the community.
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I went again today for a blood transfusion and again may I say that my sister (who takes me) and I were treated royally. The four gals that regularly work in this department are four of the best!!! Kristy, Christi, Robyn and Kim are four of the most caring and compassionate gals in your hospital. I have to go for transfusions sometimes every 3 or 4 weeks and these are the type people who make me feel like I don't have to dread it...THANK GOD FOR GALS LIKE THESE and you should wish that you had more like them!!!!!!!
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This is excellent to hear! Our caregivers work very hard to make your stay with Heartland comfortable and as pain-free as possible. Thank you very much for your feedback.
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Dr. Laney, I am commenting on the advertisement which features you speaking on the Baldridge Award.
It speaks volumes to hear you admit that prior to coming to St. Joseph you had no knowledge of the Baldridge award. Which is more disturbing? The Heartland group hired someone with so little experience that they did know about this much ballyhooed achievement? The much ballyhooed achievement being perhaps not such a big deal, and you are justified in not knowing about the Baldridge?
I would like to have a choice in my health care. I would like to be able to find a doctor who does not use Heartland for their billing. I would like to see Heartland fulfill their commitment to the community and get moving on the development of the old hospital property, or to sell it to someone who will. I want healthy competition for health dollars in my community. I want to live in a city where our health costs are not higher than every other surrounding community.
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I'm sorry you feel this way. I am interested in knowing how we can work together to make St. Joseph a better place to live. I have a vested interest in making St. Joseph a strong, healthy community. My background as a physician and physician leader did not introduce me to the Baldrige Award in my day-to-day activities. That does not mean that it's not a worthy accomplishment or that I do not have the experience to lead other people. When I applied for the CEO position at Heartland, I was blown away by what they were doing in the community and the region. The Baldrige Award and the Foster McGaw Prize are third-party recognition for the great work that Heartland is doing in this area.
But, like I said before, this is just the beginning. I believe that my vision and goals for Heartland will address many of the issues that a small contingent of people in the community have with Heartland. I was hoping we can work together to ensure that St. Joseph remains strong and viable. I believe Heartland Health plays a vital part in that process.
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I would like to call to your attention patient Opal Meers in room3112. She had bypass one week ago last Monday. On her first day post op she was moved from icu to overflow and spent the whole day in a chair untill she found a room at 7:30 that evening. She did not have the leg massage appartus on her at that time. (not plugged in) after getting a bed, she began to suffer from dirrea and seemed disoriented. From the first assessment she did not seem to oriend well. She continued to have bowel problems and disorientation. All other progress was going well except for the "fuzzyness and dirrea. On Friday, she suffered a stroke and has been extremly disoriented since then (she gets better then fades). On Saturday, someone finally decided to culture her stool and she is suffering from cdiff. (this was asked about by me on the third morning).
I believe that the staff has been kind and competent but I believe that my mother has suffered from a lack of communication between menbers. The stroke probably would have happened regardless but, I think her recovery has been significantly affected by the lack of coordination of services that she has recieved. She is currently in isolation for the cidff and is waiting to establish her cumadin levels so that she can go to a skilled care facility. I of course wish none of this could have happened but, I hope no other patient will suffer the calmity of events that have frustrated my family
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| Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I am sorry for your frustration. I want to make sure we’re providing a good patient experience. I have forwarded your concern to our Patient Advocate Audrey Shandley (816) 271-7391. Audrey will look into the situation and will follow–up with you.
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I had the misfortune of having a compression fracture in the lumbar section of my spine. In terrible pain I came to the ER three times before I could convince someone to admit me. It was a terrible several days for me. Please restructure your ER. I have heard of several instances from friends like this. After I finally was admitted, I had excellent care. Thank you for listening.
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Lou just sent me an observation about our Emergency Room (ER). I appreciate Lou taking the time to visit my blog and post a comment. It reminded me to share my future goals with you. I talked about my goals with Heartland Health's senior leaders earlier this week and want to include the community in the discussion and the continuous efforts to keep the organization moving forward. The ER staff has done an exceptional job of working on issues aimed at improving the patient experience. Patient satisfaction in our ER is at an all - time high. However, there is always room for improvement, and so the ER is on my list of goals for this coming fiscal year. It is the front door to our hospital, and I want to make sure patients and family members have a good experience in our house. I'm going work shoulder - to - shoulder with ER physicians, nurses, staff and patients to make sure it is the best place in the nation to receive emergency care. Again, thanks Lou for your input. I will report our progress in the ER from time to time.
