At the end of March, Marybeth Antone spoke at NAMA’s Excellence in Women’s Healthcare Symposium in San Diego. Marybeth is the Administrative Director for Imaging and Cardiology Services at Silver Cross Hospital. We recently caught up with her and talked to her about her work here and her SoCal experience.
Q: What does a typical work day entail for you at Silver Cross?
A: Well, my “typical” day may not sound all that exciting, but I do get to do a little bit of a lot of different things throughout the course of the day, and my favorite activity is spending time with people. Not unlike other management folks, I spend a considerable amount of my day in various meetings as the administrative representative for my areas of responsibility- Cardiology and Diagnostic Imaging. This includes discussions related to clinical care, customer service and multidisciplinary operational issues. When not in meetings I round in my areas to be visible to front line staff. We engage in conversations so I can get a feel for what their issues are and how I can positively influence their work environment so they are satisfied and proud to be employees of Silver Cross Hospital. I most definitely eat lunch (most often at my desk) and do computer work, getting meeting agendas ready and analyzing data that helps me and my department managers to effectively manage our book of business. I do try to take a brisk walk after lunch when the weather is warmer and catch some fresh air and sunshine, and I do take an “outside” path as often as possible to my meetings in other departments on campus!! I generally stay late a couple nights a week to catch up, usually when my day was packed with meetings.
Q: How long have you been on staff?
A: I’ve been with Silver Cross for 6 and a half years already- seems like just yesterday I started!!
Q: You spoke at NAMA’s Excellence in Healthcare symposium on March 30. Why were you and the Center for Women’s Health approached to do this?
A: Apparently the conference organizers read about our facility in the local press and found our story a compelling one! Our marketing and communications folks did a great job of informing the general public about how our center would be a different environment than they have experienced coming to the hospital for mammo services and how having a dedicated outpatient facility would enhance our ability to provide care efficiently and with the level of care and compassion one can expect from Silver Cross.
Q: Your speech centered around the new Center for Women’s Health, digital mammography, and how to get word out about the Center. What were some of your key talking points that you used to illuminate these topics?
A: It was so much fun to share our story with professional colleagues from all around the country! I must say they were impressed with our planning process and how we centered the delivery of our services around the lifestyle of the contemporary woman- that is, to provide convenience and access in a comfortable environment with highly competent clinical staff. I shared with them how we planned for the Center, the teamwork we engaged in to make it happen and some of the fun things we’ve done to “get the word out” about it. Interestingly, our I Matter program was very intriguing to the group. Because we were there to learn about how to make women’s services relevant, the fact that Silver Cross has been able to “link” personal health to shopping was very impressive. I’ve received numerous follow up emails from attendees who’ve asked for more details on how we made it happen and even if we’d be willing to allow them to duplicate the program at their facilities. It’s nice to know we have a unique idea, and it’s even better to realize it’s enticed some women in our community to receive their health screening who might not otherwise.
Q: What did you take away from the symposium?
A: The keynote speaker said it very well- women make the healthcare decisions for the most part and if satisfied with service will likely influence a great number of people through referrals. She called them the “Chief Purchasing Officer”- I loved it!! In any case, everyone has choices today about where to receive their care. If we place value on people’s time, and provide efficient, quality care we all come out ahead. Focusing on doing it “right” means respecting what women say they want- ask for feedback and really listen to your customer. Women’s health is a growing “market” and those of us who are in the business of delivering care to women need to constantly be thinking about how to truly “wow” these potential patients and gain their trust and loyalty.
Q: How’s the weather in San Diego? I’ve heard it’s better than Chicago. This can’t possibly be true.
A: Believe it or not, the week of the symposium it was warmer in Chicago than San Diego! I also missed the earthquake by 2 days- thank goodness, that would have freaked me out J!!
