Empathy + innovation = outstanding patient experience

Imagine a hospital where patients love the food and rave about their seamless experience. Sound like a pipe dream? Not at Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, which has used empathy and innovation to create a five-star experience for patients, carers and visitors. We spoke to Stefan Tornau, Executive Director Hospitality Services, who came to Australia for the 36th Institute of Hospitality in Healthcare (IHHC) conference in Adelaide.

When a patient walks into hospital for an operation, they could easily feel overwhelmed, especially in a large facility. Which is why, scattered throughout Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, there are welcoming faces to greet you; staff in distinctive red jackets whose specific job it is to help you find your way.

Throughout the foyers, elegant wooden trolleys serve complimentary Arabic coffee and dates, in keeping with Middle Eastern traditional hospitality. And if you’re on the way to an outpatient appointment, or to visit a seriously ill patient, you can drop your children off at the childcare facility.

It’s all part of Stefan Tornau and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s 360-degree approach to excellence.

Traditional Middle Eastern hospitality with complimentary Arabic coffee and dates.

Tornau has worked in the hospitality and healthcare industries for 30 years; he leads the planning and delivery of hospitality services and integration of non-medical and clinical services at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Tornau is a driving force at creating an outstanding patient experience at the clinic, and is responsible for implementing a hospitality culture at every touchpoint of the patient journey.

Room service

The suite, with a guest room attached.

There are two different types of patient rooms at the clinic: a standard hospital room or a suite, which has a guest room attached to it where a spouse or caregiver can stay.

The suites provide a level of service not commonly seen in Australian hospitals. The guest room, much like a hotel room, has a coffee machine, mini fridge and main meals included. A butler acts as the patient and carer’s personal assistant, coordinating medical appointments and helping with all elements of their stay, from ordering food to having clothing laundered.

Meals are served by the butler, who will lay a tablecloth and serve each course separately, much like in business or first class on an aeroplane, rather than all courses on the one tray as per the standard room. Regardless of which room type you stay in, there are no disposable plates or utensils. Patient meals are served on good-quality china wear with stainless steel cutlery and glass cups.

For visiting dignitaries such as the royal family or heads of state, there is a royal suite, more akin to an apartment, with a lounge room where the patient can receive visitors, if they are well enough. Aside from additional space, the dinner settings are high end, with gold-leaf-edged plates and crystal glasses.

Royal visitors use crystal glasses and gold-leaf plates.

But when it comes to the food, everyone receives the same, five-star standard.

Just what the doctor ordered

When most people think about hospital food, they think economy-class airline food; tasteless, unattractive and barely filling you up. “That perception was something we definitely wanted to change,” said Tornau.

“Our aim was to create something good looking and good tasting, that was part of the healing process.” After all, when you don’t feel well, having someone cook your favourite dishes can make you feel better. “Our patients are the same. Good food is part of the healing process.”

There are 32 dietary menus for a doctor to select from, and patient meals are chosen by the doctor’s recommendation based on what is best for each patient. The meals have been designed to cater to the multiple patient circumstances — from a post-operative liquid diet to meals for diabetics. “Each menu has specific criteria such as calorie intake, and the nutritionals are analysed and specific for that diet,” said Tornau. “It’s like a prescription; we cannot deviate from it.”

The patient can order items from their allocated menu 24/7, using an iPad in their room, via their TV screen or by calling the 24-hour foodservice helpdesk. The system monitors the quantities ordered, so patients cannot go over the required calorie intake. Meals arrive in their rooms within 45 minutes.

Soon, patients and carers will also be able to learn how to prepare and cook meals suitable for the patient’s circumstances in a purpose-built demonstration kitchen. “If a patient has a requirement to change their lifestyle in terms of food, we will train and teach them, their carers and families. We don’t want them to just eat healthy food in the hospital then return home to old habits. We want a sustainable outcome for the patient,” Tornau said. It’s in keeping with the clinic’s holistic approach to the patient experience.

Catering to the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi team

With over 4000 people working at the hospital, on-site training occurs daily among both clinical and non-clinical staff. As a result the clinic provides catering and banqueting services, in separate kitchens designed specifically for this purpose. It also services meetings and conferences held at the hospital with external parties, such as with other hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare-related corporates.

In addition, there are two staff cafeterias: one with ready meals, the other more like a cafe where people pay for their own food. Staff can also choose to eat at the clinic’s retail facilities, where there are two restaurants, a sandwich counter and a convenience store that serves food and snacks.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Achieving quality standards

Quality hospitality is integral to the clinic’s culture; it is part of the accreditation process and is built into the key performance indicators of the entire management hierarchy, from the CEO down.

The clinic’s hospitality services are audited annually by external UK-based organisation Hospitality Assured, which measures the clinic against its ‘Hospitality Assured 9 Service Standards’ and provides benchmarking against other healthcare organisations globally.

To ensure all bases are covered, Tornau also seeks internal observations through an annual staff engagement survey, gaining feedback from people at the coalface, and a biannual internal operational survey, conducted by a third party.

So what is Tornau’s advice to other hospitals seeking to offer outstanding hospitality?

• Provide a seamless approach; a seamless handover and experience for the patient.
• Listen to the patient first. Spend quality time talking with them and prompt them to provide detailed feedback on the service standards.

“We take a holistic approach, to provide quality not just from a medical perspective, but in every corner of the hospital,” said Tornau. It’s all part of the 360-degree approach to excellence.

Stefan Tornau. 

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi key facts

• Opened December 2015
• Semigovernment facility
• 30+ medical and surgical specialties
• 50+ subspecialties
• 26 operating theatres
• 364–496 beds
• 409,000 m² of floor
• 410,000 outpatient visits annually
• 90,000+ helpdesk calls per month
• 1.3 million meals per annum
• 80 nationalities represented
• 35 languages spoken

Top image: a patient being served dinner. All images ©Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi