Jamie Quinlan, D.N.P, fell in love with health care after her father was involved in a helicopter accident just a few weeks after she graduated from high school. Being in the hospital with him and taking part in a recovery that took several years helped shape her career path. After finishing a doctorate in nursing practice at Alabama she set her sights on working in Utah.
In 2011, Quinlan joined the South Jordan Health Center (SJHC) as emergency department nurse manager. Last year, she saw nearly 8,000 new patients come through the emergency department, with each one being surveyed about their experience in the ER. The overwhelming majority was very happy with the care they received. In fact, the department scored in the 99th percentile in the Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey, and on Tuesday, Nov. 19, Quinlan accepted the prestigious Guardian of Excellence Award for the department’s outstanding scores in 2012.
The award honors health care facilities who have reached the 95th percentile for patient satisfaction, employee engagement, or physician engagement surveys, or clinical quality performance — awarded annually based on one year of data.
What does Press Ganey look for when compiling scores for the Guardian of Excellence award?
All of our discharge patients are sent surveys after their visit and they rate of a scale of 1-5, five being the best. They’re asking questions about the care and how they felt we delivered that care while they were here. Based on that, we were in the 99th percentile for the entire year.
What does that mean to you and the SJHC emergency department staff?
To us it means we’re doing our job right. Our patient satisfaction is why we’re here. We’re here to provide the best care and take care of everything. We take care of the patient’s families, we keep our patients informed, we call them back after their visit and make sure they’re still doing well. If they’re not, we schedule a visit on the spot. To us it’s the whole package; we’re not just making them better and telling them to get out.
What are the keys within your department for getting this award?
The work done by the entire staff in the emergency department really achieved this award. The biggest recognition needs to go to them.
What will be the challenges to maintain this level of service moving forward?
As our volume grows, the key will be to maintain this same level of care as we see more people. To me it’s about hiring the right people, making sure they have what they need to be successful, and supporting them.