News

By Alyssa Evans, Marketing & Communications Specialist; featuring Brittany McKenna, Patient Access Manager

Oftentimes, the first CMH caregiver that a patient interacts with is someone who works in Patient Access.

From the time a patient calls CMH to schedule an appointment to the time they’re gathering referrals post-appointment, Patient Access caregivers are on-hand, ready to support patients the best they can.

Patient Access includes customer care representatives (CCRs), registration clerks, imaging support staff and switchboard operators.

“Without them, none of our operations would happen. If a patient wasn’t scheduled and registered, they wouldn’t come in. They’re the first face most patients see and the first voice they hear,” says Brittany McKenna, Patient Access Manager. “They are the face of the company.”

Patient Access Week is April 3-9. The week is an annual celebration that was created in 1982, marking the creation of the National Association of Healthcare Access Management.

The week celebrates CCRs, registration clerks, switchboard operators and imaging support staff. These caregivers work directly with patients to enhance their experience.

“We support every other department in the hospital,” Brittany says. “Our entire day is focused on supporting other departments. Our main job is to get patients in, get them registered, and get them to where they’re going.”

CCRs help patients with scheduling, pre-registration, registration, check-in, and more. For example, after a patient arrives at CMH, a CCR verifies their information and goes through any necessary registration steps before their appointment. Depending on the patient’s appointment, a CCR may even walk to their appointment location.

“It’s a varied job. They have to remember every detail for the different clinics or modalities and verify all the information they’re given,” Brittany says.

CCRs work with all types of patients. In 2021, support staff registered over 258,000 outpatient visits and 112,000 clinic visits.

On average, in the main hospital, CCRs register over 100 patients per day. In the Pavilion, they register about 30 patients each day. Brittany says.

“CCRs can make or break an experience for a patient,” Brittany says. “If you come in and someone really wows you and makes you feel special, that’s the feeling you’ll have as you go into the rest of your visit. … I’m super proud of our CCRs. They always remain calm and do an excellent job.”