No patient deserves less
Throughout much of my twenties, I worked in food service. I tended bar, waited tables, and served in various supervisory and management positions in some very nice restaurants and private clubs in Central Ohio. For a little over a year and a half, I was the maitre d' in an exclusive country club north of Columbus, and despite the satisfaction I've derived from my subsequent careers, first as a college teacher and then as a writer and editor, I sometimes look back with fondness on those early jobs. There was something theatrical about restaurant work in the way we reached out to make a connection with each guest, and every night had the excitement of an opening night.
My restaurant career began when I was 13 and got a job as a busboy and dishwasher in the cafeteria at the Faculty Club. It was not long until I was promoted to the fountain where I made milkshakes and scooped vanilla ice cream for the professors' apple pie. Eventually, I moved upstairs to the dining room and learned how to set a formal table and to serve from the left with the left hand and clear from the right with the right so I never had to reach in front of a guest. When you worked for Mrs. Saunders, you always did these things the correct way. Not for tips; the club didn't allow tipping. You did them because, as Mrs. Saunders said, "We take pride in doing things correctly and making the members comfortable. No member deserves less."
Service is not a lost art, even if sometimes it feels that way. What does seem rare, though, is to find organizations that share Mrs. Saunders's attitude toward the people to whom they provide service. I recently flew back from Atlanta to Providence on an airline that will remain nameless. What was supposed to be a seven-hour experience turned into a 27-hour ordeal that included a $269 hotel stay in Philadelphia without luggage. As annoying as the extra time and expense were, what was truly upsetting was no one at the airline said, "We're sorry." Or even worse, no one acknowledged that those of us standing in long lines (and there were a lot of us in a lot of lines) were feeling perhaps a little more uncomfortable than the employees who were "taking care" of us.
Healthcare can be uncomfortable for people for many different reasons ranging from pain to fear to inconvenience. When people are uncomfortable, they have a hard time learning what they need to know and do about their health. In this month's feature by Kim Jordan, which is the second in her two-article series on Jordan Hospital's cardiac and rehabilitation programs, Kim describes the hospital's approach to patient education and rehabilitation. From one department to the next, there is a common element that makes the programs work. Each technician, each educator, each therapist that Kim describes, believes it is his or her job to interact with the patient, to establish a relationship, and to help the patient feel at ease. That way, the important job of improving a person's quality of life can get done. As Mrs. Saunders might say, "No patient deserves less."
Contact On Call Managing Editor Joe Saling at joesaling@comcast.net.
