Carli Meister holding a thank-you letter
Feedback from a grateful patient can be one of the most rewarding aspects of working in health care. Recently, staff at Chester County Hospital (CCH) received one of the kindest acts of gratitude from a former patient, in the form of 26 individual ‘thank you’ letters.
This past fall, CCH admitted an older woman who came to the Emergency Department. The patient, who had never been to CCH before, stayed for several days and was seen by a number of clinical teams. About two weeks later, Carli Meister, director of Patient Experience and Risk, received a large envelope from the patient containing 26 personalized, handwritten ‘thank you’ cards for each CCH member who contributed to her care.
It turns out that the patient had kept a detailed diary of every encounter she had with each staff member during her time at CCH. This included names, the type of care provided, and how they contributed to her positive experience. Those details were then used to craft the 26 personalized ‘thank you’ letters.
The patient’s letters were not limited to her nurses and doctor. She sent ‘thank you’ letters to her nutrition team, hospital service staff, housekeeping staff, several nurses in the Emergency Department, Meister, and even to one of CCH’s volunteers she met during her stay. The ‘thank you’ letters were filled with kind words, appreciation, and even some honest recommendations in areas where she believed her care team and staff could have improved.
“Not every patient has the insights to recognize and pay credit to the people that come into their room,” says Meister. “In the patient experience world, every detail matters, and the memory she had and how she was able to articulate her experience is just so powerful.”
Receiving so many handwritten letters was a first for CCH employees, and reinforced the value of providing an outstanding patient experience.
“Since the pandemic, health care has changed,” said Meister. “From our high patient volumes and the pace our teams have to operate to [while] still trying to focus on what called them to this work in the first place, it’s moments like this that make you realize we’ve helped someone and made their life better.”