“CAHPS Cast” is a monthly discussion show focused on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider Satisfaction survey process.  For healthcare organizations, the CAHPS survey process has become an important tool to gauge patient experiences.  It has also become a tool for consumers to use to compare

organizations when making healthcare decisions.  This free program discusses the different aspects of the CAHPS survey process, updates and changes, and how organizations are using it to improve their service.  The hosts of this program are Alan Jackson, President of The Jackson Group, and Janette Jones, Director of Patient Satisfaction Surveying.

The Jackson Group is proud to be a partner with The MESH, a new media online broadcasting network dedicated to providing unique and engaging online content to viewers around the world.  You can learn more about The MESH by visiting it’s web site at www.theMESH.tv.  The MESH is a production of Jackson Group Interactive, a subsidiary company of The Jackson Group; all shows & podcasts are open to the public, and you can “subscribe” to any of the shows through Apple iTunes.

The Jackson Group, Inc. proudly announces the recent addition of Michael Dowd, as a Business Development Associate for the Healthcare market.  Mr. Dowd will be responsible for new business development, relationship management, and strategic planning with healthcare organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

In his tenure with national patient satisfaction survey firm Press Ganey, Michael has worked with numerous hospitals to impact satisfaction measures and improve the patient experience.  He has consulted with organizations to develop targeted marketing programs and messaging, worked in the creation of effective corporate identity programs, and consulted in the area of asset acquisition and management.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Walsh College as well as a Master’s Degree in Information Management & Communications. Originally from Michigan, Michael currently resides with his wife and step-son in Cary, North Carolina.  All are avid hockey fans and supporters of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Since 1976, The Jackson Group, Inc. has been providing innovative survey and consulting services to the healthcare industry.  Survey options offered by The Jackson Group include employee, customer satisfaction, and community perception surveys, as well as special needs assessments.  The company recently began offering its services to a broader range of industries with the addition of its business services division.  The Jackson Group is dedicated to its mission of “Helping organizations manage well, serve well, and communicate well.”

Meadows Regional Medical Center has been a client of The Jackson Group’s for six years, over that time conducting a Medical Staff survey, several Employee surveys, and ongoing Patient Satisfaction surveys.  Meadows won the Laureate Workplace Excellence Award in 2008, 2009, and now in 2011.  The organization continues to perform in the upper quartile of The Jackson Group’s patient and employee healthcare databases.

This award is given to each healthcare organization that has demonstrated excellence in the workplace using the criteria designed by The Jackson Group and exemplified in the client’s Work Climate (Employee) Survey results.  The client must have a high response rate on the survey, and must also show evidence of workplace excellence by meeting or exceeding the established criteria related to their workplace and demonstrating excellence in such things as communication, employee involvement, commitment and perception of departmental leadership.

Congratulations to Meadows Regional Medical Center for their continued focus on providing a positive work environment for their employees!

The Rounding Pad™ utilizes an Apple iPad to give those conducting rounding a tool for quick data entry during patient visits.  The pad is configured to trigger automatic email alerts to key people in the organization if a particular topic area receives a low score.  And those using the device can pull up a dashboard report at any time for quick analysis of both high and low performing units and topics.

For more information about the Rounding Pad™ and to see screen shots of the survey and reports, please visit this web page.  If you are interested in learning more about the Rounding Pad™ or to receive a proposal, please fill out a Contact form by clicking this link, calling The Jackson Group at 800-554-0373 or contacting us by email at info@thejacksongroup.com.

You can read the full case study by clicking this link.  Thank you to KershawHealth for being a partner with The Jackson Group on your patient satisfaction efforts!

In April 1976, Tony & Margaret Jackson started “A.K. Jackson & Associates” as a small, sole-practitioner consulting company in Hickory, North Carolina.  Thirty-five years later, The Jackson Group is now a national survey and consulting firm with a full-time staff of close to thirty and clients around the globe.  The Jackson Group celebrated its 35th anniversary on April 1st, 2011, and enjoyed the opportunity to look back on its history and the number of clients that have been served over that time.

The iPad can now be used for on-site survey data collection.  It represents the lightest weight, mobile device available.  Final survey documents are programmed on the iPad by The Jackson Group.  This approach combines the best of both worlds in giving a truly mobile device while still supporting immediate data availability and email notification of negative responses.

Requirements for this system include:

• The availability of wireless internet, and
• Staff to take the unit around to patients, inviting their participation

As soon as a survey is completed, results are available to clients through Mercury, our online data access system.  Also, negative responses to key inquiries will be automatically emailed out to specified individual(s) giving them the full survey response and allowing them to initiate fast service recovery.

Leasing and purchase options are available.

If wireless internet is not available, these same services can be obtained through a hard-wired touch screen computer. Requirements for this approach include:

• Availability of the internet
• A common discharge point(s) to place the hard-wired touch screen computer(s)
• Staff to direct patients to the survey, inviting their participation

While immediate data availability through Mercury and email notifications of negative responses to key indicators are also part of this system, the mobility factor is lost.  Therefore, there must be a common point of discharge for patients in order for this system to be effective.

Please contact us if you would like to talk with us about using an iPad to collect on-site customer/patient satisfaction information.

“When you have the expertise of The Jackson Group in gathering satisfaction and research data for clients combined with the knowledge of Customer Service Solutions in how to use that data to improve customer relationships, you produce a wonderful service for many organizations.” says Alan Jackson, President/CEO of The Jackson Group. “This partnership over the last seven years has benefited many organizations and helped them improve their own client retention. We feel we are providing a valuable service and doing so alongside a strong partner company.”

“It’s a great milestone to have reached,” says CSS President Ed Gagnon. “We began working with The Jackson Group in providing research services to our clients in 2004, focusing on assessing customer satisfaction and gauging loyalty and risk of client loss. We have since conducted telephone and web-based surveys in multiple languages, countries, continents, and industries. It’s been a great relationship that we look forward to continuing.”

ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Founded in 1998, Customer Service Solutions specializes in designing/implementing customer retention and growth strategies, culture change strategies, customer service training, and research services such as mystery shopping and customer perceptions surveying. Ed Gagnon is also the author of “Ask Yourself…Am I Great at Customer Service?”, a new book that describes what makes an individual GREAT at customer service. Call 704-553-7525 for more information.

Albeiro holds a degree in Business Management and Marketing from the Charles M. Snipes School of Business at Lenoir-Rhyne University.  He is a current Board Member of Centro Latino of Hickory and Chairman of the Latino Advisory Committee.  He enjoys cooking, volunteering, and spending time with his family (which includes a newborn baby girl!).

We are very happy to have Albeiro with us in this new role.

Mrs. Dickerson holds a BA from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and brings a wealth of knowledge to The Jackson Group, having previously worked for Hendricks Furniture Group and in the Catawba Valley area for some time.  Originally from Hickory, Mrs. Dickerson is a member of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and lives with her husband, Rob, and her daughter Sophie.  Welcome, Karen!