Tag: Children’s Center

When superheroes drop in

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superheroesFor more than 30 years, Roger Corcoran has been cleaning the grime off the windows at Mayo Clinic. But, on Sept. 25, Corcoran and two of his fellow window washers, John Carroll and Kyle Smith, went from being everyday grime fighters to superhero crime fighters.

The crew from Child Life Services gathered pediatric patients together in the third floor atrium of the Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center to have a superhero celebration. Dressed as superheroes themselves and standing in front of the atrium windows, they had some fun with the kids, until, outside, Batman dropped into view. A collective gasp of surprise came from the kids, their parents and their caregivers when the first superhero dropped in. About a minute later, the Incredible Hulk dropped in, and then, finally, Spiderman made his entrance to even more cheering.

The three superheroes played a short game of tag on the windows and then dropped out of view. A few minutes later, they arrived inside the atrium to meet with the patients and the crowd that had gathered.

When not creating oohs and ahs as superheroes, Corcoran (Batman), Carroll (Spiderman) and Smith (Hulk) are employed by ISS Facility Services, a longtime Mayo Clinic contractor. Charles Kleber, managing director, explains how Mayo asked them to consider doing a superhero drop in. “We had never done anything like this before, but, once they mentioned it, we wanted to make it happen,” says  Kleber. “Roger, John and Kyle volunteered to don the costumes.”

After serving cake and punch to the group in the atrium, the superheroes visited patients in the children’s hospital who weren’t able to make it to gathering. Earlier in the day, the three superheroes also made a stop to see the pediatric patients in the transplant ICU. When one of the little patients saw the superheroes, he made a beeline for Spiderman and wrapped his arms around his legs. “The look on the little guy’s face was why we did it,” Kleber shares. “We did this for the kids.”

This story was originally published by Mayo Clinic in their internal News Center.

What are ways like this that DMC and Mayo Clinic can transform experiences for patients? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

Dr. Moir: Mayo needs to be proactive about patient experience

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Dr. Chris Moir, right, is a pediatric surgeon and Medical Director for the Mayo Clinic Children's Center
Dr. Chris Moir, right, is a pediatric surgeon and Medical Director for the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center

When patients come to Mayo Clinic, they become local consumers. Many people are surprised to learn that patients spend only 30 percent of their time in the care setting – the remaining 70 percent is spent in the community.

Destination Medical Center (DMC) research shows that patients have four to five hours of free time per day – time they want to spend doing other things besides waiting for appointments. Visitors want to shop, dine, get outdoors, visit entertainment venues; as well as attend classes, demonstrations and seminars about staying healthy. This is a great opportunity for Mayo and its community partners.

It also means patient experiences need to be anticipated, especially for patients with unique needs – like kids.

Rochester is known for having things kids and families want, but Chris Moir, M.D., medical director for the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center, says the methods of getting families there can be improved.

Mayo staff do the best they can to direct patients toward family-friendly activities, from giving them directions to personally driving them there, but this is only one way to help families find things to do. Dr. Moir thinks existing services could be updated and re-packaged to assist families in getting the most out of their Rochester experience.

“Our job is to care for patients,” says Dr. Moir. “Yes, part of care is to look out for family needs when they’re staying in town, but that’s not our expertise. We have a new opportunity to bring experts in to connect families with the region and build meaningful bridges between patients and the community.” He recommends pursuing and welcoming visitors proactively instead of only offering services as needed.

DMC can help Mayo and the community connect patients and visitors with the activities they want. “DMC creates the strategy that allows us to proactively pursue opportunities rather than just addressing needs as they arise,” says Dr. Moir. “We need to maintain a balance between individual caring for families and what we as a community can provide.” He thinks the balance toward individual caring is emblematic of our Midwest roots, but we need to augment that warmhearted attitude with a more systemic, proactive approach to improve patient experience.

What are more proactive ways Mayo and the Rochester community can help improve the patient experience? Share your thoughts by commenting on this article.