Re-engineering began with communications plan
Staff was informed every step of the way
(Editor’s note: In the February issue of Rehab Continuum Report, you learned how Bryn Mawr Rehab redesigned its service delivery to a patient-centered care model. This month, we’ll tell you how the hospital achieved staff buy-in for the extensive changes.)
Before beginning its massive restructuring project, the administration at Bryn Mawr Rehab created a communications plan to make sure all staff got timely and accurate information about the massive changes being considered.
"We invested a tremendous amount of time and effort in internal communication. It’s the right thing to do when working in an environment that is so tumultuous," says Jan Bergen, vice president of administration.
The redesign program eliminated traditional clinical services departments and several layers of administrative staff and created a patient-centered care model with ten treatment teams made up of all the people responsible for the care of patients in that diagnosis.
The new model took effect in July 1996 at the 141-bed hospital located in Malvern, PA. (For more details on the re-engineering project, see RCR, February 1997, pp. 17-19.)
Bergen made the decision to dedicate six-tenths of a full-time equivalent position to coordinating internal communication of the redesign project. The hospital’s special events and guest coordinator was given the responsibility for carrying out the communications plan, assisted by members of the redesign team.
Here are some of the components of Bryn Mawr’s staff communication plan:
• Presentations about the new model.
The committee gave numerous presentations about the redesign plan during all shifts to keep staff informed. About 70% to 80% of employees attended, Bergen says.
The meetings were part presentation and part open mic where employees were allowed to raise any issues that were on their minds.
• Question and answer box.
Staff were invited to drop their questions into a box in the cafeteria. The questions were answered in a written report that was sent out monthly with employees’ paychecks.
• On my mind cards.
Staff were encouraged to write their questions, ideas, and complaints to Bergen if they were not being addressed by normal supervisory channels. If the notes were signed, she would make sure they were answered within 48 hours. Anonymous responses were answered in the monthly employee newsletter.
• Hot topics forums.
These were open discussions of topics that were of great concern to staff at the time. The forums were held weekly at first, then bi-weekly after the plan was implemented in July. As attendance began to dwindle toward the end of the year, the forums were changed to monthly.
Often, the redesign committee made changes based on input from the staff at the forums.
For instance, therapists were concerned about how they were going to get their continuing clinical education with no departments. After the Hot Topic forum on this subject, the committee decided to add a second clinical education position in the education department to assist the staff with continuing education.
• Dining and dialogue.
Bergen and the hospital president met weekly with small groups of employees to talk about the redesign plan, priorities, and how the changes would impact the staff.
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