Back in Action ... Hospital Customer Service

About a month ago, I visited my father at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He had major surgery and was there for a good three weeks. Little did I know that a week and a half later, I'd be the one who would be in the hospital for 15 days. I had quite the battle and a number of surgeries, but came through with a long-term outlook that is very favorable.

The one thing I do want to say is that the customer service I received from Mount Nittany Medical Center and the Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania was outstanding. There was a strong sense of caring and customer focus as compared to going through the motions. I am not saying that Sturdy's care was bad, but the sampling I saw over three days was lower than that of what I personally experienced. The good thing with Sturdy is that my dad pulled through and the physicians seemed to be really on top of things.

Back to Mount Nittany and Hershey Medical Centers. The physician and nursing staffs were experienced, but also had a strong sense of caring. They were outcome focused, as opposed to going through the process. I will say that Mount Nittany, while smaller, seemed to be more intimate to the patient's needs. Hershey had a breadth of services and staff, but had good processes. There was a level of inexperience at times at Hershey due in part that it is a teaching hospital, but there were checks and balances to insure for a positive overall experience despite the pain people are going through and their need for healing.

I am on the mend and thankful for the expertise at both hospitals. The customer service experience was a bonus. A bonus on top of this was the awesome food at Mount Nittany. It was restaurant quality.

Back in action to serve the educational marketing community ... Thank God for a positive outcome.