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I appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts. Because Lyme disease damaged my ability to detoxify common chemicals, I'm more aware than most of the prevalence of toxins in the everyday environment. Unfortunately, hospitals can be very problematic for those of us with chemical sensitivities. Making a hospital less toxic is certainly a big job, but there are some easy first steps, such as implementing and enforcing a fragrance-free policy among the workers. I've spoken to several nurses and a doctor who say that their training emphasized the need to avoid synthetic fragrances, but that the policy has never been followed or enforced anywhere they've worked. There are also many less-toxic alternatives for cleaning, building update and maintenance, and pest control products. Adequate ventilation is an important issue, as well. I was able to handle a recent hospital stay in southern Missouri primarily because my room had a window that opened onto an area of clean outdoor air.
Here are a few sites that address the issue of less-toxic hospitals:
http://www.noharm.org
http://www.sustainablehospitals.org
There is also a book by Toni Temple called "Healthier Hospitals," which I haven't read, but would probably be a good source of information. Thank you for the opportunity to raise this issue.
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Hi Martha, you are the second person to bring the problem with perfume to my attention. I will go down the hall right now and talk with the administrator for the hospital.
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I recently watched the commercial where the CEO wanted patient feedback. I am a regular patient with Dr. Norman Baade at the pain center. Dr. Baade is a wonderful doctor and always seems to be personally interested in my continued treatment. I am on a number of narcotic medications due to spinal problems that include a fusion and other damage resulting from an auto accident. Of course each month I have to go to the pain center to pick up the prescriptions; last month one of my scripts was incorrect and they only gave me half of what it should have been. I called the pain center and they said they would correct and call me when the script was ready. A woman by the name of Lori called me to say my script was ready (correction was to be an additional 84 pills) for an additional 80 pills. I corrected her that it should be 84 not 80... She huffed so loudly I could hear it on the phone and said 80 should be enough. I told her that it was not (I understand they keep a very tight schedule on the distribution of narcotics) and I needed the 84. She was so put out with me and really treated me like I was a major inconvenience for her. It was the pain centers fault the prescription was incorrect. I had to go back to the center pick it up and go back to the pharmacy twice because of their mistake, not mine and she was treating me like I was a pain in her neck. People who go to the pain center are in pain; we don't like to have to go. The office visit is expensive, the medication is expensive and in most circumstances it does not make the pain go way but only makes it bearable. The last thing we need is to be treated like we are an inconvenience by the office staff. Again, her name was Lori and I did not appreciate the way she spoke to me... Thank you for the ability to communicate with the patiants...
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Thank you for your recent post. I will pass along your words of praise and I agree Dr. Baade is an outstanding physician. I will also pass along your customer service issues to the Clinic Manager. My goal is to assure all patients have a good experience.
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I am a 38 year old female suffering from terrible osteoarthritis in my knees along with degenerative joint disease. I am extremely overweight and was referred by Dr. Bronson to have the lapband surgery which my Missouri Medicaid will pay for but I have ran into a problem and would like to talk about it. I was so hopeful when I found out that Medicaid will pay for the lapband surgery but was soon let down emotionally because there is a $350.00 charge for the certain program that is required before the surgery. I live on a fixed SSI income because of my physical condition and cannot afford to pay the $350.00 so what is a person to do? I feel that the Bariatric Center is just trying to "milk" their clients for unnecessary fees. How can Heartland be a part of this? This is not helpful and I am feeling so helpless now because this was supposed to be my road to freedom without pain. I weigh almost 300 pounds because I am in so much pain and am unable to move around to exercise because of my condition. I cannot get better unless I lose the weight. Do you know of any community services that will help me cover the $350.00? I am begging for help....please????? |
I am very sorry to hear of your situation. The program you reference is to ensure the patient is emotionally prepared to manage the after–care and result of Bariatrics surgery. We want your surgery to be highly successful to help improvement your health. I am happy to check and see if there are resources available to cover the $350. I will let you know what I find out.
