The little things are what the Office of Patient and Family Experience at the Keck Medical Center of USC is all about.
The Patient Experience team welcomes and visits every patient within 24 hours of admission. During these visits, the staff answers any questions the patients or family members may have, checks on issues like staff responsiveness and room cleanliness, and makes sure that patients and their families feel cared for at USC’s hospitals. These initial connections help foster communication and trust between patients, their families and their medical care teams.
This concept is so important to Scott Bosés and his wife, Celesta Pappas-Bosés, that they recently gave a $90,000 gift to help expand the Patient Experience Program at the Keck Medical Center of USC. In addition, the office will be renamed the Scott Bosés and Celesta Pappas-Bosés Patient and Family Experience.
As one of the hospitals’ Pillars of Excellence, Patient Experience is designed to enhance both patient satisfaction and employee engagement while supporting quality, compassionate care and excellent customer service.
“A few months ago, a young couple wanted to renew their wedding vows, but because of medical issues, the ceremony needed to happen very quickly,” recalled Diane Lapa, director of Patient Relations at the Keck Medical Center. Lapa and her team orchestrated a beautiful ceremony right in the patient’s hospital room and provided a minister, wedding cake and décor in less than two hours.
Bosés said such responsiveness is important, “We’re very aware that medicine is a practice — it isn’t a precisely defined science. Knowing that, it’s the little things that show you that the medical staff really cares.”
Lapa said she agreed, adding, “This gift will allow us to provide even more special services to our patients and their families, assist our nurses and help sustain our ambulatory care clinics, patient navigation and access, as well as our patient advocates, which are invaluable to this program. We are forever grateful to Scott and Celesta for recognizing our department.”
Pappas- Bosés said, “A lot of people come to USC and get overwhelmed by how big it is. Patient Experience has made such a profound difference. The bigger the institution, the more personalization it needs.”
To Lapa, her work will always be about more than simply being polite and responsive. “I want to make every patient feel like the only patient,” she explains. “I want to be able to take care of someone who doesn’t have a ride home, to recognize a celebration, mourn a loss, and show compassion and support in good times and bad. It’s all a part of healing.”