In healthcare facilities today, every person working in a hospital is laser-focused on driving positive health outcomes—not only for the patients themselves but for the patients’ loved ones and for fellow caregivers, as well.
It does not start and end with doctors and nurses. Each housekeeper, dietitian, transport assistant, foodservice worker, facilities worker—and all the medical technicians, lab assistants, and billing clerks—are working toward the same goals of making sure the patient experience is conducive to healing and recovery.
Aramark Healthcare+ takes that integration with the inter-disciplinary hospital team to the next level with a dedicated Patient Experience group that finds ways to further build relationships with clients, drive improvement and scores, and deliver patient experience programs rooted in evidence-based practice.
An improved patient experience can drive satisfaction, decrease length of stay, reduce costly readmissions, improve nursing satisfaction, and reduce costly readmissions, to name just a few benefits.
A Healthcare Game-Changer: The Patient Experience Team
In April 2022, Beckey King, DNP, MSN, MBA, joined Aramark Healthcare+ as the Vice President of Patient Experience. With deep knowledge of both nursing and patient experience programming, King leads a team of more than 70 specialists working at Aramark client accounts and regions across the U.S.
“Every member of our team is also a member of the healthcare organization’s team, standing alongside physicians, nurses, and other professionals.“
Beckey King, Vice President, Patient Experience, Aramark Healthcare+
“Every member of our team is also a member of the healthcare organization’s team, standing alongside physicians, nurses, and other professionals,“ said King. “One of Aramark Healthcare+’s greatest differentiator is our unique approach to and focus on the patient experience. We work to not only deliver exceptional services, but also to ease some of the burdens of the hospital staff’s workflow.”
As someone who practiced nursing for more than 30 years—King has earned doctoral and master’s degrees in nursing—she strongly believes that the patient experience approach is a driver of nurse satisfaction, retention, and reduced turnover. This is monumental for healthcare organizations, as staff burnout and resignations have become commonplace during COVID.
“Nurses are short-staffed, caring for more patients these days than they normally would,” said King. “With every patient, there is usually at least one social detriment to affect health issues. What we do as patient experience advocates can take some of that burden off nurses.”
This approach can provide financial benefits for the healthcare organization, as well. A shorter length of stay impacts nursing hours and bed census to name a few factors. And with an enhanced patient experience and organized follow-up care at home, there can be a lower risk of costly readmission.
Making a Difference Post-Discharge: Patient Engagement Advisors (PEA)
In January 2022, Aramark Healthcare+ entered a strategic partnership with Patient Engagement Advisors (PEA), whose technology platform connects patients with PEA transition specialists to help them navigate social determinants of health issues and solve for patient needs that extend through post-discharge care.
“Through patient rounding and PEA transition specialist interviews, we are able to learn more about each individual patient and determine any social detriments of health that need to be addressed before the day of discharge to ensure they have the support they need at home,” said King.
The added care provides nurses with the knowledge that patients will receive assistance at home, which impacts nurse satisfaction, retention, and turnover.
“Adding post-discharge care services to our other capabilities, including foodservice, enables us to better serve an evolving healthcare industry by working in partnership with our clients to help reduce costly readmissions,” said Bart Kaericher, President and CEO of Aramark Healthcare+, in the press release. “PEA’s management team, dedicated employees, and commitment to service supports our shared goal of helping patients on the path to regain health, and to aid healthcare administrators in better serving their communities during and after hospitalization."
Complete Care: Holistic Solutions for Patients and Health Organizations
With a focus on working as part of the entire hospital team to drive positive outcomes, Aramark also partners with the Healthcare Plus Solutions Group (HPSG) of healthcare advisors. With a mission to positively impact those who receive care and give care in a hospital, HPSG seeks to improve staff wellbeing while reducing burnout and turnover.
That kind of care for the caregiver approach is currently in development by the Aramark Healthcare+ Patient Experience team, as well.
“Providing additional support for nurses allows them to further practice at the top of their licensure by taking care of these tasks for them,” continued King. “By providing support to the nursing workforces we serve, it is our desire to make their workday less stressful and impact patient outcomes in a positive way.
“For us, it’s more than just serving a food tray or cleaning a room. Our team members are aware that they impact patients, families, the community and the healthcare organization by the things they do every day. It’s what makes me really excited about being at Aramark Healthcare+.”
