The telecom operators who answer patient calls for primary care and other Health Center services are now in a single newly renovated location. The approximately 20 employees for UConnLink and Primary Connect have been united on the first floor of the Administrative Services Building (ASB). Prior to the consolidation, the Primary Connect operators were in Dowling South while the UConnLink operators were on the third floor of ASB.
“Combining these two areas makes a difference to both the staff and the Health Center,” says Sandra Donahoe, executive director for organization excellence. “There is definitely more camaraderie having the staff together working in one location.”
A phone call is often the first contact a patient has with the UConn Health Center so those who answer that call play an important role. The call centers are staffed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Most operators, depending on their specialty, take between 80 and 120 calls a day.
“I’m a hands-on manager and I like to be accessible to my staff,” says Milissa Woodward, manager of the Call Center. “They could always call me before but it’s not the same. It makes such a difference for the operators to be able to walk right over to me with their cordless headsets and ask me a question.”
Dr. Frank Torti, executive vice president for health affairs and medical school dean, has been a big proponent of a centralized call center. He recently visited the Call Center’s consolidated location and told the operators they are the voice of the Health Center and he appreciates all that they do.
“Access is one of Dr. Torti’s highest priorities,” says Donahoe. “The Access Initiative has been underway for several months. Having the opportunity to centralize the primary care call center staff in this one location is a huge step towards realizing a system-wide centralization of call answering services – and will ultimately impact patient access in a positive way.”
The consolidation is just the first step. The next initiative includes creating pods so similar clinical specialties can have their phones answered by the same group of operators.
“It is recognized when people are on the phones, they shouldn’t be distracted by having to check patients in or out or collecting co-pays,” says Woodward. “So instead of having phone staff pulled in all different directions, all they will be doing is focusing on patient calls – similar to what we currently do for primary care and geriatrics.”
Woodward says the first pod will likely be a surgical pod involving ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology, urology, and general surgery. It should be operational by the end of November.
The overall goal is to reduce the “abandon rate” – the number of callers who hang up before their call is answered. They would like the abandon rate to be 5 percent or less. Currently, both call centers are consistently meeting that goal.
Another new initiative already underway is a float phone pool. Similar to the clinical office assistant float staff, five employees were recently hired and trained to answer patient calls in all the clinical specialties if a member of the regular phone staff is absent.
The operators with UConnLink will also continue to do their off-phone work which includes sending out brochures, handling online appointments and class registrations, and faxing discharge summaries to patient’s primary care physicians.
“This group operates at a very high level of proficiency and customer service which also helps to set the standard for the rest of our Health Center medical practices,” adds Donahoe. “We will use this group as the model to standardize our approach for answering calls and improving patient satisfaction.”
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