State Rep. Eric Watson (R Bradley) met with SkyRidge Medical Center administrators and board members on Aug. 16 to discuss feedback he has received from the public regarding the hospital’s lines of communication, quality of patient care and other patient-related issues.

SkyRidge CEO Steve Patonai, Chief Operating Officer Dan Buckner, and board members Tom Wheeler and Nancy Casson were on-hand to answer Rep. Watson’s questions and familiarize him with future plans for the hospital.

“I’ve received a number of calls from the public asking me to look into patient care at the hospital,” Rep. Watson said. “Overall, I found the meeting to be informative and the hospital staff and administrators to be forthcoming.”

Expansion at SkyRidge includes the consolidation of ICU and surgical services, with long term plans to include a new emergency department, new surgery suites and additional intensive care and patient rooms. This next phase of expansion carries a price tag of $45 million and is due to begin in late fall of this year.

SkyRidge claims that on going patient satisfaction surveys conducted by an independent company places patient satisfaction at 91 percent, which is an eight percent improvement over last year. According to SkyRidge, federal guidelines’ governing patient confidentiality is an often misunderstood by the general public.

“One thing I learned,” Rep. Watson said, “was the extend to which SkyRidge and healthcare providers are bound by the federal HIPAA laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). In most cases, their hands are tied as to what they can or cannot release to the public regarding their patients.”

Some points that came out of the meeting regarding actions SkyRidge has taken to enhance patient care and improve public relations include:

The ER now has a patient liaison staff, “dedicated to communicating with patients and identifying areas of opportunity to speed up the treatment process.”

Phone calls are now made to each ER patient within 24 hours after discharge, with a follow up letter being sent to those who cannot be reached by telephone.

Greeters are now available in the hospital lobby during peak busy times to answer questions and provide directions for patients and guests.

SkyRidge now has several avenues available for patients to express complaints, compliments and/or suggestions. There is a “hot line” number (423-559 6903), a “satisfaction survey” they may fill out, or they can email their thoughts to the hospital by logging on to www.skyridgemedicalcenter.net. Additionally, complaints are thoroughly investigated and the patient is informed of all resolutions through follow up contact.

A regular schedule of patient forums has been established for those who desire a face-to-face meeting with SkyRidge administrators. The next two scheduled meetings will be held on Thursday at noon and Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m.

SkyRidge has adopted an enhanced customer satisfaction-training program using the consultant services and model programming of Quint Studer (www.studergroup.com).

In addition to the regular rounds and contact by nurses, physicians and clinical professionals, a member of senior leadership or hospital management visits with every patient each day.

Objective, outside evaluations of SkyRidge’s performance are conducted by the Joint Commission, state and federal government, service-specific review boards and many independent agencies, with SkyRidge absorbing the costs. Every review over the last two years has scored the hospital as at least satisfactory, and often in the highest percentiles.