Courier Services, Environmental Services teams recognized for their contributions toward supporting an optimal patient experience
THE FOCUS ON PROVIDING BEST CARE EXTENDS WELL BEYOND the unit or clinic setting, as every employee contributes—directly or indirectly—to providing top-notch care to patients across our institution.
Recently, the Health System awarded Courier Services and Environmental Services with the quarterly Always Award, which recognizes remarkable performance or is conferred to a team at UTMB that supports the delivery of exceptional Inpatient and Ambulatory patient care.
The goal of the Always Award, which was launched in June 2014, is to improve patient satisfaction by promoting positive outcomes while encouraging friendly competition across units and practice areas. Winners are chosen based on patient satisfaction scores from Press Ganey, quality data and other measures.
This past quarter, Courier Services received the honor from Ambulatory Operations due to their work in supporting exemplary patient care.
“They are receptive, always professional, responsive, kind, courteous and great team members,” says Ann O’Connell, vice president of Ambulatory Operations, about the Courier Services team.
“If the clinics ever forget to give them something, they’ll turn around to pick it up. They handle patient specimens, they deliver emergency supplies—like sand for parking lots in inclement weather—and they pick up instruments and take them to Sterile Processing. They even deliver the mail and recycling bags.”
The Inpatient Always Award was presented to Environmental Services for the team’s work in keeping the hospital environment clean and orderly.
David Marshall, UTMB’s chief nursing and patient care services executive, said that even Vizient, Inc., the organization responsible for the quality and accountability rankings that serve as indicators for our Best Care initiative, had been amazed at the high percentile scores UTMB consistently receives for “cleanliness of the hospital environment” in patient engagement surveys.
Marshall added that, without exception, patient testimonials always include a positive comment about Environmental Services personnel.
“Thank you for keeping our units nice and preventing infections,” he told the team when presenting the Always Award.
The awards highlight that it’s up to each of us to deliver what every patient, family member and employee deserves—the best possible care and service in a welcoming environment.
Units and practice areas can win a maximum of two times during the same year, and quarterly winners assist unit-based clinical leadership with the development and recognition of best practices.
