Saving Lives... One at a Time

Photo Credit: Ted Eytan

It seems strange to put power and strength behind a simple button. But this is more than the act of giving the support staff a token of appreciation for their work. It is a symbolic reminder that with every action we take we have the ability to help save someone's life. Our staff don't know and don't really care about what HEDIS numbers are, so we had to find a way to make this work personal. Our leadership team goes around our SCAL region and gives out buttons at site visits to our support staff as a small gesture to say "We can't save lives without you."  We don't say, "thank you for helping us meet our HEDIS goals". Instead, we say, "thank you for helping us save lives. The work you do is very important." 


The interesting and unintended benefit was the button, worn proudly on I.D. badges and uniforms, has become an opportunity to share how we care for our members at Kaiser Permanente. When a member asks what the button means, I've heard stories of our staff proudly saying "At Kaiser Permanente we care about our members and our Proactive Encounter tool helps us do that." Another said "It reminds me that I am here for YOU. To help keep you healthy and thriving."

My husband was at a recent appointment with a surgical specialty department when he noticed his MA wearing the button. He asked her what P.O.E. was (as a test for me of course), and she smiled and said "POE is how Kaiser helps us know what we need to do to keep you healthy." He teased her and said "Am I healthy?" and she said "You will be when I'm done with you!" She went on to tell him how they knew exactly what each patient needs because of POE and then turned the computer screen to show him the proactive care checklist in HealthConnect. All of this because he asked about a button... Now that's patient/staff engagement!

Curious to see some of the conversations and blogs spurred by the button?

http://www.tedeytan.com/2011/03/31/7943

http://www.tedeytan.com/2011/06/11/8384

http://www.tedeytan.com/2011/06/14/8432

There was even a flurry of twitter conversations after the Health Care Innovations conference in D.C. which created some positive swirl around changing the focus from "Outcome Measures" to "Saving Lives".