Phase One of HEART wrapped up at the end of March and the numbers are in: Of 2,082 total employees (full time, part time and supplemental), 1,984 (95.29 percent) participated in HEART sessions scheduled between late December, 2016 and the end of March, 2017.
“This is a great accomplishment in a relatively short period of time,” comments Susan Coe. “We are grateful to managers across the system for getting their team members signed up and also to the HEART facilitators who gave of their time and talent to lead the sessions. And certainly, our service excellence coach/trainer, Christine Clarke, did a masterful job of keeping the program on track and providing guidance and support to the facilitators.”
HEART included a total of 106 three-hour sessions attended by as few as 10 and as many as 47 team members, depending on the day and location. “Each session was different, and I felt like I heard or learned something new in each one of them, whether it was from a facilitator or a team member,” says Clarke. “It was always interactive – a lot of sharing of experiences and ideas by staff at all levels and from every department – which kept it interesting and fun.”
Several facilitators conducted multiple sessions, according to Clarke. “Tommy Gray and Chanere Christian, both from UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester, did the most,, but the group as a whole was extremely dedicated and flexible about filling in for each other when conflicts came up,” she reports.
Asked to describe the biggest “takeaways,” Clarke listed the following:
- Teambuilding – HEART brought together staff from all levels and departments and team
members really enjoyed putting faces to names and learning about the challenges faced in different roles. - Learning to listen – Team members over and over again cited that HEART helped them better understand the value of true listening and gave them the tools to improve their listening skills.
- Realizing the difference between sympathy and empathy – – Participants reported this would improve their ability to empathize with patients, family members and each other.
- Understanding that “everyone has a story”— Participants reported that the silent video early in the session showing the stories of many patients, family members and hospital staff had an enormous impact and readied them for the balance of the session.
Since HEART is now part of New Employee Orientation (NEO), team members who missed out during Phase One will be required to participate in HEART by attending an NEO.
“HEART is part of the fabric of UM Shore Regional Health,” says Coe. “It is required for everyone and along with our values – Respect, Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence and Service – HEART is built into job performance expectations and into the evaluation process for all team members.”
According to Jo Anne Thomson, director, Patient Experience, Phase II of HEART is now getting under way and includes the following initiatives:
- HEART “hard-wiring” – On an “as needed” basis (determined by manager requests and patient/family feedback), additional HEART facilitation is being provided to individual staff and small groups.
- “Answer with HEART” sessions will be provided to staff whose main communications are by telephone.
- HEART sessions for Community Medical Group staff, volunteers and contractual services personnel are being scheduled for summer and fall.
- HEART management support modules are being created to help managers enhance the culture of HEART in their departments, and a series of HEART “roundings” on inpatient units will begin in the next few months.