Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Spring 2018

4 DignityHealth.org/central-california | Spring 2018 NEW! DOCENTS FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS any way you need it Patients at Dignity Health – Memorial Hospital are getting the star treatment, thanks to an innovative program that pairs patients with their own personal liaison, or docent. Memorial Hospital has teamed up with Docent Health, a Boston-based company. Together, their mission is to put humankindness back into health care. Memorial Hospital is offering docent services to maternity, orthopedics, and cardiovascular patients. Specially trained service professionals, called docents, work closely with the clinical staff and with patients before, during, and after their hospital stays to ensure that their needs are met. Smoothing the way Lisa Corrente, Central Coast Regional Manager for Docent Health, says the goal of a docent is to turn what could be a very stressful, confusing time into a smooth, positive experience for patients and families. “This is a new era in health care,” Corrente says. “It’s not enough to address someone’s clinical needs; they have to feel known, valued, and heard. If a patient’s stress is high, they feel like questions aren’t answered, and they don’t understand the process, the outcomes will not be as good,” says Corrente. “So What is a docent? A docent is a specially trained service professional who provides a single point of contact for patients throughout their health care journeys.