Erie Family Health Center

“Erie Family Health Center, how can I help you?”

As a former Call Center Operator, I know this phrase to bring hope, assurance and relief to the patients I have served. For me, it brings memories of the two years when I had a headset and a patient on the line. I was straight out of high school, a little intimidated by the operation I was joining: 10 women sitting at their desks, navigating schedules, paging systems and their phones, responsible for answering calls for every Erie Site and juggling all of this information seamlessly. Working with me then was Claudia Jimenez, who is now the department’s Team Leader. I recently paid the Call Center a visit, and was able to listen to Claudia and her staff take calls:

 

Call 1: A patient needing a routine physical scheduled for her child.

Call 2: A Spanish speaking patient following up on the status of her diabetes medication.

Call 3: A mother whose child was having trouble breathing, resulting in paging a nurse for assistance.

Knowing this is just a small sample of what the Call Center does every day, and taking into account this took less than ten minutes to hear, it became apparent how sophisticated the Call Center operation is. Long gone are the days of 10-line switchboards, when Erie only had three operators for five sites. Today, the department’s twelve operators receive all incoming calls for nine health centers. Using a computerized phone system, they now track call type, call length and operator productivity, among other things. The system even tells an operator the language preference of the patient (before he/she picks up the call!), making communication smoother and more comfortable.  

“We’re the first point of contact for patients,” Claudia reminded me, “the base of patient access. To schedule an appointment, to become a new patient, to page an on-call provider, you have to go through us.”

The calls received by the Call Center range from routine appointment scheduling to paging providers for patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis. In June alone, the Call Center answered 23,250 calls; that’s 23,250 times Erie helped someone who wasn’t even in their facilities.

These figures do more than speak to how efficient the Call Center is or to the variety of services Erie provides. They give us a look at the real need that exists in our communities. These callers are asking for services spanning areas like diabetes management, health education and behavioral health counseling. And many of these callers are calling for the first time. The mix of health care needs and the fact that more people are calling to make Erie their medical home, show us that there is a definite need for comprehensive health services, like those offered at Erie Family Health Center.

With the responsibility of being the first point of contact, and the range of situations operators face every day, I was prompted to ask what it takes to be a Call Center Operator.

“Excellent customer service, patience, compassion, being a big learner and a desire to help people.” Claudia said, “You have to remember you’re not just answering phones, you’re making a difference in someone’s life.”

Answering every call, and helping every patient regardless of their needs, the Call Center makes Erie’s mission accessible wherever and whenever a patient needs it. When an operator says, “Erie Family Health Center, how can I help you?” there is more to it than courtesy.  They are putting a voice and a heart behind the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with compassion and respect and that Erie’s promise of quality is always within reach. 

Tags: call center, Erie