Volunteer concierge team at Broward Health Imperial Point helps patients feel like VIPs
A volunteer-led concierge program greets patients, escorts them to appointments, and expands to offer floor-by-floor support five days a week.
Useful takeaways from this story.
A volunteer concierge team at Broward Health Imperial Point provides lobby greetings and escorts to appointments, aiming to reduce anxiety for patients and families.
The program is led by retired airline employee Douglas Gorab and uses a uniform of black vests and white button-downs to create a welcoming, service-oriented experience.
After a year of success in the main lobby, the hospital is expanding the program to place a designated concierge on every floor five days a week to visit patients who have no visitors.
The useful part
Hospital's volunteer concierge team helps patients feel like VIPs during visits. When you think of concierge services in South Florida, you probably think of fancy hotels or restaurants. Douglas Gorab: "No one is happy to come in this front door." Eighty-two-year-old Douglas Gorab is trying to change that — one smile at a time.
How it works
- Douglas Gorab: "I think we need to go back a little bit in time to when service was really nice and wonderful.
- Not that we've lost it, but it's not quite there anymore." The retired airline employee leads a team of volunteers at Broward Health Imperial Point — dressed to the nines in black vests and white button downs.
- We want our patients to feel like they are VIP people." Longtime patients like Alicia Cornejo, who Douglas escorts to physical therapy, are noticing.
- Douglas Gorab: "They are going to be going around and visiting the people, especially those that don't have company, and there are a lot of them.
- We are going to go in and sit with them." Those conversations can go a long way.
What to take from it
Douglas Gorab: "People like to be paid attention to and to be smiled to and to be talked to." He says helping others is what keeps a smile on his face. If you know of a person, place, or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.
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Details worth keeping
One local hospital is stepping up to treat its patients to the very best. Walking into the hospital can be an overwhelming experience. Douglas Gorab: "I heard, 'I haven't worn a long sleeve white shirt in 20 years!' I said, 'It is going to be a new experience for you, that's all.'" They make up a one-of-a-kind concierge program, greeting patients in the lobby and escorting them to their appointments.
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