It’s no surprise that hospitals with high morale would have happier patients. But a new study reveals exactly how some hospitals create a positive place that patients appreciate. * Step One: Reward employees with cash and boost morale. * Step Two: Give the patient the home phone number for the hospital’s CEO. That’s exactly the type of culture and service that delights patients and makes for the most successful community hospitals in the United States, as rated by caregivers and patients, according to John Griffith, professor in the University of Michigan School of Public Health. In his new report, detailed in the Journal of Healthcare Management, Griffith examined the attributes of 34 community hospitals in nine states that have earned the Health Care Sector Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a nationally recognized quality benchmark for various industries. Griffith’s findings suggest that the single-biggest factor in patient satisfaction is hospital employee morale, which starts with outside-the-box thinking at the very top management levels. These community hospitals had the happiest patients and caregivers, but only because these hospitals departed radically from traditional hospital management, Griffith said. For instance, […]