Case Study: "MUNSON MEDICAL CENTER: Constant Focus on Patient Satisfaction

Write a position statement which is a simple sentence identifying the central issue/s you perceive to be the focus of the case.

NOTE: Each student may perceive there to be a different issue for each case. It depends on your point of reference based on your individualized experience base. The analysis should then present a diagnosis of the situation.

Munson Medical Center is a 391-bed, nonprofit hospital located in Traverse City, Michigan. By focusing on patient satisfaction and engaging frontline staff in improving care, it has become one of the better large hospitals in the United States in terms of overall patient satisfaction, as measured by Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. The following strategies appear to contribute to the hospital's success: ongoing measurement and feedback; high nurse-to-patient ratios, greater nurse authority under the "shared governance" model; acuity-adaptable patient rooms; mandated quiet time and staff relaxation rooms; and shift-to-shift bedside reports.

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Organizational model in which staff nurses are given a voice in determining clinical practice, standards, and quality of care.

Unit managers have financial incentives to improve: about 20 percent of their annual bonus is tied to meeting goals for patient satisfaction.

Patient stays in the same private room from admission through discharge--reducing patient transfers means fewer medical errors, falls, missed treatments, and lost belongings; improves staff and patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and efficiency.