At Good Shepherd Health Care System, our medical staff, 
employees, and volunteers are dedicated to continuously 
improving the experience you have while in our care. Some 
experiences may be joyous – like the birth of a newborn 
baby, while others more traumatic – like end of life care.
Wherever you are on the continuum of care, we are 
dedicated to ensuring you and your loved ones are treated 
with respect, empathy and compassion. Our job is to be 
there for you in good times and bad; to laugh when you 
laugh and cry when you cry. As caregivers, we chose to 
dedicate our lives to serving others – caring for their needs 
when you are unable to care for them yourself.
Fundamentally, we feel it is our responsibility and duty 
to adequately supply our team of caregivers with 
the tools and training necessary to meet and exceed 
your expectations as a healthcare consumer. As an 
organization, we have embarked on a journey we call our 
Service Excellence Initiative. It is a journey of continuous 
improvement that is evident in us continually trying to 
meet the needs and expectations of our consumers, 
following industry trends and continuously improving. 
This is evident by the remarkable success we experienced 
in customer satisfaction in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Our 
accomplishments included:

• Successfully implemented LEAN Daily Management 

system-wide. Customer Experience Boards were launched 
in every department, along with Daily Service Huddles 
that Administration rounds on. 

• Accomplished 83 Departmental Ongoing Improvement 

Tactics (DO IT) Projects focused on improving the 
customer experience within a department. Our 
Emergency Department noticed a need to keep younger 
ER patients busy and occupied. Staff felt that creating 
“busy bags” containing small toys, stickers, bubbles, 
coloring supplies and puzzles could help entertain both 
patients and children of patients, leading to increased 
patient satisfaction. Kits were created and have been 
distributed to children of all ages.

• 33 Service Excellence Advisors (SEAs) were chosen by 

their managers and peers to serve in this role due, in 
part, to their exceptional customer service. 12 SEAs from 
the prior fiscal year were selected to become Service 
Excellence Mentors (SEMs). This year’s SEAs conducted 
39 employee education training workshops on tactics 
and techniques to improve the customer experience. This 
team trained:

 — 

633 employees

 — 

49 volunteers

• Received four Summit Award Nominations at the 2019 

Health Care Service Excellence Conference, all of which 
earned a Pinnacle Award (top three in the category): 

 — 

Exceptional Nurse: Peppa Stark, RN, Emergency 
Department

 — Empowering Manager: Lucas Bradshaw, RN, Emergency 

Department

 — Inspiring Administrator: Nick Bejarano, Former 

Marketing & Communications Director

 — Medical Clinic of Choice: Good Shepherd Pediatrics 
• A presentation on the Service Recovery Toolkit program 

was given at the 2019 Health Care Service Excellence 
Conference. 34 toolkits were made available throughout 
the organization. Toolkits were utilized an average of 
52 times per month to address patient concerns and 
complaints in real time, proactively improving the process 
or procedure that was causing the complaint. 

• The Employee Recognition Program set a record of 790 

recognition cards given in the first six months of 2019, 
compared to 699 total given in 2018.

These accomplishments are an acknowledgment that our 
employees provide excellent services and customers are 
noticing a difference – a uniquely personal experience with 
our care that they have not experienced before or at other 
healthcare facilities.

BOTTOM LEFT: 

On September 27, 2018, 

ten Good Shepherd Health Care System 
employees attended the Top Workplaces 
Awards Banquet in Portland Oregon, 
hosted by The Oregonian/OregonLive, 
as GSHCS was recognized as a Top 
Workplace in 2018. This was the third 
time GSHCS has earned this award. 

Customer Experience

PICTURED ABOVE:

 The management structure of the Good 

Shepherd Medical Group now includes four new practice 
managers to better serve the needs of our expanding clinics.

PICTURED ABOVE:

 GSHCS hosted a Hundred Hearts 

Project event at the Good Shepherd Women’s Center, 
featuring artwork from Jenny Loughmiller, to inspire 
gratitude in the lives of our staff and community.