Getting better and better, continued...
Additional locations
TCO also is in the midst of an ambitious
expansion program in the following locations:
Maple Grove: To meet the demands of a growing market (with a 90-bed hospital that is expected to open its doors in February 2009), TCO has opened a full-service clinic that includes physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics.
Waconia: TCO is expanding its presence in the Waconia market by providing physical therapy, orthotics, and prosthetics programs and by adding a spine specialist and Med- X, a back pain rehabilitation program. The goal of Med-X is to strengthen the back using preventive-type medicine to help the patient avoid undergoing invasive spinal surgery. The new Waconia location has additional space to accommodate the possibility of adding future orthopedic surgeons.
Coon Rapids and Burnsville: Expansions similar to Waconia have already taken place in these two communities. In Coon Rapids, one of TCO’s two offices has moved into a larger building that also houses a clinic, a physical therapy center, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and MedX. In Burnsville, the new building houses a surgery center, physical and hand therapy centers, an MRI, and orthotics and prosthetics services.
Edina: With a long-standing presence of four sites in this city, TCO plans to consolidate them into one orthopedic “Center of Excellence” during the next two years, said Troy Simonson, TCO administrator. To enhance the continuity of care for patients it will include every orthopedic specialty and sub-specialty at one convenient location. Plans for the Edina center also include a surgery center, physical therapy, hand therapy, MRI, orthotics, prosthetics, and MedX. Once the center is complete, patients will be able to have all their orthopedic needs met at one central location housing as many as 30 physicians. “We’ve been there (Edina) for many years, but we’ve been fragmented,” Simonson said. “Now, we’re looking to provide improved customer service to our patients and provide those services more efficiently.”
The common goal driving much of the expansion is improving patient satisfaction. “For example, to improve the convenience and continuity of care we are striving to provide the full spectrum of orthopedic care patients desire at one convenient location,” Simonson said.
Patient satisfaction
To better gauge patient service, TCO has
begun a patient satisfaction campaign.
Patients were asked to complete questionnaires
and, to date, more than 1,600
responses have been obtained. Survey
feedback indicates that 96 percent of patients
either agreed or strongly agreed that
“I would rate my overall care at TCO as
excellent.” On a second question — “Was
staff helpful, courteous and did staff treat
me respectfully?” — 97 percent either
agreed or strongly agreed. “We are looking
to gather this data continually,” Simonson
said. “We are constantly going to measure
and maintain that high level of service.”