The Patient-Centered Approach to Care

Patients are our number one priority. Everything we do, we do for them.

How do we ensure our patients are satisfied with their experience at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network? We look into their eyes. Our patient-centered approach makes certain every caregiver focuses on the eight “dimensions of care” that most affect our patients’ experience.

1. We respect our patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs.
2. We coordinate our patients’ care, integrating all hospital services.
3. We ensure effective communication between patient and caregiver. Information is accurate, timely and appropriate.
4. We do everything possible to alleviate patients’ pain and make them feel comfortable.
5. We provide emotional support and alleviate fears and anxiety.
6. We involve family and friends in every phase of our patients’ care.
7. We ensure a smooth transition and continuity from one focus of care to another.
8. We guarantee every member of our community has access to our care.

We know our patient-centered approach is working. How? We ask our patients to complete a patient satisfaction survey. We then compare our results with those of other hospitals throughout the country. Our patients consistently rank our nurses in the 99^th percentile.

Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB)

We’ve taken patient-care initiatives practiced on individual units and incorporated them throughout our entire network. It ensures patients get the same care everywhere. Through TCAB, we standardize the way patient information is communicated among caregivers; open our doors wide to patients’ loved ones; place dry-erase boards next to beds giving patients a place to write questions; ensure directors visit staff and patients on each unit daily; and call discharged patients to ensure they were satisfied and received quality discharge instructions.

There’s Always Room for Improvement

At LVHHN, we look ahead and make sure we’re prepared for whatever the future brings. To ensure we remain among the best in patient satisfaction, we’re using a unique strategic planning process called Future Search. About 140 nurses participated in a Future Search conference where they were empowered to set LVHHN’s nursing goals for the next decade. Goals appearing on the final list arrive there following a unanimous decision made by the group. This ensures every participant has a strong say in what the future holds. We are using the same process to determine how to continue to enhance our patients’ experiences here.

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