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Sir, I'm so impressed and encouraged by your leadership philosopy and genuine sincerity. We have had some sad experiences with Heartland, almost exclusivly with the physicians. We've found KU Med Center to be a wonderful hospital with people who are friendly and always have time for the family. I hope you can grow that kind of culture at Heartland. God bless you and the wonderful work you do. |
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I am so impressed with this organization and I jump out of bed every morning eager to get to work. I am sorry you had a bad experience. I hope you will give me the opportunity to make it up. I believe you’d have a very difference patient experience.
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Despite some potholes, glitches, and personality clashes along the way, my family and I have been generally satisfied with the quality of professional service and patient attention provided by Heartland’s surgical, intensive care, and diagnostic-specific operations. Also our contacts with Heartland-affiliated outpatient doctors and clinics, with some reservations, have been positive.
On the negative side, although it’s been some time since any of us were hospitalized, we were decidedly less pleased with the milieu and service on the inpatient general medical floors.
Perhaps things have changed in these areas, but, during a family member’s most recent stay, a matter of four years ago, we found the level of personal attention inconsistent and occasionally even verging on neglectful. Nursing assignments seemed random, with day-to-day switches of personnel and lack of continuity – one day’s openly friendly and helpful face was often replaced with a business-like, slightly cold approach from a new person the next day. There was little opportunity for development of personal rapport.
Further, the scheduling of procedures was often poorly communicated to and coordinated with the patient, ( e.g., “We’re taking you to x-ray now!” “Oh, why?, and for how long?,). A response of, “Your doctor has ordered it!” isn’t satisfactory.
Another troublesome issue involves night times in the units; those periods are typically confusing and anxiety-ridden, especially for older patients. “Baby sitting” by family members can certainly help with this, but, for those with a lack of family accessibility, this is not always possible.
We had occasion to compare these impressions with the recent in-patient stay of another family member in a Kansas City hospital. There the staffing rotation was consistent day-to-day, and personnel were uniformly pleasant, eager to be helpful, and obviously highly involved in the patient’s well being.
So, one suggestion is for a better system of case management to be instituted or strengthened, if such a process isn’t already in place in the Heartland system. An example might be the development of a cadre of individual patient consultants or communication managers, perhaps under the direction of the Quality Assurance office or the chaplaincy. Each of these paraprofessionals might be assigned to a case load of 10 or 20 patients, with responsibility for coordinating with each of their “charges” from the time of admission until discharge. They might be expected to meet with each patient at least daily (more frequently if advisable) to discuss needs, emotional issues, give progress reports, and inform on impending treatments or consultations. They would be able to develop comforting and empathic rapport with the patients, thus off-setting the more impersonal, over-burdened approach all-to-often exhibited by professional staff.
I make this suggestion from the standpoint of having had professional experience in a clinical setting in which a similar program was instituted, and it was found to be helpful to the general morale of patients and provided some measure of relief to the unit personnel. |
Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts. I appreciate your positive comments and view the others as opportunities for improvement. You are absolutely right — we have made a lot of changes. We’re now working on consistency — every patient, every time having a great experience. Our caregivers are immersed in customer service training, working diligently on providing quality care with a servant’s heart.
Your suggestion for care management does fit well with our servant caregiver philosophy. Our case managers (we call them care managers) and social workers are assigned to nursing units and help the other caregivers with care planning, improved communication with patients/family and coordinating care for a smooth discharge.
I appreciate your suggestions for care management — we are always striving to improve how we provide care to our patients.
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I have two primary comments:
1. Being a good corporate citizen is an important aspect of communitiy perception of Heartland. For years, since Heartland moved in next to a residental neighborhood, it has ignored those neighbors. It positioned it's helecopter pad right next to those neighbors when it could have been placed much further away. It has trash pick up at 4 in the morning with the banging interupting sleep. It sends its mowers out to mow next to the neighbors prior to 6 a.m. interupting sleep. While each of these and others have been brought to managment attention many times in the past, the thought of being a good corportate neighbor hasn't seemed to have been important.
