Dear Colleagues:Service excellence is a concept not often considered, debated or evaluated at academic medical centers in this country. The provision of exceptional care has typically meant incorporating breakthrough technologies, devising innovative research protocols or embedding the new generation of doctors with the training required to make them exceptional leaders in the future.
Yet, as we continue to reinforce the essential elements of academic medicine, we cannot lose sight of the underlying importance of providing an environment in which our patients thrive emotionally as well as physically. What can separate us from other academic medical centers that also focus on the provision of exceptional care? What will create opportunity for BWH in the future and serve to define our goals and objectives in the months and years ahead?
As a critical means of supporting the new BW/F Vision, the hospital is embarking upon an important drive to create an environment that is more conducive to the needs of the patients we serve. We are initiating a series of targeted, highly focused projects that are designed to shift our culture and are sustainable over time.
The first four of these projects are outlined in this month’s newsletter. Each has significant senior management support and tackles a high profile area of patient impact. From the Pre-Admission Testing Center (PATC) to Post Partum support, we will spend the next several months working to remove barriers that stand between our compassion and the quality care we provide every day.
We are enthusiastic about the collective impact that these projects can have on our organization and welcome all constructive suggestions as we recreate the way in which care is delivered. Over time, with sustainability and further outreach, these efforts can have an enormous impact on BWH.
Sincerely,
Andy Whittemore, MD
Chief Medical Officer