Small Touches Make a Big Difference at Alice Hyde Medical Center
How everyday improvements make a better experience for patients.
Jess Patterson, RN, pays attention to details most people miss: A patient who arrives without essentials, a unit that feels louder than it should, a moment when someone just needs to feel heard.
For Patterson, this work is deeply personal. After 27 years at University of Vermont Health - Alice Hyde Medical Center, she sees it as the human side of care — how patients and families experience some of the most difficult days of their lives.
“This hospital is part of my life,” she says. “I care about the community and the people.”
A third-generation nurse at Alice Hyde, Patterson works alongside both a niece and a sister. Today, she oversees patient experience at the hospital, shaping how care teams support patients and one another.
Under Patterson’s leadership, Alice Hyde has seen meaningful improvements in patient satisfaction, particularly in the emergency department. She attributes the progress not to major investments or sweeping reforms, but to consistent, practical, low-cost changes focused on people first — both patients and the staff who care for them.
Small Idea with Immediate Impact
One of the visible examples is the hospital’s “Forget Me Not” cart.
Designed for patients who arrive unexpectedly or without personal belongings, the cart includes items not typically stocked on hospital units — chargers, hairbrushes, playing cards and other comfort items. It also includes DEI-focused supplies, such as hair-equity products.
“A lot of it has been donated,” Patterson says. “If we want to do this work, we need to be creative.”
That same thinking guides Patient Experience Week, a national observance held in late April that highlights the role everyone plays in shaping care. Patterson organizes the week with a deliberately modest budget — about $100 — beginning with employee recognition and ending with a day focused on patients.
Last year, posters placed in the lobby invited patients to write thank you notes to staff.
“I thought, this might backfire,’” Patterson says. “I thought people might write bad things.”
Instead, the posters filled with positive messages, some of which remained posted throughout the year.
“People really loved it,” she says. “People want to say thank you.”
Rounding That Solves Problems Early
Leadership rounding is central to how care is delivered at Alice Hyde. Hospital leaders connect with about 10% of patients each day, checking in with patients and staff.
“We’re able to take care of things in the moment,” Patterson says. “People feel like they’re being heard immediately.”
She recalls speaking with a patient who felt frustrated because her surgeon was difficult to reach.
“It was really about helping facilitate communication and letting her know there were options,” Patterson says. “The surgeon practices here and at UVM Health - Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. I told her if she didn’t mind traveling, I could try to get her in at CVPH more quickly.”
Those interactions have become increasingly positive, she notes, making rounding “a breath of fresh air.”
Rounding is shared across departments, including environmental services and nutritional services, reinforcing the idea that a patient’s experience in the hospital is a collective responsibility.
Supporting Staff to Support Patients
Recent changes aim to reduce stress for both patients and staff. Sound machines were added to all emergency department rooms to reduce noise and support rest. Employees named positively in patient surveys are entered into a drawing for a patient-experience parking spot.
“It’s no cost except the sign,” Patterson says. “But people get really excited about it.”
Training has also shifted to focus on empathy. Staff take part in realistic exercises that mirror everyday situations — such as overheard conversations at nurses’ stations — helping them better understand how everyday interactions can feel from a patient’s perspective.
Built on Trust and Time
After years spent improving how care is delivered behind the scenes, Patterson says this work brings everything together.
“Patient experience is really where my passion is,” she says.
That passion is rooted in long-standing relationships. Patterson recalls caring for a patient’s father years ago, and she is now supporting the son and his family as his health declines.
You build trust over time. You take care of people.
Patients may never see the systems, training or decisions behind their care. What they notice instead are quieter rooms, clearer explanations and interactions that feel thoughtful rather than rushed.
When care teams are supported, connected and valued, compassion shows up naturally,” Patterson says. “And that’s often what patients remember most.”
