FacilityCare March/April 2011 : Page 34

F ACILITY S OLUTIONS Value-Added Service That Benefits the Security Program By Kenneth Bukowski P art of creating an outstanding patient experience includes pro-ducing and maintaining a safe, secure and customer-friendly environment for patients, visi-tors and hospital staff. And Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (OLBH) knows a lot about outstanding patient experience. OLBH is among the top 5 percent in the nation for patient experience, based on an analysis of patient surveys from across the country by HealthGrades, the leading inde-pendent healthcare ratings organization. Additionally, OLBH is one of only two hos-pitals in Kentucky to rank among the top 5 percent nationally and they have received the HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award for three consecutive years. This 214-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital located in Ashland, Ky., is part of the Catholic-based Bon Secours Health System Inc. OLBH employs approximately 1,200 healthcare professionals, making the hospital the largest employer in Greenup County. Sitting on a 90-acre campus, OLBH’s central hub, the hospital, is sur-rounded by Bellefonte Pavilion and F ACILITY C ARE facilitycare.com Bellefonte Centre, housing doctors’ offices, imaging and wellness centers, and other nonclinical departments. Since 70 percent of OLBH business is outpatient, the majority of patients receive treatment or physician care but are not hos-pitalized long term. In 2008, Rod Hieneman took over as the vice president of operations for OLBH, where his duties include managing the security and valet services. Hieneman quickly got word of the trou-bles within the main hospital’s valet and parking program. Patients’ and visitors’ cars were damaged; the valet team was unprofes-sional and not customer-centric. Hieneman saw that the program needed a change. “The reputation of our valet program was tarnished, and visitors did not want to use this free service,” said Hieneman. “They would rather walk a distance from the visi-tor parking lot to the building than run the risk of damage to their car.” Looking for a single-source solution, Hieneman turned to his security team, AlliedBarton Security Services, to help provide a remedy. AlliedBarton began service at OLBH in 2001, and account manager Robert Short knows the site like the back of his hand. Having joined the hospital as a security offi-cer in 2002, he has seen the OLBH campus grow and transform. “Our security team patrols the parking areas, and we could also see the problems they were having,” said Short. “I was able to meet with Rod and discuss the possibility of AlliedBarton taking over valet services (as we provided this service to the hospital in years past) and developing a new parking plan that would better meet the needs of patients, visitors and the hospital staff.” “Robert was able to make recommenda-tions for the valet and parking program and took charge of implementing these changes,” said Hieneman. “By executing this plan, our valet team would not only be cross-trained as security officers but also take on a more active customer service role. This would meet numerous needs within the parking and security departments.” Security officers and valet staff take part in all of the same security training provided by AlliedBarton and the hospital, including: • Disaster prevention and response • Hazmat emergency response • Crisis innovation M ARCH /A PRIL 2011 34 |

