Hospital helps patients find their way

  • Published
  • By Sara Vidoni
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Every day hundreds of people roam the hallways of Eglin Hospital. Whether arriving for an appointment or visiting family or friends, there are a number of places visitors need to be at any given time and due to the recent construction, there's not always a great way of getting there.

Col. Jablonski, the 96th Medical Operations Squadron commander, recognized this as a problem and his solution was simple, patient escorts.

"With our hospital renovation project, patients expressed a desire to be able to ask for directions or receive assistance in finding locations of offices and clinics that have moved to temporary locations," said Jablonski. "We created the patient assistance program to fulfill that need, but also because we want to make the 96th Medical Group the patient's first choice for health care. In order to become the patient's premier choice, we need to provide superior customer service. The patient assistance program is a first step toward enhancing the patient care experience at our facility."

Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., two Airmen circulate the hallways looking for visitors who may have lost their way or need help finding their destination. Jablonski started with volunteers from his own squadron and the idea quickly spread. Now 96th MDG Airmen of all ranks can be found taking a shift. Visitors can spot escorts by looking for the Airman in a blue or red vest.

"All of us are very happy to be doing what we can for the patients. We want to ensure everyone is getting where they need to go and on time," said Maj. Wolf, pediatrics flight commander and one of the many patient escorts.

According to Wolf, the busiest area of need for patient assistance is near the pharmacy; however, the escorts attempt to keep all major areas of the hospital covered.

"We generally escort at minimum 20 people per four hour shift! That's a lot of people who are now making it to their appointments on schedule or getting to their loved ones without interruption," she said.

The patient assistance program which began in March of 2013 will continue at the hospital throughout the remainder of the construction and beyond as needed by patients and visitors.