Tom Siemers, CEO

The Patient Experience and Why It Matters

Many of us get nervous about doctor appointments. Even routine appointments can get people (me especially!) nervous, stressed, and fearful. Just imagine how you'd feel if your loved one experienced a life-threatening emergency. That's what happened to Bob and Bonnie Martin from Albany, New York, while vacationing on Oak Island.

"My wife could hardly breathe, and we took her to Dosher," wrote Bob Martin, about his wife Bonnie.

Fortunately, a frightening trip to the Emergency Room and an inpatient stay in the hospital had a happy ending. In addition to providing great care for Mr. Martin's wife, the Martins went out of their way to express their gratitude for how they were treated at Dosher.

"Since walking through the door we were absolutely AMAZED at how we were greeted and treated!"

Do you think this just happens? Were we just lucky the Martins felt such care and concern? In a word, no. It starts at the top with our mission statement: "Dosher Hospital will be the friendliest, most patient-focused hospital in North Carolina."

"Throughout the 6 day stay, I cannot say enough about ALL of your staff! They were the friendliest, most professional, most caring people we have ever met while staying in a hospital."

We back up that mission statement with a culture of caring and concern, not just for patients and family, --but for the team members that work here. We follow best practices for delivering service excellence. We look for people to hire that embrace our mission and culture of caring. And we get some pretty darn good coaching, too. Megan Shrewsbury is our coach for service excellence. She recently earned the credential of Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP).

It's about making sure every patient not only gets great quality care, but feels truly cared for. Every person on the team is essential for making sure we accomplish our mission. I'm guessing the Martins would agree.

"Your hospital should be a teaching hospital about how to treat people and caring!"