Our commitment to our patients is to live our mission of providing exceptional care for our community.  It is a commitment to “always” doing so, as we firmly believe that every patient and every visitor deserves a 5-Star experience in every encounter.  Always is the highest bar and our staff’s efforts to reach that level of excellence is part of what earned NMC recognition as one of the Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals in the nation and the Hearst Nursing Excellence award.  As we celebrate National Nurses’ Week and National Hospital Week, I think sharing our commitments is a wonderful way to celebrate the day-in, day-out caring and service to you carried by every member of our nursing staff and our hospital team.

NMC’s team has developed formal written service standards which we have each committed to embracing and delivering. They speak volumes about how deeply our staff care for our patients.  These standards address: quality customer service; safety, appearance, and environment; courtesy and respect; teamwork; and telephone etiquette.  They go into great detail, so that we are each clear as to what is expected of us as an NMCer as we interact with our patients, our visitors, our providers, and our co-workers.

Our standards call on each of us to always use a formal best-practice approach to introducing ourselves. We will acknowledge and greet people in our hallways and provide our undivided attention during interactions.    We are empowered to do the right things for patients and make things right when needed. Should they occur (which we work to avoid) we will keep individuals informed of any wait times or delays.

Our standards call on each of us to always be responsible for creating a safe, secure, and accident-free environment.  Safety comes first over all our responsibilities.  We will make sure our appearance is clean and professional. Our ID badges will be visible.  We will keep our environment clean and neat and uncluttered.

We  will always maintain a pleasant attitude, demonstrate respect and compassion, and treat everyone as the most important person each of us will see that day.  We will promote a culture of quiet, including being mindful of how conversations carry and offering to close patient room doors.  We are empowered to say yes to customers and are responsible for finding someone to assist.  I hope you will find that our staff is quick to show courtesy by saying “my pleasure” when thanked, checking to see if there is anything we can do for patients and visitors, and in thanking you for choosing NMC.

NMCers have committed to always demonstrating positive working relationships and seeking out opportunities to assist others.  We look for moments to speak highly of our colleagues, so our patients can have confidence in their care team.  We take responsibility for our actions, welcome feedback, and maintain a high level of honesty and integrity.

We always strive to answer the phone within three rings and identify ourselves clearly and professionally, with a smile in our voices.  We will not use our cellphones when interacting with others. We will ask your permission before placing you on hold and will give you the proper number before transferring you.

That is quite a list and the commitment from every NMCer to always deliver on them is a remarkable undertaking.  I am so proud of this team. I’d like to offer my thanks and appreciation for the hard work, dedication and engagement  of our NMC team. I see and hear so many amazing examples of truly exceptional care – in person as I travel around the hospital, through patient surveys, through Caught You Caring cards, and in other settings. Taking a quick scroll through a recent set of patient comments highlight just a few interactions that are indicative of the high standard of care we offer. I see words like: friendly, caring, sense of humor, working together, respectful, happy environment, “homey” feel, excellent, responsive, personable, professional, compassionate, courteous, good listeners, considerate. The list goes on and on. What’s remarkable about these comments is that they come directly from our patients and visitors. I am totally grateful for  our team, and  when words like these come from our community, the impact is truly profound.  Thank you for entrusting your care to us. Here in National Nurses’ Week and National Hospital Week, please know that we deeply appreciate being part of this remarkable community.

— Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s Chief Executive Officer