Sprucing Up the Office

Shortly after arriving in Williston, I had a new patient make an interesting observation about her experience in our office. She said that everything went well from a clinical perspective but she had a real problem with the waiting area. She told me that when she was getting ready to take a seat prior to be called back into the examination area, she looked down at the chairs in the waiting area and noted how dirty they were. Because of this critical observation on her part,she decided to stand until she was called back in order to be seen.
About a month later, another patient who had been to the office made a similar observation. He commented that the medical care he received was excellent but that if we were going to rebuild the family health center, we needed to "spruce up the office".
You might think that people would not necessarily make comments about the decor. They may even look past the aging vinyl chairs and graying tile floor if they received high quality medical care. Apparently not.
Right before our open house in April, our CEO agreed to a makeover for the reception area of the family health center. Painting and patching, pictures and a flat screen television were some of the new changes. The open house was a success but the real comments were about how nice the reception area looked. We just laid the new floor this week and the positive comments about the decor continue.
Our patients really do notice the physical plant. Just the right, soothing colors and no opulence transform an "OK" visit to the office into a more satisfying experience. I have seen this before. In other practices, new waiting room chairs or new carpet and paint show that you really care about the patient experience. It does not go unnoticed. It is actually very much appreciated. We are sprucing up the hospital now. I cannot wait to hear the comments about the new hospital lobby.
Dr. Dale