“We treat others as though we are guests in their lives,” reads the credo of a UW Academic Medical Center program dedicated to enhancing the institution’s culture of service. Funded by a $2 million gift from private donors, the new initiative, called “Show U Care,” is a comprehensive effort to reach high standards of service excellence at UWMC, Harborview Medical Center, and UW Physicians Neighborhood Clinics.

“While there are many wonderful examples of exemplary service by units and individuals throughout the UW AMC every day, we have never had a single set of standards and behaviors that define what ‘exemplary service’ truly means within our organization,” said John Coulter, chair of the Service Culture Steering Committee. Coulter is an associate vice president for medical affairs and executive director of Health Sciences Administration.

The initiative began with a staff survey at both hospitals and all the UW Physicians Neighborhood Clinics. The survey was followed by a number of focus groups.

“We were pleased to find that the staff feels that giving quality customer service is important to them, across the board,” said Deborah Lum, quality research manager for UWMC. The survey not only helped identify standards employees valued most, but also yielded specific staff recommendations for improvements and for the resources required to implement them.

Countertop cards bearing the service commitment statement began to appear in patient areas throughout the hospitals and clinics. A set of nine service standards were printed on plastic cards and attached to all employee identification badges. A poster competition was held among departments.

To further promote the service ethic the UW AMC has begun a regular awards program to recognize staff and physicians for excellence in customer service. Recipients receive a $100 gift certificate to be used at a hospital gift shop or at the University Book Store.

The service committee creatively worked to integrate the service ethic into the culture. It has empowered employees to handle first point-of-contact problem resolution through sincere attempts to focus on service improvements.

In addition, the committee funded grants to implement staff suggestions for improvement. Staff members submit applications, which are reviewed and evaluated. Departments, offices and clinics receiving grant awards have used them to purchase such items as a coffee machine for a patient area, magazine subscriptions, wall-mounted televisions and an electronic baby swing for the nursery in the Maternity and Infant Center. Staff members have revised appointment-booking practices, added boards at reception desks that let patients know wait times, initiated reminder calls to reduce missed appoint-ments, and served refreshments to patients on busy clinic days.

Said Lum, “Our goal has been to increase the satisfaction of our patients and referring physicians by 50 percent, and we are making progress toward this goal.”