Tampa VA Hospital Workers had to be told to answer the phone?

Tampa VA hospital boss to employees: Answer the phones
Tampa Bay Online
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: October 6, 2014

One of the biggest complaints about the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital is the time it takes to get someone there to answer the phone.

Kathleen Fogarty, director of the Tampa hospital, wants to change that.

On Monday morning, she sent an email blast to all 4,900 hospital employees calling on them to be ready to take incoming calls.

“The number one thing you can do to build trust, improve access and better serve our patients is to answer the phone and to call veterans back in a timely manner,” she wrote in an email sent to all employees.

“We get feedback about the frustration of calling our medical center just about every time we engage with our veterans. They wait to get through, and once they do, the phones just rings on the other end – sometimes for 20 minutes or more! – or they never get a return call if they leave voicemail.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to answer the phone. It is the first rule of good customer service and to be a five-star organization we must answer calls in a timely manner and return voicemail messages.”
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