Travel News

What Hospitals Can Learn from Hotels

Screen Shot 2014-01-20 at 8.49.31 AMValet parking, a spa, a hair salon, designer gift shops, 24-7 room service, and a fine-dining restaurant might sound like upscale hotel amenities. Would you believe you can also find them inside a hospital?

The Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, Michigan, has reimagined the hospital experience with the patient in mind. A former Ritz-Carlton executive was brought in to design the program and run the facility where patients are treated like valued guests.

Patient-centered practices include private rooms, available at the standard price other hospitals charge for semi-private rooms. There are no more visiting hours. Family and friends are welcome at all hours and are allowed to stay the night in the patient’s room. And as part of the patient-focused approach, no one is woken up between 10 pm and 5 am unless there’s an emergency.

Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the $360 million facility is that it costs less than the average hospital. For common chest and hip procedures, the hospital incurs one-third the cost or less. In fact, the patient-centric approach results in low readmission rates and higher rates of recovery, which in turn keeps the costs down.

Watch Peter’s latest CBS This Morning report to see why the hospital itself might be the newest innovation in healthcare.