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Did You Get the Message?

August, 2019 | Scott Nygaard, M.D., MBA, COO

Communication in the health care industry is an ongoing challenge as we face changes on many fronts - from state and federal regulations to reimbursement changes to consumer mindset impact and access demands to care paths, performance metrics and the list goes on. A full schedule of appointments and a full in box add to the challenge of staying abreast of the changes that impact you, your practice, our community and ultimately, patient care. We all know there is no silver bullet to the continued communication challenges, however, we want to be intentional in our communications to relay and receive important information that impact you and patient care while allowing us to run a successful health system to support you and provide excellent care to our community.

Sifting through an ever-growing email in box to find the must-reads among the FYIs and nice-to-knows is time-consuming and frustrating, but it’s the way most of us are trying to communicate today. We all understand how messages can go unread or unanswered by accident. By comparison, phone calls are minimal, but usually most effective. Unanswered calls about a patient’s status or unclear orders can make a difference in patient satisfaction, and in some cases, outcomes. Prompt conversations between providers make all the difference. On a larger communications scale, last fall the Lee Health executive team held a series of ‘Listening Tours’ to facilitate face-to-face communication with the medical staff. We were pleased to see and hear from you. We plan to continue the open forum and encourage participation.

Are you getting information you need from Lee Health? Here are just a few messages you might have missed that could impact your practice, your patients, and our community:

  • We are planning an internal medicine residency program at Cape Coral Hospital in cooperation with Florida State University;
  • Lee Memorial Hospital has a new robot for surgery;
  • A new, private OB ED Triage unit has been constructed at HealthPark;
  • Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic will launch Aug. 15 through a collaboration of Golisano Children’s Hospital, Lee Physician Group and community physicians as a result of children’s medical services discontinuing the service;
  • In January, the ED at Gulf Coast Medical Center will expand from 43 to 84 beds, and 216 new acute care beds will open there in the Spring. As construction progresses, the reconfiguration of services at Gulf Coast and Lee Memorial Hospital continues.

These are a few examples. If this is the first time you’ve heard about these items, what is the best way to get this type of news to you? We are currently looking at other communication tools that are mobile-friendly and offer secure text messaging to make it easier for you to relay and receive important information about your patients and work environment at Lee Health.

Share your ideas, thoughts and concerns with us at ExceptionalLee@LeeHealth.org, or call me at 343-6511.  Maintaining open, two-way communication is the best way for us all to create an environment that recognizes your voice and will make Lee Health a great place to work. This also creates a safe, comforting and healing environment for our patients, their families and each other as we are all kept informed of the many complex issues facing our health care system.