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New CC Hospitality Services Program kicks off
Think back to the first time you entered the Clinical Center. Did you confidently find your way to your appointment or meeting? Or did you wander the endless corridors until a kindly stranger pointed you in the right direction?
Thanks to the CC’s new Hospitality Services Program launched in December 1999, newcomers won’t have to wander and wonder anymore; they’ll have easy access to specially trained hospitality staff who will help them navigate this everchanging building.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, CC Director John Gallin said, “Today we celebrate the beginning of hospitality services at the Clinical Center in a formal way. We’ve always been very hospitable, but now we are formalizing it. This is the beginning of teaching people to smile and to be generally helpful to everybody.”
The program features a greeter stationed outside the CC’s front entrance to meet people as they arrive, and hospitality service coordinators stationed at the South Lobby, Center Lobby (near Masur Auditorium), and North Lobby, who will guide visitors to their destinations or assist them with special needs.
Team members can be recognized by their navy-blue blazers, with a hospitality services logo. Equipped with walkie-talkies, they can quickly communicate to ensure that each guest receives the needed services in a timely manner.
The hospitality services team includes Michael Daniel, program chief; Michael Alexander, Matthew Corley, and Sue LaRoche, hospitality services coordinators; Edward Pettway, greeter; and Nancy Pierre, administrative assistant. All are veteran CC employees, except Daniel and Pettway, who worked together in hospitality services at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore. Several volunteers have been recruited to assist the full-time staff.
Thanks to two weeks of intensive customer service training, team members were well prepared for their first day at their new posts. “It was great to see them in action,” said Daniel.
“They had the necessary tools to ensure their success.”
The suggestion to implement such a program came from the CC’s Patient Advisory Group. “They told us we did a great job with patient care, but the process of getting to the patient-care units was sometimes cumbersome,” said Daniel.
“When the South Lobby opened, the orientation of the building radically changed,” added Jan Weymouth, CC program manager. “Although the signage was very well done, people were still getting lost.”
A steering committee was formed to investigate how the CC might better address wayfinding issues.
Michael Daniel was hired last summer, and the program jelled rapidly, thanks to his experience forming a similar program at the University of Maryland Medical System.
As he accepted the many congratulations offered at the kickoff, Daniel said, “I could not have done this without the hard work of [the Steering Committee]. They’ve been extremely helpful in guiding the process and providing the expertise and information to make this venture a success.”
Committee members are Rona Buchbinder, Sara Byars, Laura Ceamal, Dottie Cirelli, Michael Daniel, Larry Eldridge, Adrienne Farrar, Maureen Gormley, Steve Groban, Andrea Rander, Maggi Stakem, and Jan Weymouth.
At the ribbon-cutting, Maureen Gormley, the CC’s chief operating officer, said, “I’d like to recognize Jan Weymouth. She’s done all the administrative coordination behind this program, including getting the furniture and electricity in place, and juggling the logistics and staffing. This was no small feat.”
Although staff and facilities are in place, the initiative is not yet complete.
“The next endeavor is the training of all Clinical Center staff to orient them to the philosophy of hospitality,” said Weymouth.
Daniel will conduct a series of onsite seminars for CC staff. “We’ll spend a day in the classroom talking about various customer-service subjects.”
Added Weymouth, “Our goal is to have everyone who has any interaction with a patient or visitor to have the opportunity to understand what hospitality is all about.”
Training sessions should begin in the next few months.
- by Sue Kendall