Staff at CCH celebrate a retirement. Nurse Kirby Cannon says culture is generational, “we joke all the time, we always say that we’re like a family and we truly are.”
Three is a great number.
When something happens once it can be written off as chance. Twice—maybe there’s something there. Three times: a trend.
There is a reason it takes three consecutive years of top-flight reviews—a consistent endorsement of an outstanding experience at a hospital from patients and families—to be recognized with the Press Ganey Pinnacle of Excellence Award. It’s a measure of how well staff relate with patients and it’s now a badge of accomplishment for Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital.
“There’s an aura here, an ambience, a culture that’s hard to put your finger on,” said Carli Meister, director of patient experience and risk at Chester County Hospital.
The hospital was just awarded the 2024 Pinnacle award and recognized for a third consecutive Guardian of Excellence Award for inpatient care by Press Ganey, which administers feedback surveys sent to patients after they receive care in a hospital or clinics. The Press Ganey survey scores are a vital sign for hospitals, and those scores dictate which operations are recognized.
Hosptial teams don’t wait for award recognition; there is constant analysis of scores and comments across the Penn Medicine system to refine processes and improve interactions. For example, at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Director of Experience and Magnet Programs Jessie Reich, PhD, RN, ANP-BC said, “we use this data along with other data to put the puzzle of patient care together.”
As a result of these efforts, HUP is also celebrating repeat recognitions from Press Ganey. The Penn Medicine Radnor Surgery Center, which is part of a HUP outpatient practice, and the Apheresis Clinic at HUP also notched Pinnacle of Excellence awards, and HUP was recognized with its third consecutive Guardian of Excellence award in January. This means staff at all of these locations are meeting or exceeding standards at the 95th percentile ranking or higher.
It’s a threshold that Meister says sets a standard for engagement with patients and their families who “have a relationship with us that they can count on every hour of the day, 365 days a year...which everyone strives for.”
Infectious dedication
Nurses at CCH celebrate Halloween.
For Kirby Cannon, a 10-year charge nurse on the orthopedic surgical unit at Chester County Hospital, the quest for excellence begins the moment patients cross the threshold of the hospital.
“I try to jump in and welcome them and go over some brief questions and get them settled in,” said Cannon. “And then, the nurses will come in and really assume care for the rest of the day.”
A friendly welcome and attentive bedside manner may be the most tangible elements of a patient’s experience, but those aspects are rooted in deeper care. The surveys ask patients about many facets of their experience: how well staff communicate, the cleanliness of rooms, the teamwork exhibited by staff, the discharge process, and more. Meister says the hospital has been focused on interdisciplinary patient experience discussions for the past three years. Once every quarter, frontline staff, providers, and leaders from around the hospital get together to share data, department trends and patient comment themes.
“It’s that kind of cross pollination, of trusting relationships because we care for each other. ... we’re all part of the same team,” Meister said. “It’s like catching a cold in a good way.”
A symptom of that infectious dedication is a level of cooperation evident to patients. Meister points out one of the Press Ganey criteria is that “staff worked together to care for you.” It drives right to the heart of what it means to be a community hospital. And these ratings matter to hospital staff.
Patients show appreciation to the staff at CCH with homemade cards.
Monthly, the ratings and the comments left by patients are shared within each department to “let them know how they’re ranking.” said Brittany Papili, the lead advanced practice provider for the hospital medicine team. “We actually look at the comments and tell people who are doing well the positive comments...and then the negative comments, we look to see how we can improve them.”
In a perfect world, these standards are met every day. In reality, there are moments when people and systems fall short. And Meister says that’s when staff double their effort to repair the relationship with patients.
“It’s when we let people down to acknowledge we’ve let them down and make it better,” said Meister. “When they don’t trust us on a Saturday afternoon because we haven’t treated their family well, we can regain their trust by Sunday.”
Roots of excellence
Cooperation in the hospital has led to lifelong friendships outside the hospital as staff celebrate each other and their teams.
Meister says the culture generating this success is rooted in the history of the hospital. She remembers former CEO Perry Pepper roaming the hallways, engaging with staff daily and rarely forgetting a name.
“And that played a big role in fertilizing the foundation, that kind of openness,” Meister says that thread of leadership continued to the next CEO Mike Duncan and onto the current interim CEO, Karen L. Pinsky, MD.
That foundation has helped Chester County Hospital maintain a high-level patient experience while weathering some significant headwinds. In recent years, the hospital completed a $300 million expansion and increased capacity with more inpatient beds and operating rooms and a larger emergency department. This came just as the COVID-19 pandemic washed over the health care industry and surrounding hospitals closed.
“I think people in the community felt at a loss,” said Papili. “And I think to get this [Press Ganey recognition], with all of that going on, tells a lot about our hospital and the culture here.”
It’s a culture that encourages longevity: Meister, Papili, and Cannon have nearly a combined half century of service at the hospital. Cannon says that’s what makes the place special, relationships that provide the connective tissue of support and accountability.
“I have some of my best friends here. We have created these lifelong friendships, we celebrate major milestones together, we’ve been in each other’s weddings, we’ve raised babies together,” said Cannon.
In supporting each other, the staff at Chester County Hospital can provide better care for patients and their families. It’s the blueprint for three consecutive years of Press Ganey recognition.
And, sure, three is a great number; but Papili is already looking toward four.
“You have to maintain a very high standard. I think we can always do better, but we shouldn’t settle. Never.”