Using The Resident Expectations Survey to Improve Life at Homestead Village

As mentioned previously, the 2011 Resident Expectation Survey was very positive.  Summarizing, overall satisfaction came in at 98.54% and satisfaction increased or stayed the same in 18 of the 23 areas surveyed.  While the numerical ratings for each question in the satisfaction survey are both  interesting and beneficial to benchmark the satisfaction scores versus previous surveys, the comments are the the very best source of information for quality improvement. 

Each of the 23 questions in the bi-annual expectation survey includes space for comments and many residents took advantage of the opportunity to provide feedback.  For 2011, the comments spanned 44 pages and totaled over 1100 separate points of feedback.  Well over half of the comments were positive regarding services and quality of staff members; but the constructive criticism contains many illuminating statements and good ideas.

Each Department Leader reviews the comments pertaining to their department, identifying comments that are positive as well as those that raise concerns.  For each concern, an appropriate action is determined.  For concerns that span more than one department, a quality improvement task force is developed to address the shortcoming.

Some examples of comments follow: 

Question 17 covered the quality of staff exhibiting friendliness, helpfulness, competency and cheer.  That category scored 99.64% satisfied, a .01% improvement over 2009.  20 of the 23 comments were positive.  The three concerns related to staff not being friendly at all times.  The clearest example was the comment that "some staff look the other way when I encounter them in the hallway."  These comments will be used as customer service examples in employee training and new employee orientation.

Question 16 relates to the timeliness and quality of communication between administration and residents. This question scored 98.55%, a .85% increase in satisfaction over 2009.  Ten of the nineteen comments were positive.  Of the nine concerns, some related to HVTV (Channel 95), one related to timeliness of notices, and one stated that long term goals are not clear.  Channel 95 improvements are ongoing and the timeliness of notices and long term goal issues will be examined for ways to improve both.

This level of detail is applied to all comments so that we can continue to improve the quality of our services and better fulfill our mission!