Turn Down the Volume with CodeCite

For hospital administrators, employee compliance can be a major hurdle to overcome. In a recent newsletter, we discussed the concept of employee compliance enforcement at healthcare facilities. Beyond just parking and permitting procedures, mobile compliance enforcement covers any "Quality of Life" rules of conduct implemented by administration. For instance, possible violations can range from smoking to littering and loitering. This article highlights the most common problem shared by medical facilities: noise.

Noise can prove to be one of the biggest challenges to a medical campus because patients require rest and relaxation to properly heal. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that “the average noise level in patient rooms can reach 80 decibels—almost as loud as a chainsaw. The noise came from many sources: staff conversations, roommates, alarms, intercoms, and pagers. On average, patients exposed to the highest nighttime noise levels slept 76 minutes less than those exposed to the least amount of noise.”

However, in cases where noise levels have been successfully addressed, patients take notice. According to a survey by HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) in May of 2015, the top 10 hospitals with the quietest patient rooms based on percentage of respondents' feedback are:

• National Jewish Health (Denver) — 100 percent
• Hebrew Home and Hospice (West Hartford, Conn.) — 100 percent
• Diley Ridge Medical Center (Canal Winchester, Ohio) — 100 percent
• Phs Sioux San Indian Hospital at Rapid City (S.D.) — 100 percent
• Emerus Hospital (Sugar Land, Texas) — 100 percent
• Latimer County General Hospital (Wilburton, Okla.) — 99 percent
• Menlo Park (Calif.) Surgical Hospital — 98 percent
• Idaho Doctors Hospital (Blackfoot) — 98 percent
• OneCore Health (Oklahoma City) — 98 percent
• East Adams Rural Hospital (Ritzville, Wash.) — 98 percent

Beyond the buzz of HVAC systems and health monitors, some noises like squeaky wheels and slamming doors can be remedied with routine maintenance. These examples pale in comparison, however, to the biggest originators of hospital noise: people. Hospital corridors contain a perpetual stream of people-related activity requiring a very wide-ranging approach to enforcement.

Imagine a solution in which disruptive phone discussions or noisy “water cooler” conversations could be addressed via a warning printed on-the-spot. Consider if that same solution recognized the violator as a “noise scofflaw” through an instant notification and allowed you to escalate him/her to the next level of disciplinary action.

Fortunately, such an answer exists. The CodeCite mobile enforcement solution from United Public Safety results in less distraction for your staff and a healthier prognosis for your patients by identifying and addressing disruptive elements within your corridors. With simple customizations, any facility can define and enforce their rules through CodeCite.

Begin your path to serenity by signing up for a FREE webinar to discover how CodeCite can help better manage your rules. The only thing you have to lose is the noise!

Putting the "Hospital" in Hospitality

What does “hospitality” mean to you? Most often, hospitality is synonymous with vacation resorts and luxury hotels due to the overall service employees deliver to the guests from “hello” to “goodbye.” Yet, when speaking in terms of high value service and customer care, are hospitals really all that different from resorts? Isn't it ultimately about the experience provided?

It's become a common practice for hospitals to compete for a patient's business. Traditionally, hospitals have relied on location and consumer advertising displaying rankings related to patient care and treatments. That method, however, is no longer effective due to the easy access of information on the internet, social media, and forums on which patients can quickly share their personal experiences with one another. As a result, medical professionals have started placing greater emphasis on improving "patient experience."

Extending beyond tests and surgical procedures, the patient experience includes wide-ranging characteristics from quality of sleep and facility cleanliness to the parking process. Individually, these experiences can add unnecessary stress during a patient's time of healing. The challenge for hospitals involves the identification and reduction of those root sources of patient stress.

From quality of life regulations to parking and permitting, UPsafety's mobile enforcement solutions provide medical facilities the opportunity to improve the patient experience through employee compliance. With ToCite and iPermit, hospitals can easily enforce employee parking and permitting compliance. Moreover, hospitals can quickly identify and issue warnings pertaining to specific quality of life regulations using CodeCite. No matter your specific enforcement needs, UPsafety has the tools you require to enhance your patients' experiences.

Contest Time!

Are you feeling lucky? Do you want to win an Amazon gift card? All you need to do is correctly identify the hospital parking structure to the left. UPsafety is giving away an Amazon gift card valued at $50 to one lucky winner.

Send your answer along with your name, job title, phone number and email address to sales@upsafety.net. One winner will be chosen from the correct responses by February 26th. Good luck!