Facility Solutions: Value-Added Service That Benefits The Security Program

Kenneth Bukowski

Part of creating an outstanding patient experience includes producing and maintaining a safe, secure and customer-friendly environment for patients, visitors and hospital staff. And Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (OLBH) knows a lot about outstanding patient experience. OLBH is among the top 5 percent in the nation for patient experience, based on an analysis of patient surveys from across the country by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.Additionally, OLBH is one of only two hospitals in Kentucky to rank among the top 5 percent nationally and they have received the HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award for three consecutive years. This 214-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital located in Ashland, Ky., is part of the Catholic-based Bon Secours Health System Inc. OLBH employs approximately 1,200 healthcare professionals, making the hospital the largest employer in Greenup County. Sitting on a 90-acre campus, OLBH’s central hub, the hospital, is surrounded by Bellefonte Pavilion and Bellefonte Centre, housing doctors’ offices, imaging and wellness centers, and other nonclinical departments. Since 70 percent of OLBH business is outpatient, the majority of patients receive treatment or physician care but are not hospitalized long term. In 2008, Rod Hieneman took over as the vice president of operations for OLBH, where his duties include managing the security and valet services. Hieneman quickly got word of the troubles within the main hospital’s valet and parking program. Patients’ and visitors’ cars were damaged; the valet team was unprofessional and not customer-centric. Hieneman saw that the program needed a change. “The reputation of our valet program was tarnished, and visitors did not want to use this free service,” said Hieneman. “They would rather walk a distance from the visitor parking lot to the building than run the risk of damage to their car.” Looking for a single-source solution, Hieneman turned to his security team, AlliedBarton Security Services, to help provide a remedy. AlliedBarton began service at OLBH in 2001, and account manager Robert Short Knows the site like the back of his hand.Having joined the hospital as a security officer in 2002, he has seen the OLBH campus grow and transform. “Our security team patrols the parking areas, and we could also see the problems they were having,” said Short. “I was able to meet with Rod and discuss the possibility of AlliedBarton taking over valet services (as we provided this service to the hospital in years past) and developing a new parking plan that would better meet the needs of patients, visitors and the hospital staff.” “Robert was able to make recommendations for the valet and parking program and took charge of implementing these changes,” said Hieneman. “By executing this plan, our valet team would not only be cross-trained as security officers but also take on a more active customer service role.This would meet numerous needs within the parking and security departments.” Security officers and valet staff take part in all of the same security training provided by AlliedBarton and the hospital, including: • Disaster prevention and response • Hazmat emergency response • Crisis innovation • Psychiatric observations/restraints • Access control • HIPAA controls and compliance • Infant abduction prevention and response • Driver training • CPR training • Diversity training • ED training I look for professional, educated and capable individuals when creating a security team,” said Hieneman. “However, AlliedBarton was able to offer me these qualities in my valet employees as well.Robert and his team provide me with superior service at a lower cost. Valet and security services through one provider was a notable solution.” Short developed a zoned parking plan that would accommodate hospital employees, visitors and the valet staff. Additionally, the security team could monitor the parking facilities through CCTV, another campus safety upgrade implemented by AlliedBarton. Parking more than 100 cars each day, the AlliedBarton valet team at OLBH has increased their duties. “Visitors and patients may not know that the valet attendants are certified security officers,” said Short. “But this group is number one when it comes to customer service. Our valet is often the first person a guest sees at the hospital. These individuals go above and beyond their duties and will even personally drive a guest to an auxiliary building.” Officers are also available to escort visitors to and from their automobiles and provide assistance to motorists having vehicle trouble. As part of the implemented parking plan, AlliedBarton security officers drive a shuttle bus between parking lots and buildings.With more than 200 pickups/drop-offs daily, customer service is also a top priority for these officers. The value-added service of a cross-functional valet and security staff has been beneficial to OLBH. “It is nice to hear compliments and praise from hospital staff and visitors,” said Hieneman. “Guests hear great things about our free valet service, and they are taking advantage of it when they visit the hospital. The AlliedBarton team of valet and security officers has really shown us what a professional, customer-friendly experience can be like.” Valet services are provided from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and duties are taken over by designated security officers for the evening hours. Interchangeable training allows 24/7 valet and parking security – a real value-add for the hospital. AlliedBarton’s visible presence and professional appearance inside and outside of the hospital have helped to create a safe and secure environment. The security department works with other public service agencies to conduct emergency preparedness drills, making sure that all needed equipment and personnel are in place to provide appropriate care quickly and effectively. AlliedBarton has developed excellent working relationships with the personnel at OLBH. Short takes part in numerous safety and environmental care meetings and visitors meetings, is part of the workplace violence prevention team, and participates in various other management and leadership meetings. “I am extremely happy with the services AlliedBarton has provided to OLBH,” said Hieneman. “Rob’s professionalism and knowledge of the site and the industry have made my job easier. I’ve never seen another security company take the lead in developing parking plans and solving problems.The results speak for themselves.AlliedBarton does a great job with this multifaceted approach to security.”

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