Therese D. remembers very clearly the reason she first joined PPMM as a volunteer in the early 1990s: “I thought that helping out at Planned Parenthood would be a wonderful way to meet people who share my values. It began with learning how to clean exam rooms, and then I guess I worked my way up!”
That’s one way to put it. Thirty years later, after being a center manager at several PPMM sites from Gilroy to San Mateo, Therese is now the affiliate’s first Patient Experience Advisor, reflecting our strong emphasis on every aspect of each patient’s visits to our health centers.
“It’s my job to ensure that the patient experience is at the center of everything we do,” she said. “It means thinking about how patients actually experience care, not the old model of focusing on what the provider needs to deliver services.”
Therese’s experience with one patient at the San Mateo health center reminds her of how she wants everyone to feel about PPMM as a “health home.” This patient has been coming to the center for many years while she experienced continuing health challenges and hardships in her life.
“She is habitually without a place to live, and she has been incarcerated. But she knows she can come here for her care, without judgment and with compassion,” Therese said. “She once wrote me a letter, and it is so precious to me. She knows we accept her choices and ability to make them, and we have helped her immensely with her overall health.”
Relationships like this are part of what guides Therese when she speaks with staff about our goals since PPMM became one of 43 affiliates nationwide participating in the Patient Experience Initiative, launched by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA.) “I’m so proud of our staff,” she said. “They are using their skills and talents to be memorable to our patients.”
The initiative includes a rigorous post-appointment survey process, conducted by an outside organization, to get patient responses about the care they received. There are three patient surveys -- one for telehealth, one about abortion services, one in-health center – and survey scores are compared with other health organizations across the country. “The patient responses we’re seeking about their experience is the kind of careful, thoughtful feedback that comes after they have left the health center,” Therese said.
She explained that building the best experience happens from the moment a patient calls in, getting an appointment quickly and being treated with empathy. When patients see a clinician, it is important that they can participate in their care by feeling heard and encouraged to give us feedback.
“It’s about being consistent and prepared and always ready to listen,” Therese said. “This harnesses the talent, wisdom, and skill of our dedicated staff to deliver patient-centered care that improves health outcomes and health equity.”
Therese’s latest job with PPMM connects her with the reasons she wanted to volunteer with the affiliate decades ago – and with that grateful patient in San Mateo.
“This is about patients feeling heard, and that speaks to my soul,” she said. “Our patient in San Mateo capsulizes it for me. We make her feel like a valuable part of the community; we care for her and she cares for us.”
Tags: empathy, listening, patient_care