PRESQUE ISLE — Avatar International, an industry leader in health care quality improvement services, announced its 2011 award-winning hospital partners. The Aroostook Medical Center has been awarded Avatar International’s 2011 Exemplary Service — Most Improved — Outpatient Surgical Award.
This award is given to the facilities that demonstrated the most improvement by patient type. Each facility must have two complete years of data.
TAMC scored better than the national average in 2010 with a score of 90.5 (the national average was 85). Despite the strong survey scores, staff in Day Surgery looked for ways to improve the patient experience. One trend in the Avatar survey scores that seemed to keep reoccurring was that sometimes the patient’s family felt like they were not kept in the loop regarding the care of their loved one.
“Providing excellent care includes communicating with the patient’s loved ones to alleviate their anxieties,” said TAMC Chief Executive Officer and President Sylvia Getman. “TAMC continually looks for ways to improve the services we provide.”
In 2011, TAMC moved a guest relations professional into the waiting area of Day Surgery. Guest relations staff now acts as a liaison between a patient’s family and clinical staff in the day surgery waiting room, allowing for patient’s family members and friends to receive updates about their loved one’s progress more quickly.
“We have always taken very good care of our patients,” said TAMC Surgical Service Director Tammy Beaulieu-Fuller, “now we are also taking care of our patients’ families. The improved communication has been well received by patients and their families, and has resulted in better survey scores, as well.”
In 2011, scores improved to a remarkable 93.9, significantly exceeding the national average once again.