2. Being a financial manager for many years, I am fully aware of the excessive rate of growth in healthcare costs. Insurance costs and direct healthcare costs have taken too big of a bite out of our economy. Heartland needs to take a leadership roll in cutting costs. You are amoung the highest costing hospitals in the state. Look to reducing unnecessary expenses, like unnecessary full page advertizing of employees of the week/month. You don't see other corporations wasting money for such unnecessary expense, especially with the ecomomy as it is. I have been involved with a number of corporations during my career, and I have been involved with crital looks to eliminate expenses that have grown over the years and not been looked at with a critical eye as to whether they are still valuable to the corporation. I think you would fine the same true at Heartland. Think what a contribution you could make to this communitiy by reducing costs for healthcare thus researving more funds for other economic development uses. Just as our Federal government needs to rain in spending, so does the health care industry. We can't continue to spend at this pace without severe negetive consiquences.
I look forward to you change in leadership for Heartland. It has been too long since the managment of the organization has been critically reviewed. |
Thank you for your suggestions on how we can be a better neighbor. The helicopter pad location was purposely selected because of the close proximity to our emergency room/trauma services — providing the best and safest care for patients in critical situations. We’ve planted dozens of trees to help break the sound and emergency vehicles turn off sirens when they are close to the hospital. I, too, live in a neighborhood close to the hospital and value a quiet zone.
You are correct — healthcare is expensive. Heartland Health has proudly taken the lead in creating an efficient delivery system. Heartland Health was recently recognized with a 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index™: Best in Value Award™, as a result of the study conducted by Data Advantage, LLC, a privately held health care information company that specializes in providing health care organizations with objective and comprehensive data. Heartland ranked among the top tier of all hospitals nationwide, achieving high marks in quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.
We are always searching for process improvements and reward employees for finding better and more efficient ways to deliver care. We examine labor costs on a monthly basis, we work with a national group purchasing company to reduce supply costs and we recently won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award that recognized us for our quality and productivity.
Thank you for your comments. We constantly strive to provide the best and safest care to our patients, while improving the health of our community. Your feedback is important to us and we will work on being a better neighbor.
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Before moving to St. Joe, I worked for two large companies, i.e., Raytheon and Tecolote Research competing for the Malcom Baldridge Award, and know what a great honor it is to receive it. Congratuations.
I have a question that affects me personally. I have a hiatel hernia, possible Barrett's Esophogus and need to go to a GI doctor. I was told that Heartland does not have a GI department. Do you have any idea when Hearland will get a GI dept. because I need to get an endoscopy very soon. Unfortunately, I do not have the funds needed to get the procedure done and was wondering if there are any doctors in town that help out when the patient does not have the money to pay for the procedure?
Thank you for listening and good luck with your new position. |
It is a great honor to be a 2009 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, thank you for your recognition.
We do have a GI Center at Heartland Regional Medical Center. It is a very good facility and the caregivers provide exceptional service.
I would urge you to visit our Find a Doctor Web page at www.heartland-health.com , then select Gastroenterology and you will see a list of physicians who are GI specialists. They are excellent physicians and should be able to help you. You can also contact us at (816) 271-6000.
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Thank you for the opportunity to make suggestions. I was over there and making suggestions and was told my idea was not on the agenda so we could not do it. Now perhaps we can get it on the agenda.
When patients are given a diagnosis with a meal mandate requiring a change in eating habits, it is very disconcerting. The next thing is a class explaining all the info about it. Then the patient is expected to miraculously hop right on board and do all this stuff. My experience proved the whole thing is too foreign and my whole mind yelled "No Way".
My suggestion is to have a Meal Planner to help these patients take "where they are" and incorporate the changes necessary to get to "where they want to be". I was offering my services, not as a professional, but as a planner to create menus that would work for the patient. I had suggested that the patient would submit their normal menus for a period of time, the recipes for their favorite dishes, a list of their favorite foods, and the doctor's change orders. With this information as a starting point, a new menu plan could be created that is workable and as familiar as possible.
Most diet books and healthy recipes appear to me to be totally impossible, improbable, and inappropriate for normal usage. Regular people need to be able to see their meal plan as an attainable goal. It would be so wonderful if Heartland could facilitate this kind of program.
