Health District Conducts Survey

DAYTON - The Columbia County Health System is asking residents, employees and patients for feedback so it can better serve the community, said Charlie Button, the district's CEO.

"We really want to know what they're thinking," Button said. "We want to hear from them and we want to do a better job."

The survey, proposed and executed by the district's promotions committee, will run for about three more weeks. The district has been handing out paper copies of its 10-question survey to large employers and service organizations in the area. Residents can also pick up a hard copy at the hospital in Dayton and the clinic in Waitsburg. Those with Internet access can go online to www.cchd-wa.org to complete the survey.

As of last Friday, Button said the hospital had already received 200 completed surveys from members of the community. He said he will be happy to receive 300.

"We didn't set a target number when we started," Button said.

Patients and employees will be filling out their own surveys through the hospital, Button said.

This survey is part of the hospital's strategic plan to better serve residents in the district, he said.

The district staff members want to find out if there are services the hospital doesn't offer but residents think it should. He said they want to find out if the hospital is meeting community needs already, and if residents in the district are going elsewhere for medical and health services, why?

"We want to take information and apply things to make us a better organization," he said.

Last year, employees, residents' family members and community members complained to such an extent about the health system's management and services that the board decided to hire a third-party management consultant to help propose fundamental improvements to the way the district operates.

Since then, observers inside and outside the system have noted some positive changes, but some grumbling continues among the district's staff, particularly at Dayton General Hospital.

Although the district's commissioners are meeting Sept. 22, the results from the survey will not be in until October, he said, and he expects the numbers and general feelings described in the survey will be discussed at that time.

Mostly, Button is just happy the hospital has become a topic of conversation around the area.

"There's a lot of excitement," he said. "It's getting people thinking about the hospital and the health system."

The Columbia County Health System serves about 950 patients at its clinics in Dayton and Waitsburg, board member Ted Patterson told members of the Dayton City Council at a recent council meeting.

With a monthly operating budget of about $850,000, it also handles five emergency medical cases per day and cares for 38 residents at Booker Rest Home, he said. With about 120 workers, the district is the biggest employer in Columbia County.

"We're trying to identify what the community wants in a hospital," Patterson said. "The survey is important in terms of our direction."

Patterson said the survey takes just a few minutes to complete.