Christy Stephenson, RWJ-Hamilton's CEO, attributes the growth to patient satisfaction. The hospital's ratings-including those in the prestigious Press, Ganey Patient Satisfaction Results and independent Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Survey-are among the highest in the nation. And as she explained during an NJBIA Site Visit with Assemblyman Gary Guear, patient satisfaction is a direct result of improved employee satisfaction among RWJ-Hamilton's workforce.

In other words, the hospital's growth can be traced directly back to RWJ-Hamilton's commitment to employee satisfaction. With a severe nursing shortage impacting everyone, a high level of employee satisfaction gives RWJ a key competitive edge.

"I think employee satisfaction is important for anyone, but for us it was a matter of survival," Stephenson said. "We knew we had to be a leader in this area. If we weren't, then that increase in volume and those patient satisfaction ratings would not have happened."

In 1999, RWJ-Hamilton established its Employee Satisfaction Committee. Employees representing all 1,500 workers looked for ways to improve services. In its first year of existence, the committee recommendations created a fitness program, healthier cafeteria menus, increased educational opportunities, improvements to pension and insurance benefits, and greater flexibility in vacation and sick-time policies.

The hospital's commitment to employee satisfaction earned it several awards, including a 2000 Award for Excellence from NJBIA.

During the recent Site Visit, Stephenson, Richard Lovering, RWJ-Hamilton's vice president for human resources and health promotion, and Diane Grillo, assistant vice president for health promotion, shared their insights on the hospital's growth with Assemblyman Guear. NJBIA's Site Visit program is designed to give legislators a better understanding of businesses in their districts and the issues they face.

And RWJ-Hamilton is facing its share of tough issues. Like healthcare facilities throughout the state, RWJ-Hamilton is struggling with a severe shortage of nurses. While the hospital recently filled some of its vacancies, Stephenson said not enough qualified nurses were "in the pipeline" to meet RWJ's growing demand.

Aware of the problem, Guear said he was sponsoring legislation aimed at encouraging more students to pursue nursing careers in New Jersey. His bill, A-202 (Guear, Greenstein), would create the $5 million Excellence in Nursing Scholarship Program, which would make scholarships of up to $10,000 per year available to nursing students who in turn would work for in New Jersey's healthcare industry for one year for each year they receive grants.

Stephenson also said she is worried that the state's growing malpractice insurance crisis could make for a healthcare access problem as OB/GYN physicians are leaving the OB business to escape skyrocketing premiums.

Despite these challenges, RWJ-Hamilton continues to innovate and expand. Located on a 67-acre campus in Mercer County, RWJ opened a new emergency department and ICU in 2001. A state-of-the-art cancer center opened last fall, providing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. To ease the discomfort associated with such treatment, the hospital has partnered with the "Grounds For Sculpture" and created the "Grounds For Healing." The center even set up arbors where on warm, pleasant days, patients can receive their treatments outdoors.

More plans are in the works. But even as the hospital grows, everything still comes back to satisfaction-for patients and for employees.

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