Community Health Centers provide treatment to almost 30 million patients annually. These are some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. One in five community health centers serves patients in rural areas. Additionally, 63% of patients of these facilities come from ethnic and racial minority groups. These populations can be better served by knowledgeable, caring healthcare professionals that are mission-driven. This blog will give community health centers some tips to build a higher-performing staff and a better-quality workforce.
How to Build a High-Quality Community Health Center Team
Having a high-functioning healthcare team is critical to the quality of care you deliver. Healthcare leaders must find a way to instill the kind of individual and team characteristics that improve the quality of patient care. Says Tim Mulvaney, CEO of UHC Solutions, “our focus is recruiting professionals for community health centers across the nation. When meeting a potential candidate, the first question we ask is, tell us about a time that you provided healthcare to a disenfranchised patient population.” A sincere answer will go a long way in knowing you will gain a mission-driven associate.
Focus strongly on teamwork.
While physicians used to be the center of the healthcare team, today, ancillaries and advanced practitioners along with primary care physicians in a community healthcare setting play an important role. Focusing on ways your organization can build teamwork within these settings is a great way to build relationships that will also increase the quality of the patient experience.
Set team goals.
It’s the collaboration itself that can lead to better healthcare outcomes. Team leaders must establish group goals for patient care delivery. This process of internal goal setting, especially if it’s by consensus, will strengthen your teams. This in turn will increase productivity and engagement in your healthcare teams. Start with patient surveys to set a benchmark on where the company is today.
Make goals measurable.
Tracking metrics for the organization and teams that provide care will help you improve areas such as service delivery team and ultimately, patient satisfaction. Setting clearly quantifiable goals will make sure your workforce understands what is expected and how close they are to achieving it.
Work on communication skills.
Communication skills may be neglected in favor of clinical competence, but in fact, these attributes go hand-in-hand. Certainly, written and verbal communication will lessen the risk of medical errors. Leaders that focus on how much information can and should be shared in a clinical setting can improve communication effectiveness. Organizations must improve communication by adopting better ways to use language to share information. Giving staff the tools they need to evolve in these areas will have a direct impact on the care you deliver to patients.
Involve a recruitment firm in the success of your organization.
Building a quality healthcare workforce in your Community Health Center starts with UHC Solutions that only works with community healthcare clients. We help our clients in the community healthcare space find the teams they need to staff up during these challenging times. Our customized recruitment service can help you build your practice sustainably. Find out how our team can help your healthcare facility keep moving forward to achieve its hiring goals.
