Patient outcomes in med-surg units hinge on efficient communication between physicians and nurses. Any lapses can significantly sway outcomes—so recognizing the importance of clear communication across the care team, UCI Health set out to enhance these communication channels.  

Patient-experience leaders from UCI Health shared strategies and insights in a recent NRC Health–hosted webcast focused on their efforts to improve communication and discharge processes within their expanding healthcare network.  

Justin Wang, Manager of Experience and Operations, and Brad Giafaglione, Director of Experience and Operations, discussed the importance of balancing the rapid growth of UCI Health while standardizing bedside rounding and improving team communication.  

An NRC Health case study on the project reveals that these efforts led to significant improvements in nurse and provider communication, trust in providers, and overall Net Promoter Score (NPS).  

Catch UCI Health webcast on-demand!

• UCI Health expansion: UCI Health has experienced significant growth, expanding from a single 476-bed hospital to acquire four additional hospitals and develop a new 144-bed facility. This expansion has led to a high level of activity, with over 59,000 discharges and a large emergency presence as the only Level 1 trauma center in the region.
• Improving team communication: PX leaders identified team communication as a key driver of inpatient scores and implemented a project to standardize bedside rounding. This initiative has resulted in significant improvements in nurse and provider communication, trust in providers, and overall NPS.
• Standardizing the discharge process: Despite success in improving team communication, the shift in focus toward discharge standardization led to a decrease in these improvements. To address this, a steering committee has been established to oversee efforts to standardize provider-nurse rounding and improve the discharge process.
• Enhancing the patient experience: UCI Health’s biggest initiative in FY25 aims to enhance the experience across the organization, not just in pilot areas. This initiative has helped UCI reach the 90th percentile for recommendations and receive a four-star rating for patient-experience HCAHPS.
• Employee impact initiative: The initiative has also had a positive impact on employees, uncovering issues with team communication and introducing incentives to recognize the importance of their work. A network of local nursing and provider champions has been developed to ensure smooth operations.
• Data tracking system: UCI Health emphasizes the importance of tracking data and observing performance regularly. NRC Health’s patient-experience feedback supports their efforts through real-time actionable insights. 

“All of this came down to probably four major pieces: leadership engagement, stakeholder collaboration, a focus on key performance indicators (KPIs), and metrics to drive us forward. But what I wanted to highlight within all of this is the stakeholder collaboration—making sure their voices felt heard. That was driven by our physicians and our nursing team members.” —Brad Giafaglione, Director of Experience, UCI Health 

Want to dive deeper into strategies from UCI Health? Watch the full webcast on-demand and read the case study.