Rehab group tends its flock (service -- honorable mention)

During the past five years, the outpatient division at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown, Pa., has doubled its annual revenue and improved Press Ganey Associates customer-satisfaction scores from the 70th percentile to consistently above the 90th percentile.

The 17-site program in eight eastern Pennsylvania counties did so by implementing across-the-board customer-service training for existing and new staff, emphasizing customer service by tapping six staff members to be “Customer Service Champions,” and communicating with patients via a discharge letter, feedback form and follow-up phone calls.

“There were two things I was impressed with. One was the team ... and the second thing is that they had a specific strategy that could be replicated in other places. And they had maintained their gains over five years,” says Laura Barnes, vice president for patient-care services at East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Knoxville, and a judge for the service category.