All healthcare organizations are under financial pressures however Bruyère was committed to providing excellence in care and wanted to improve our admission process and create a safe and caring welcome to our new patients and families. Through listening patient stories and holding Kaizen events key themes were identified as being important to our patients and families. Working closely with our patients and families and stakeholders we co-designed the Bruyère Volunteer Ambassador Program. Bruyère has a vibrant, committed and dedicated Volunteer Program and with the collaboration of Clinical Programs it was determined that Bruyère could expand the roles of Volunteers to include the Ambassador role and provide a great service at no extra cost to the organization. Through leveraging our wonderful volunteers Bruyère has been able to meet critical self-identified needs that our patients and families identified as being important for them and ensure that all new admissions are welcomed to our hospital and are aware of our policies developed to keep them safe.
Our Volunteer Ambassadors greet new patients and families upon admission, help them to settle into their room, answer non-clinical questions about hospital services and provide a tour of key areas on their unit and in the hospital. The Volunteer Ambassador also shares important information about the services provided by our Therapeutic Recreation department and leaves behind key contact list for the unit. Now, 100% of our new admissions at our Saint Vincent Hospital site state they are welcomed when they arrived and have their non-clinical questions answered immediately. They report a positive experience on admission, know who to address further questions to and have a decreased anxiety level during their admission process. Our Volunteer Ambassador Program demonstrates that is service was designed collaboratively to meet the expressed needs of our patients and their families.
Our Volunteer Ambassador Program has significantly changed and improved the way we admit our patients from acute care to ensure that the transition is smooth, welcoming, well organized, safe, and patient centered.
Contact Person:
Title: Senior VP Clinical Programs and Chief of Nursing and Allied Health
Contact information: dgravelle@bruyere.org
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