April 14-20,
2002
A-Z CELEBRATION
GUIDE
Appreciation
letters are sent to all Patient Advocates from the hospital's CEO or Director.
Brown
bag luncheon, with community interest items, such as advance directives
and patient's rights.
Create
a local "Patient Advocate of the Year" award to recognize the exceptional
performance of at least one of your organization's Patient Advocates.
Develop
a "Customer Service Adventure" contest where hypothetical customer service
situations are published and the employee submitting the most creative
solution wins a prize.
Establish
a patient service advisory board, with the first meeting being held during
this week.
Focus
the spotlight on your exceptional Patient Advocates. Show appreciation
by taking them out for lunch, and presenting them with a certificate of
excellence in front of their colleagues.
Generate
new ideas for serving patients and ensuring patient satisfaction.
Ask for input and ideas from your Patient Advocates.
Hang
copies of your most inspirational patient service/satisfaction stories
that your Patient Advocates have dealt with and resolved. Display in the
cafeteria for all to read.
Invite
staff from other departments to serve as a Patient Advocate for the day
with the Patient Advocate staff. Have them write a short summary
of their experience for the newsletter.
Judge
a "Why I Love to Serve Customers" essay contest. Post the winning
essay for all staff and patients to read.
Kick
off Advocacy Week with a Monday morning breakfast for the Patient Advocates.
Leave
a thank you message on each of your Patient Advocate's voice mail.
Make
your Patient Advocates feel special by decorating their office with balloons,
banners and posters.
Name
a "Patient Advocate of the Day" each day of the week. Post his or
her name, picture and why they were chosen in an area designated for others
to see.
Organize
a small reception for Patient Advocates, providing refreshments.
Publicize,
publicize and publicize Advocacy Week and all associated activities.
Question
patients about how we might serve them better.
Reward
your Patient Advocates with monetary bonuses, food treats, gift certificates
or other appropriate items.
Share
exceptional customer service stories with staff.
Test
the customer service skills of employees by holding a True/False contest
on patient's rights.
Urge
your Patient Advocates to be kind to themselves by embracing a healthy
lifestyle.
Videotape
presentation on the role of the Patient Advocate to be broadcast on CCTV.
Write
a personal letter of appreciation to all of your Patient Advocates.
Xerox
copies of inspirational Patient Advocate stories to display throughout
the facility.
Yield
a special parking space for a different Patient Advocate each day of the
week.
Zero
in on the needs of Patient Advocates and how you can improve their working
environment.
Don’t forget to show support
for your profession, staff, colleagues and friends by purchasing Patient
Advocacy Week gifts exclusively made for SHCA members with this year's
theme ("Real Life Heroes") and logo.
Click here
to order online, or here
to download a PDF version (Adobe's free Acrobat
Reader required) of the merchandise catalog.
