concierge ? Really?

[ktwlpn]

I spent the day in an ICU in a hospital in Dover,De. It must be on the cutting edge in this area as far as the new trend in healthcare that places customer service over patient care. I'm not saying anything negative about the care-it just did not seem of paramount importance-while I was there the family had a visit from the "concierge" and also a "guest relations representative" They were given ifo about the ammenities. The family was able to report that the "service" was excellent. They went on to mention the shops, the cafeteria and were knocked out by the Star concierge service ..... from the website---- A brief sampling of the new concierge services includes:

Travel and meal accommodations. If you have visiting friends or relatives from out-of-town, the Star Service staff can provide discounted hotel and meal options for your visitors.

Pet sitting services. Star Service staff can arrange for a professional pet sitter to feed and care for your pet at home.

Retail and Mom & Baby Shop orders. The Star Service staff can pick up any item large or small from the hospital gift shops.

Taxi and transportation services. If you are a discharged patient without transportation, the Star Service staff can make sure you get home safely.

Personal errands or purchases. Whether it's reading material or personal care items, the Star Service staff can provide these for you.

REALLY? Wow-just,wow....15 years ago I paid 15.00 to park in a parking garage at a city hospital-they didn't even give out discount parking vouchers. The television was $8.00 per day and if you were out of the room when the agent came through to sign you up you were outta luck. No tv for the next 24 hours. How times are changing.

Ironically today the family waited HOURS for a chaplain to show up .The hospital chaplain was not answering his pages so the unit secretary started going down the list and got someone from a local church pretty quickly .... I hope that after we left the family received excellent "service" and support while they withdrew life support from their loved one.....

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

It doesn't all have to be bad. We have a local hospital that has concierge service, free valet parking, the whole 9. Flatscreens in every room which are all private, along with a like on demand thing of educational videos about peoples illnesses. It has helped with patient families and stuff they don't have time to deal with while tending to a very sick loved one, helps to ease some of the worry, discounted hotels close by? Huge Plus. Taxi service for those that don't have rides home? Another plus. Various other things. This hospital has excellent staffing ratios. Day shift is 3:1 Evening 4:1 and night 4-5:1 for general med/surg with adequate CNA staffing as well.

Anytime I did clinicals my co-nurses never had more than 3 patients and this was on evening shift. It's a hard hospital system to get into and 9 out of 10 employees I talked to loved working there.

They do accept medicaid and they get the same exact treatment on the floors and non insured are seen in the ER. They are a non profit hospital system.

So if these services are offered and NOT at the expense of the employees, it can be a really positive thing.

[Batman25]

My point, which it seems you missed, was that instead of spending all that money on personnel for these concierge services which relatively few will be able to access, hospitals would be better served spending money on staffing their facilities more appropriately, providing better care and outcomes for all. But that would be too practical, and God forbid we behave in an egalitarian manner.

But that would make sense and we can't have that. God forbid we do something practical and wise. How sad and shameful that instead of benefitting the whole they cater to a very small minority? Typical and disappointing.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

And just what is wrong with concierge type services? I actually pay for my family and I to have concierge doctors services. They have know all my info and they even have a chef available if I wish to have something to eat, they offer us drinks (non alcoholic but fancy coffee...yuck) they know our names and even will send a town car to pick us up for an appointment if we need transportation. They have free valet parking and if we call we get a human on the phone within 3 rings and when we need to speak to a doctor after hours we actually have a number that the doctor himself/herself answers. If we need tests doen the doctor will meet us at the hospital to walk us thru them and get results right away. They will arrange the hospital room if needed and they have fresh flowers delivered to the room daily if we are in the hospital. Yes we pay dearly for this type of service. The hospital they send us to also has this type of service available, There is nothing wrong with the hospital offering it. PEople will pay for better service and healthcare is a service industry.

That's great...of course if you paid all that money for services and then found out your nurse didn't get to eat lunch because they were so short staffed wouldn't you find that offensive? The surface is perfect but behind the scenes chaos reigns in some systems.

Fresh flowers every day...but the brakes don't work properly on the commode chair.

Test results right away...but they use the dye that has a higher incidence of reactions, and costs 10 times less.

All IV drips compounded by a pharmacist on site...unless it's a new order at midnight, or needed stat, then nursing does it no matter how complicated.

I'm not saying your system does, but these are the contradictions that drive nurses crazy.

If a hospital serves a mix of payers the contrasts get worse, like private rooms with hi def TV for the demanding jerk with "anxiety," but we can't give the ER patients meds (but we can admit them when they bounce back tomorrow).Or giving concierge care to patient x, but patient y on a different floor doesn't get toothpaste or combs.

I understand why it happens, but those decisions affect my ability to give good care, so there are always situations coming up that are unfair and frustrating

[Caffeine_IV]

I'm not sure how I would like that especially if it gives some of these difficult patients even MORE of a sense of an entitlement.

I'm sure it can work. At my hospital people are just happy for the extra long golf cart that will take you from your car in the parking lot to the entrance and back during set hours.