Ethnographic Summary- St. Joseph Regional Medical Center
Dan Thompson interviewed Linda, a woman whose husband was in the Emergency Room at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center (SJRMC). She spoke about her experiences traveling to and from the medical center
Date: 3/6/17
Type: Interview
Location: St. Joseph Regional Medical Center
Team participants: Conducted interview alone
User characteristics (Linda):
- 68 years old
- 2 sisters and 1 brother who live in different cities other than South Bend
- Her brother runs a transportation service for the elderly in the city in which he lives
- Her reason for traveling to the hospital was for her husband
Memorable quotes/moments:
- She purchased a car yesterday in anticipation of her husband’s visit to SJRMC because she was unable to climb into his truck, the only car owned between the two previously.
- When asked if she was familiar with services such as Uber and Lyft, she spoke of the elderly saying, “don’t do this push button stuff” in reference to technology.
- When discussing what hospitals could do better in terms of providing transportation, she said, “Why can’t they pay taxes for it?” She seemed upset at the fact that issues of funding even existed.
Top 3 learnings:
- Even those that own transportation struggle traveling to and from places. In Linda’s case, she struggled accessing her husband’s car and had to purchase a new one so that they could get to the hospital.
- Some demographics, especially the elderly, are unfamiliar and sometimes even unwilling to use new technologies like Uber and Lyft.
- Although a lot of people, such as Linda, do not miss appointments, they still feel passionate that more resources should be utilized to help patients access the hospital.
Key Insight: (1) The elderly and those with disabilities are specific populations that really need assistance traveling to and from the hospital. (2) Providing transportation is not only a practical and financial matter, rather the organization’s image can be impacted positively or negatively by the public’s perception of their transportation service or lack thereof.