When patients and guests think of Loma Linda University Health, they remember not only the success of medical treatment but also how the staff made them feel.
Each year, of thousands of people apply to LLU Health; some years more than 100,000 applications are submitted. LLU Medical Center’s rollout of the tool CarePix™ has refined the hiring process to ensure that staff members support the organization’s culture of providing whole-person care.
Initially implemented in 2008 to a test group, then fully deployed across the Medical Center in 2010, CarePix is a system that involves peer-based and behavior-based interviewing and hiring. It has been used for 97 percent of new hires since implementation.
“It can be difficult to change minds or hearts,” says Gerald Winslow, PhD, vice president for mission and culture, “so we have put much thought and resources into refining the hiring process. We are beginning to see hard evidence that CarePix is effective.”
Between 2008 and 2011, employee turnover for the test group at the Medical Center decreased 34 percent. Involuntary staff departures in the same group dropped by 26 percent, and discipline for attendance violations lowered 34 percent.
“We have adapted CarePix to help us hire individuals who live the core values of LLU Health: compassion, integrity, teamwork, and wholeness,” Dr. Winslow explains.
Further statistics show that staff turnover in environmental services decreased from 5.6 percent to 1.10 percent between 2008 and 2011 (a 80 percent difference).
On unit 4700, the turnover rate fell by 33 percent during the same time period; and on unit 9300, turnover dropped by 70 percent.
At the Heart and Surgical Hospital, which opened in 2009, 100 percent of the staff have been hired through the CarePix interview process, and the facility has achieved a 99th percentile patient satisfaction score.
Hiring the best possible staff will also help LLU Health prepare for health care reform, under which reimbursement is tied to patient satisfaction. Loma Linda may provide care to as many as 300,000 to 400,000 extra patients each year as access to insurance coverage expands.
Dr. Winslow experienced a powerful moment several years ago demonstrating what can be revealed during a behavior-based interview. The applicant already had an excellent job at a different organization.
“Why are you interested in working at LLU Medical Center?” Dr. Winslow asked.
The applicant’s reply: "Faith is not welcome where I work now. It would be frowned upon if I prayed at work. It is different at Loma Linda; I want to work at a place where all of me can show up for work."
While it began as an LLUMC program, the CarePix contract has been rewritten to encompass all of LLU Health. Anyone who has questions about implementing it in his or her area should contact Della Stange at ext. 15993.