Lexington Medical Center - Lexington Surgery - West Columbia, South Carolina
Summit Award Winner: Ambulatory Surgery
Lexington Medical Center is a 350-bed, suburban, not-for-profit facility located in West Columbia, South Carolina.
Area of Focus
Ensuring that expectations are hardwired was critical to creating a sustainable culture of service excellence. During first-day orientation, employees are informed of the organization’s service standards, and this is continuously reinforced.
Actionable Steps
Our original initiative was to develop a satisfaction steering committee to oversee the patient satisfaction/customer service focus. Beginning in 1999, the committee required that each survey leader report initiatives implemented and current survey scores at each committee meeting. In addition, the committee put service expectations and service recovery protocols into place. Knowing that we had to keep service at the forefront, we started a Service Liaison program. Each department has a liaison—a service cheerleader—who goes to each monthly meeting. These individuals take information and ideas back to their department meetings.Our current service focus is HEART—Hear the Need, Empathize, Anticipate, Respond, and Take the Time. Service videos on each aspect are posted to the organization’s intranet and shown during staff meetings.
ROI
- Lexington Medical Center was named one of the top 28 companies to work for in South Carolina.
- Our hospital-wide turnover is around 16%, which is lower than most hospitals. Traveling nurses are rarely used.
- Our hospital has exceeded its budget for the last five years.