TAMPA — One of the biggest complaints about the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital is the time it takes to get someone to answer the phone.
Kathleen Fogarty, director of the Tampa hospital, wants to change that.
On Monday morning, she sent an email blast to all 4,900 hospital employees calling on them to be ready to take incoming calls.
“The number one thing you can do to build trust, improve access and better serve our patients is to answer the phone and to call veterans back in a timely manner,” she wrote in an email sent to all employees.
“We get feedback about the frustration of calling our medical center just about every time we engage with our veterans. They wait to get through, and once they do, the phones just rings on the other end – sometimes for 20 minutes or more! – or they never get a return call if they leave voicemail.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to answer the phone. It is the first rule of good customer service and to be a five-star organization we must answer calls in a timely manner and return voicemail messages.”
To ensure that happens, Fogarty told employees to review and update their contact information “in both Outlook and Vista, if necessary.”
The move represents a reminder, not a change in policy, said hospital spokeswoman Karen Collins.
Fogarty was “reminding people to do their job,” said Collins. “When the phone rings, answer it.”
It’s part of an effort, Fogarty wrote, to have employees reaffirm their “commitment to our mission and our ‘I-CARE’ values — Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. … It is more than just saying those words though. You must follow through with your actions. For example, if you see something that needs to be fixed, elevate it to leadership.”
Fogarty’s message about the phone calls comes on the heels of a visit last week by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, who talked about his “Road to Veterans Day” 90-day plan to transform the troubled administration.
So far, many of the objectives have been accomplished, Fogarty wrote.
In addition, the VA is also looking for better ways to gauge veteran satisfaction, including instituting the organizational strategy known as “Lean Management” throughout more of VA. The VA is also looking at ways to reorganize along common regional service boundaries, Fogarty wrote.
Reiterating some of the points made by McDonald, Fogarty wrote that improvements also are coming with a new patient scheduling system, a new digital services team to better connect veterans with caregivers and expanded recruitment efforts to hire well-qualified medical professionals.
She added that the VA is reviewing other key areas such as human resources, financial management and Veterans Benefits Administration transformation.
But while changes are underway, “ultimately the responsibility to transform the VA lies with each individual employee,” Fogarty wrote. “You have a responsibility to help rebuild the trust of the American people and improve the care our veterans receive.”
PHOTO: Kathleen Fogarty, director of the James A Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, sent an email to employees reminding them it was everyone’s responsibility to answer incoming calls. TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO