Patient Satisfaction Surveys – Working to Make Trips to the Emergency Room a Little Bit Easier

We understand that when families bring their children to the emergency room it’s a stressful time. That’s why we’re continuously evaluating ways to make it a little easier for children – and their families.

Part of that effort involves asking patient families for their thoughts and suggestions through patient satisfaction surveys – both at our Akron and Beeghly ERs.

“These surveys are all about feedback, improvement and communications,” said Dina Dornack, RN, emergency department manager. “We want to gain insight on what we’re doing well and how we can sustain these efforts. Patient families sharing their feedback opens a door to explore what we can do better to provide them with a better experience.”

Those big insights come from the patients’ open-ended questions.

The “meat and potatoes” of the surveys open the door for the departments to really explore what they can do better to provide patients with a better experience.

Last year alone, staff reviewed nearly 2,000 patient family surveys to pinpoint ways to make a trip to the ER as comfortable as possible.

Communication is key for improving the emergency room – especially from patient families. For instance, we asked them open-ended questions to learn what would help them have a better experience. And we used those insights when designing and building the Kay Jewelers Pavilion ER.

The Patient Experience Committee, which comprises volunteers, nurses, leadership and Parent Advisory Group members, met to analyze how they did as an emergency department overall in 2016. The committee also shared ways to make improvements based on reviewing around 2,000 patient surveys.

Because of this feedback, the emergency room has become a much more comfortable environment. A recent survey found 80 percent of patient families were likely to recommend Akron Children’s emergency department at the end of 2016 – a 10 percent increase from 2015.