Thank you for your dedication to making healthy lives possible by offering the option of attainable healthy choices |
Thank you for taking time to send me your suggestion. It is the role of our dietitian’s to work with our patients on diets prescribed by physicians. Our dietitian’s help you set goals, to work towards improving your health.
However, we understand how overwhelming it can be when you go home and begin to implement the steps outlined by your dietitian.
At Heartland, our dietitian’s are always available for follow-up phone calls. If you have questions about your plan, please call our Dietary Office at (816) 271-6180, 6 a.m. - 7 p.m., Monday - Sunday. Our dietitians are here for you long beyond your hospital stay or clinic visit. We want to provide you with the tools and resources to make your road to recovery as successful as possible.
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I have mixed feelings about Heartland, when i go to my regular doctor he charges $48.00, Heartland charges $85.00, when i go to my heart doctor he charges $48.00, heartland charges $107.00, i cant afford my insurance but i cant afford to do without.
Review your charges and get them in line with the economy or i may have to try St Lukes or North Kansas City Hospital.
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Thank you for your comments. Heartland Health recently was recognized a 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index™: Best in Value Award™, as a result of the study conducted by Data Advantage, LLC, a privately held health care information company that specializes in providing health care organizations with objective and comprehensive data. Heartland ranked among the top tier of all hospitals nationwide, achieving high marks in quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction. What this means is, Heartland — by an outside company — was recognized for providing great quality care while remaining affordable.
Now if you’re having trouble paying your bills you should contact our Patient Financial Services department. Those caregivers are experts when it comes to finding ways to help those in need cover their healthcare expenses.
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When I was out at the hospital all the volunteers I saw had a smile and asked "If they could help me find something" ever time I was their. I think you could give them a dinner once a year. |
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I agree with you our volunteers are the absolute best! We do provide a complimentary meal each time someone volunteers and this year we'll also recognize our volunteers at a special dinner in April. I will be server at this event.
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I would like a Doctor Report Center for the purpose of finding out about the patient for family and caregivers. It could be a computer site with passwords for family or a desk for inquiry for authorized family and caregivers. We do not know when the doctor is coming so we cannot plan to be there at that time. One time I was trying to figure out the system & the nurse said they usually do not come before 6 Am so i planned to be there at 6 but the doctor came at 5:45 am so i still missed the doctor. On the report i would like short info like "UTI still present- antibiotic being administered. Magnesium depleted-being administered. " or something short like that. Also, a question option so we can leave questions for the doctor. Thank you. |
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I think this is a very good idea. I forwarded your suggestion to Carolyn Paden. Carolyn is an RN who is one of the key clinical leaders working on our Electronic Medical Record (EMR). Carolyn tells me she will take your suggestion to a meeting this week and see if it is something we can do. Thank you for sending me this suggestion.
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I was at the hospital this evening to leave a card for a co-worker who is in ICU/CVU. I called 411 for Heartland's information number, and the Heartland receptionist who answered was very nice. She told me to ask at the emergency desk and they would direct me where ICU was, as I didn't know. I asked the woman at the ER check in desk if she could please direct me, which she did rather vaguely. I than asked another woman at the Patient Registration desk, who was more informative and very nice, who directed me where it was and told me I would need to use the intercom and someone would come and get the card. I told her I didn't want to visit or bother the nurses, just leave the card. She assured me it would be fine. I used the "B" button for the room number I had and after five or so minutes I used the "A" button, just in case I had a wrong room number. When I said I would like to leave a card for the person, the female voice commented, "Isn't anyone in the waiting room," and to "leave it with them." I wanted to just leave a card for someone but it's still with me as I really didn't think I needed to barge into a waiting room and start asking if there was anyone there from this person's family. My firm belief is that the patients are obviously the nurses top priority and they are not to run catering to people on an intercom, but I feel that was not an appropriate answer. I would have gladly slid it under the doors but didn't have any faith whatsoever that it would have been delivered. To be a caring hospital you need to have caring people working in it. I believe I just ran into one who wasn't. I will have to depend on the postal system. My thanks for taking the time to read this. |
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Thank you for taking time to send me this message. I am so sorry your experience with us was not better. All caregivers: employees, volunteers and physicians receive education and coaching, being a servant leader and taking the best possible care of our patients and visitors. I do hope you will give us another try and let us make up for this instance.
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