March 2017

THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
22 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
March 2017
What is a Skilled Nursing Facility?
Healthy
Living
by
Tina Dennis M. Petersen, Gottlieb, D.O. D.C.
A skilled nursing facility is a type of
convalescent home that provides continuous
care to its residents.
Skilled nursing facilities can provide
a wide variety of support for patients,
including wound care, diabetes management,
medication monitoring, and more.
In addition, some nursing home facilities
offer specialized care for Alzheimer’s
patients or others with dementia.
People who cannot perform their own
activities of daily living are typically the
ones who are placed in a skilled nursing
facility, which provides 24-hour care by
nurses and aides, and also have medical
doctors who make rounds or are on-call
service for routine and emergency care.
Not all residents of skilled nursing
facilities are elderly. Young adults who
have mental or physical disabilities, and
are unable to live on their own, are often
admitted to these types of home care
facilities.
According to the National Institutes
of Health, some nursing homes are set up
like a hospital where the staff provides
medical care, as well as physical, speech
and occupational therapy with nurses’
station on each floor or unit. However,
other nursing homes try to be more like
home and have a more open atmosphere
with open kitchens and allow couples to
live together.
All centers have the goal to help individuals
meet their daily physical, social,
medical, and psychological needs and to
return home whenever possible.
Dr. Dennis Petersen graduated from
Western University of Health Sciences
in 1985 and completed his internship at
Sun Coast Osteopathic Hospital, 1983-
1984, and have been practicing Family
Medicine in Temecula since 1989. For
questions on this article or to make an
appointment, call (951) 506-3112.
How to Keep Customers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The ease of getting assistance before
or after a sale will often drive the
buying patterns for customers. Consider
looking at these areas.
The Customer Buying Experience
- How soon and enthusiastically
are customer’s greeted upon entering
the store? Sales and service employees
should be present and visible to provide
assistance with finding the right product
and answering questions. Make sure
employees are well trained in product
lines and if necessary know where to
look for answers. Make check-out
as quick as possible and provided by
friendly personnel. Let them know
that they may be the last impression the
customer will have of your business.
Accessibility to Customer Service
Assistance – If a problem does
arise with a purchase, be sure your
customer service department is easy to
engage. If a customer calls by phone,
directions for routing to the right department
through the phone system
should be clear. For those returning to
the store, signage needs to direct customers
to the correct location to handle
the issue. Don’t leave them guessing
if they should proceed to a cashier or
if there is a returns desk.
Service Policies – To set proper expectations,
clearly document and display
the company return and exchange policy.
Is a receipt required? Is there an expiration
of when a product can be returned?
If possible printing this information on
the receipt is a good practice. An excellent
warranty and service department
will complete the total customer experience
with your business.
Customer Service Representatives
- Train and coach employees
on customer service regularly as they
are your ambassador to the customer.
When working issues, encourage team
members to repeat the problem back
to the customer demonstrating they
are being understood. Additionally
teach employees how to empathize
and actively listen. For example, it
can be obvious when a script is read
over the phone leaving the caller with
the feeling that they are just another
number. When situations do get out
of control, make sure that escalation
procedures are clear.
Remember that the goal of any
customer service department is to turn
a negative situation into a win-win
experience for both the company and
customer.
Ted Saul is a business coach that assists
with Business Plans and Project
Management. He holds a master certificate
in project management and has
earned his MBA from Regis University.
Ted can be reached on LinkedIn,
TedS787 on Twitter or emailing Ted@
tsaul.com.
“
Let them know that they may be
the last impression the customer
will have of your business