Overview Your Walk Through Experience Tom Zastowny, PhD

Concept “Walk-Through ” “ A personalized experience of a healthcare setting where staff takes the role of a patient or family member with the goal of experiencing care and everything related to it-………. The goals include providing (1) a structured, method for recognizing and validating excellent care and opportunities for improvement (2) real data to evaluate service, (3) staff a perspective to see their clinic and services as customers would, build motivation for change and consensus and (4) opportunity for an emotional, personal link to the behavioral service experience ”

Conducting a Walk-through  Play the role of a client and a client ’ s family member seeking treatment at your agency  Try to think and feel as the client/family member would, and think about what they would want changed  Ask staff what changes would make the process better for clients and for staff  Compile a list of client and staff needs and possible improvements that could address these needs

Walk Thru What ’ s it like to walk your customer ’ s path? Inform staff 2 participants Do a piece, do it all Plan your role Stay in role Take notes Focus on emotional experience

Starting a Change Project Select a change team – name a change leader, an executive sponsor, and data person Conduct a walk-through Collect baseline data Review data and walk-through Suggest a process change that might change access or retention

Concept “ Walk-Through ” ROOTS & LIKE PROCESSES: Camberwell Family Interview Tracers And Single Case Studies Appreciative Inquiry Patient Satisfaction & Experience Of Care Anthropological Studies & Inquiry Story Telling & Narrative Medicine DG’ Surgical Experience & The UK Insights

Concept “ Walk-Through ” Understanding the OASAS Client Perspective OASAS is working with stakeholders across New York state to increase the number of individuals affected by addictions who receive help. As part of the World caf é s conducted by OASAS in spring 2009, county and state staff, providers and individuals in recovery helped to create a vision statement of what a client ’ s early experience should be: Welcoming, affordable and easy access to person-centered addiction services for all.

Several providers sent OASAS their observations on the value of the process. Here's what they had to say about the walkthrough process: “It provided an excellent opportunity to experience our internal systems from a client and staff perspective. We have begun to implement program wide changes that will enhance the quality of client care. We have made client satisfaction our number one goal for our administrative staff and implemented a training program focusing on gold star service. From a clinical perspective, we are revising our protocols for working with significant others during the assessment process. We have also committed resources to review all the paperwork and to provide additional advanced clinical training for assessment counselors. Many of our staff have since volunteered to do a walkthrough and we will be integrating it into our staff development program.” -- Laura Lessa, LMSW, Director of Operations, Inter-Care “We were very glad we participated in the walkthrough. It gave us insight from the clients view and we were able to make intake and discharge more streamlined because of it. We have better informed consumers which gives them less stress. The entire unit runs more efficiently and professionally. Thank you for the opportunity to improve our services” -- Geneva Simonds, Director of Medically Monitored Withdrawal Crisis Service, Project Renewal, Inc.

Several providers sent OASAS their observations on the value of the process. Here's what they had to say about the walkthrough process: “ The walkthrough not only helped me learn about needed improvements in our program, but it also had the side benefit of reminding my team of how much their director cares about what is happening on the front line.” -- Barbara Kistenmacher, Director of Addictions Treatment, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center “This experience was a rewarding and valuable opportunity. We plan on continuing to use this exercise periodically to better serve our clients and use it as a quality assurance procedure.” -- Julia Floyd-Ventura, CASAC, Director of Mental Health Services, Phoenix House

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